Work on Our New Sensory Garden is Underway!

We are really excited to announce that work is now underway on a new sensory garden for the dogs in our care at ODDCC - we aim to have this open as soon as we can for our dogs to enjoy - it will greatly benefit the dogs in our care providing benefits for both puppies and older dogs alike.

The subject of sensory gardens cropped up in a conversation with 2 respected local dog trainers as we opened our dog day care centre, their enthusiasm and passion for a garden area for dogs was infectious and we agreed it was an excellent idea and would make a superb addition to our facilities. We are lucky that we have a lovely area to dedicate to a garden, but you don’t need a huge area should you want to create a sensory garden at home in your own garden.

A sensory garden does what it says, it is an area that helps a dog use his senses and engage with his surroundings, it provides additional stimulation and enjoyment and is another way to enrich his day.

Dogs are curious animals and by encouraging them to interact with their environment by providing both physical and mental stimulation we can help to build their confidence, help to calm and de-stress them, sometimes we all need and benefit from a little quiet time-out.

We plan to provide physical stimulation in the form of different surfaces for the dogs to touch, walk on, go over, go under or through helping them to build confidence. It provides elements for them to display their natural behaviours like digging (either in water or sand) without destroying your garden.

Mental stimulation is provided in the form of dog-friendly plants for them to sniff, touch and nibble on if they choose to. Sounds help create a chill-out zen-like zone, natural noises like wind chimes can sooth and create a calmness, helping the dog feel at ease and relaxed.

We have gathered a selection of items to use in the garden as a starting base and over time we will add as we see for ourselves how the dogs react to and interact with the garden. This is a garden for them, and we will bear this in mind as we add elements, so the dogs will have a chance to have their input into the garden.

Working a dog’s senses can be as tiring for them as a long walk.

We will keep you updated of our progress and our aim is to have our daycare sensory garden finished and open to our doggies as soon as we can.

We are excited to see how our day care dogs react to our garden and we look forward to seeing them experience it for themselves. Initially we will take dogs and puppies into the garden while they are in day care on a 121 basis so we can see how they use different elements. Some things may be new to them and we can encourage them to explore for themselves, when they are ready and confident enough they will try things out. It is about building up their confidence and creating positive experiences for them at their own pace.

We feel that, when completed, the new sensory garden will add to our day care facilities in a really positive way. It will provide another valuable outside space for the dogs we care for to enjoy along with our smaller paddock, puppy pen and large field. Alongside our spacious inside play area we have a large variety of toys and dedicated staff to ensure that our dogs have an enjoyable time with us.

Watch this space for progress updates and opening news.