DogTopia K9 Adventure Park is a newly built private dog-park located just off Tyersal Lane, Bradford in West Yorkshire. It is stacked with all sorts of fun toys and adventurous things for your dogs to experience!
What does Dogtopia have to offer?
At DogTopia there are three designated play areas, Woodland Walk and Mrs P’s (pond and play) which is split into two sections, a smaller boxed area with a ninja warrior style obstacle course filled with plenty of toys. There is also a swing at the bottom for dogs to ride and relax – this area is recommended for smaller and older dogs or those who are in training.
Then the second part of Mrs P’s in a much larger open space, 2.65 acres of field to be exact. It includes a deep pond near the bottom of the field and then at the top end there is an agility course with a sand pit. This area is the newer out of the two and there are plans in the future to add more adventurous stuff for dogs to play and enjoy, suggestions are welcome! Also, worth mentioning that the smaller play area is flood-lit from 6-9pm in the later months of the year, when the sun sets earlier in the evening.
Moving onto the Woodland Walk, which is extremely popular. This field is slightly bigger than Mrs P’s, it is 4.75 acres. As you first enter there is another play area and agility course, with a pirates inspired theme. It has its very own pirate boat and a sand pit! The agility course is filled with walk planks and obstacles made from repurposed wood. All of which are packed with fun and immersive things for your furry friend to experience.
Also, in the entrance way furthest out is a raised flower hill – perfect for hide and seek or chasing. The area is also equipped with tractor tyres and long tubes that act as a tunnel for your dog to run through, lastly for this section there is a tug zone, two long rope toys hung from a piece of wood, designed to simulate a battle, and see who the strongest dog is.
As you walk further down the grass field to the left is a section of woodland, which is all very natural looking. The hill is slightly steep but there are a few marked pathways. If you keep an eye out throughout your walk there are also some magical spots like Narnia, Gruffalo’s Den, and The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party along the way – this also helps to keep young children occupied as well if they come along, as they are not allowed to play on the agility course or other areas of the park.
Your dog is then free to run up and down the grass and mud, follow the scent trails and go in and out of the meadows, ideal for zoomies! There is a free-flowing stream that runs along the bottom – which you can cross via the rickety bridge. A small slide has recently been added for even more excitement and endless fun!
A lot of the equipment like the wood, toys, tyres, and pipes have been donated to the dog-park. For example, on the day I visited there was a long tube pipe, which can be used as a tunnel was being delivered by JDP Pipes a drainage company based in Bradford and Leeds.
Meet Kate
Kate is the owner of Dogtopia, a local businesswoman and entrepreneur from Bradford. She was inspired to build the dog-park because she has four dogs of her own, who she describes as an absolute nightmare.
She also shared that they’ve been brought up on a farm or in a larger house where they have been free to roam without being on a lead or restricted to wearing a collar.
Then she moved and bought the field – which is 20 acres all together and let the dogs run the whole length, however they didn’t come back so she made the decision to make it smaller and they could play in those areas. Then as she started to make progress and build other parts, she added a 6ft fence instead of 3.
Following on from that, as she realised, she probably wouldn’t use the area all of the time, she expanded the usage and decided to make the area available to other dog owners to exercise their pups as well in a secure area as the whole entire area is fenced off and enclosed.
“I wanted people to not feel like they were trapped, or they were in a pen. I want people to come here and think you know what, leave me in peace and then let their dog be free to play and sniff in a safe place.”
Services and Accessibility
The Woodland Walk is open and can be booked for a private hire, which means you can book a session for your dog only, but you are also permitted to bring your family or a friend’s dog along too. Therefore, any people or dogs you don’t recognise aren’t allowed to enter the area during your booking and allocated time. This session can be reserved for £13 an hour or in Mrs P’s for 45 minutes (£10.50). “I don’t charge a lot as it’s not about the profit, it’s about the happiness of people and their dogs,” said Kate
There are also regular social events that are held. For example, themed events, breeds only, small dogs only, and friendly dog groups – these sessions are when different dogs can play and mix with one another. Please refer to the timetable on the website for more information.
In terms of accessibility, Kate has thought of pretty much everything and catered the park to suit everyone. Dogtopia has two drive-in compound areas that can fit a maximum of 2 cars (Woodland Walk) and there is an extra allocated space for (Mrs P’s) if required.
The park also has disability access, and the gates are slightly wider to fit wheelchairs as well as pushchairs. There is a portable disability toilet on-site as well as a baby changing area for those customers who may need to use. There are also picnic tables located inside Mrs P’s along with a sheltered area incase of a change in weather throughout your allocated session.
For the dogs, there is a water bowl station with a refillable container, treats, extra toys to play with, leads if needed and dotted all around the park are plenty of poo-bags which customers are politely asked to use (if not your own) to remove your dog’s business and ensure and clean space for everyone – there also bins provided around to discard.
All breeds of dogs are allowed at Dogtopia including XL Bullies/Exempt breeds, you just need to upload your Defra 2024 Insurance Document onto the link when booking.
What are the benefits of a dog park?
“Having a dog park is far better than taking your dog for a walk down the street or road on a lead,” says Kate
Dog parks are a fantastic place for dogs who might be a little bit more challenging in public areas and also for the dogs who are well-behaved but struggle on walks in areas where there are other owners with their dogs who might not necessarily be as calm and manageable.
They are a safe and secure place for the dog but also the owner too. As some people may feel vulnerable walking their dogs alone in local areas. There are no trip hazards, everything is signposted and there’s plenty of things for your dog to do. Including plenty of activities, keeping the mind occupied, mental stimulation and is free to run as much as it wants rather than being limited to a length of a lead on a walk.
At Dogtopia specifically the dogs can alternate between the two parks, Woodland and Mrs P’s to give them a different experience each visit! “Dogs need to be free and learn how to balance on planks, hear different noises, go in a boat that rocks, chase balls and dig in a sand-pit,” Kate explained. “In the wild they do all of these things so why do we walk them on a lead down the highstreet and not let them live their lives,” she added.
According to a survey carried out by YouGov UK, 33% of people said it is ‘somewhat acceptable’ for you to walk your dog without a lead in a public park, whereas 24% disagreed stating that is ‘completely unacceptable.
There is also a sense of community and bringing people together, in April there was an Easter themed event where a group of people brought their dogs and dressed up in Easter clothing and had a picnic whilst the dogs socialised and played.
Customer Reviews
At the time of my interview, Rebecca and her two labradors were having a session inside of the Woodland Walk. She says she brings her dogs to Dogtopia because they are safe, and she quite likes the stream at the bottom as her dogs just love the water. “I know they are safe and especially with all the dog attacks you hear about,” she says.
First Hand Experience
On Thursday 1st May, I took my six-year-old loyal and excitable American Akita down to the dog park for an evening play. Let me tell you everything from start to finish was an absolute breeze and hassle free.
As the weather had been a lot warmer recently and with her breed, we thought it would be appropriate to book her in for a session as late as possible, to allow the temperature to drop. I booked Skye in for the 7.45pm slot, which gave us a whole hour to explore. Our session included the Woodland Walk – which is available to be booked privately. We opted for the private session because that one best suited Skye.
She had so much freedom to play, she loved climbing on the pirates-themed play area. It had wooden planks she could walk across, a pirate ship and even a sand pit, plenty of new things to investigate and sniff. My brother kept throwing a tug-toy down the grass area for her to chase after, it was so amazing to watch her run so freely and have so much fun. She also had a bit of a face-off and was chasing the other dog on the other side of the fence in the opposite play-area – much to our surprise it was another Akita!
They spent a good five minutes running up and down between the fences. Both areas are fully enclosed and fenced off, there is also a large green sheet of fabric on the fence to disguise the view of the area next door but that didn’t stop Skye and her wicked sense of smell.
Then at the bottom further down the field there is the woodland area – I think this was her favourite part of all! She was running up and down the hills in and out through the bluebells, jumping over the water stream at the bottom and genuinely having the best time ever. Myself and my brother also really enjoyed chasing her through the trees minus the mud!
The drive down to the park was quite easy and pleasant, you turn off the main road and down a one-lane path. As you drive down you are greeted with lots of open fields, plenty of horses and some cows too. As you go further down, there is a silver gate – the code for this was provided to us on our booking confirmation. There is a footpath next to the gate, so you could also walk your dog’s down to the park as well. Following the road all the way down to the bottom, you’ll approach the dog park, there are two gates for each play-area where you drive into. There is a second code on the gate, which is provided to you on the day of your booking.
Then you’re in, the gate shuts behind you and it’s time to let your pup free. As a family we particularly liked how straightforward it was to drive in and ensure everyone’s safety. It was perfect for Skye as she’s quite sensitive to loud-noises, so I think if we were unloading her on the side of a busy road, there would have been a higher risk of her trying to escape – but Dogtopia’s way just gives you that extra sense of security and relief knowing that she’s in a safe and secure place.
Link to Dogtopia website: https://www.dogtopiaadventures.co.uk/
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