Elementary Dog Park to open near Bishopthorpe, York

Elementary Dog Park will be opening soon in a large area of grassland just south of York.

The idea is for pet owners to book time slots where they can bring their dogs along for lots of fun in a safe environment.

Liz and Kev Dunn are the couple behind the idea. They have been promoting the grand opening on February 12 on social media, including posting a fun video of dogs trying out the park on their Instagram account: @elementarydogpark.

The couple, from Bishopthorpe, with three grown-up children, have a background in IT and currently run a property development and management business. Kev is also a dog trainer. The park is on land they own.

Liz said: "There are a few dog parks dotted around the perimeter of York but we found that there wasn’t one in our local area around Bishopthorpe. People were travelling miles to get to their nearest one. Many more people have got dogs over this last couple of years so we felt that we were providing a service that people would appreciate."

As part of our regular York Insta Stories slot - highlighting some of the best local stories on Instagram - we're putting Liz and Kev in the spotlight this week.

Here is their York Insta Story...

Tell us about your new dog park

The dog park is situated within a large area of grassland surrounded by mature oak trees just south of Acaster Malbis and Bishopthorpe. The park itself is just over two acres which is fenced using six-foot-high deer fencing and is designed to be an area for people to exercise or train their dogs, safe in the knowledge that they can’t run off.

The idea for the park came from Kev doing his dog training and seeing the huge increase in dog ownership during the pandemic where people were working from home more and felt it was a good time to own a dog.

Lots of dog-training customers were looking for safe places to train their puppies.

Sand pit for dogs to play in

Why have you chosen the location?

It’s a beautiful, peaceful, and relaxing place to be. We identified a gap in the market for a fully enclosed dog park that was ideally situated to provide a service for the people on the south side of York and the surrounding villages. The park is on Appleton Road, York, YO23 2XA.

WATCH THE VIDEO OF DOGS ROADTESTING THE PARK: 

Who is it for?

It’s for people who want to let their dogs run off lead, safe in the knowledge they can’t escape. We’ve also provided play equipment where dogs can experience physical exercise and mental stimulation.

We have spoken to numerous people who own dogs that are either reactive to other dogs, humans or both. These dogs still need exercise but must be away from other dogs or people. The park is also an ideal place to train your dog safely. In York we’re fortunate to have large open spaces such as the Knavesmire but it’s very difficult to train a dog there due to the numerous distractions.

How can people book?

Bookings can be made from February 7, online via our website http://elementarydogpark.co.uk/.

The online booking system is very easy to use and provides email and text reminders to ensure you don’t miss your booking. A one-hour session for one to four dogs costs £11, for five to eight dogs, £14.

Is it modelled on other sites?

Our park isn’t modelled on any particular site as such. We’ve spent a year or so researching the best dog parks around the UK and have borrowed ideas to try to make our park the best it can possibly be. We’ve been fortunate enough to have lots of great advice from dog park owners around the UK.

Having fun at the dog park

Anything else you would like to add?

Our design ethos when building the park has been to make it as high quality as we can while also being focused on re-using and upcycling materials that we had on site already such as wood from a large fence that we removed, dead branches from trees, soil from the road construction and relocating turf.

We also had items like tractor tyres kindly donated from our neighbouring farmers and landowners who have been hugely supportive of what we’re doing.

During January we’ve created additional wildlife habitats and a nature corridor by planting over 80 native trees in or surrounding the park.

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