Welly and Tails

Welly and Tails Secure dog park in Penrith, Cumbria - Book Online | Play Agility Equipment | 2.5 acres | Reactive Dog Training Near Penrith, Cumbria.
(1)

On the road between Ellonby and Blencow. Link to Google Maps Pin: https://goo.gl/maps/6amsrU7rps85KWjP7

This is our mantra for the dog park:🐶Stay wild🏀Chase fun🏃‍♀️RUN FREEI feel it perfectly sums up what we set out to achie...
07/03/2025

This is our mantra for the dog park:

🐶Stay wild
🏀Chase fun
🏃‍♀️RUN FREE

I feel it perfectly sums up what we set out to achieve when we set up Welly and Tails:

Letting our dogs be dogs, letting our dogs really do what they want to without restriction, letting our dogs sniff, run, explore, chase, investigate - all the stuff - in a safe, enclosed space.

Our dogs don't have a lot of opportunity to just BE themselves unrestricted - we're often putting a harness, head collar, lead, tools, cages, crates and all sorts on our dogs (I obviously use harnesses/leads/crates so this isn't me saying we never should!) but it doesn't give our dogs the opportunity to experience anything outside the home without restrictions very often.

I love seeing my own dogs enjoying the park, and I hope it brings you the same joy too with your own dogs.

Can you help?I'm putting together my newsletter for March and wondering if there are any local doggy-related events I ca...
06/03/2025

Can you help?

I'm putting together my newsletter for March and wondering if there are any local doggy-related events I can put in.

If you know of any upcoming events occurring that would be perfect for dog owners nearby then let me know, please 🙏

Thanks!
🙏

Interested in learning scentwork with your dog?I've got a free how-to guide and video over on the Welly and Tails Hub th...
03/03/2025

Interested in learning scentwork with your dog?

I've got a free how-to guide and video over on the Welly and Tails Hub that talks you through the first steps in teaching your dog to indicate on a scent or item (basically, show you that they've found something in a fancy way!).

This is a great form of scentwork to use on walks - it's not fussy, fancy or careful - it's something you can incorporate easily into day to day life.

Some scentwork requires you to use tweezers and gloves to stop scent discrimination and so on - I could never get on with that. I needed something I could bring along with me on a walk, in my pocket - and just go.

Something for fun - for me and my dogs.

Check out the full tutorial here: https://wellyandtails.co.uk/beginning-scentwork-indication/ (or look for the link to the Hub in the bio links).

Why do people visit Welly and Tails?We've been surprised over the 2+ years we've now been open about the different reaso...
01/03/2025

Why do people visit Welly and Tails?

We've been surprised over the 2+ years we've now been open about the different reasons people visit. We thought we knew why people would use a dog park when we opened, but some of the reasons have surprised us too!

❤️Dogs who have noise phobias and need to walk somewhere quieter.
❤️Dogs who scavenge so owners need a bit more certainty about what they may or may not find on a walk.
❤️Packs of dogs who owners need to just open up the boot, and let the pack out in one go instead of on-lead walks.
❤️Dogs who are recovering from surgery so need to be sure they won't be knocked into by other dogs.
❤️Parents who need to walk their dogs and young kids at the same time without worrying about either running off!
❤️Owners who are meeting a potential new dog to introduce to their household and want a safe place to have an intro visit.
❤️Owners who have a reactive dog who struggles with walks in busy areas
❤️Owners who have a friendly dog who needs a space where you can be sure no off-lead dogs will run up and bother them.
❤️Owners with a fluffy bundle of energy who finds on-lead walks just aren’t enough!
❤️Owners who need somewhere where they can be sure there are no livestock or small furries that can be chased.
❤️People visiting on holiday (or on their way up or down from Scotland who need a stopover!)

Any more I've missed?

I can't guarantee the weather (well, I can predict it will probably rain! 🤣🙈) - but I CAN safely guarantee that you'll h...
25/02/2025

I can't guarantee the weather (well, I can predict it will probably rain! 🤣🙈) - but I CAN safely guarantee that you'll have lovely views of the surrounding countryside, and often the mountains on a good day.

When we were choosing the location for the dog park on our farm, we had a few fields to choose from, but this one is the absolute best for views across the Pennines. It's still my personal favourite place to be at sunset 🌄

A little reintroduction for those who don't know about us (some people still don't know that Penrith has a private, encl...
22/02/2025

A little reintroduction for those who don't know about us (some people still don't know that Penrith has a private, enclosed dog adventure park, despite us going on and on about it! 😂)!

📍2.5 acres of private enclosed countryside
📍6 foot specialised fencing all the way around
📍Car park and gated unloading area
📍Fun play agility equipment and scentwork
📍Mountain and countryside views
📍Quiet, rural location

All bookings are online and in advance, here's how it works:

🐶 Book at https://wellyandtails.co.uk/book
🐶 2 hours before your session, you'll be sent a Gate code by email, and 1 hour before you'll get an SMS
🐶 There's a 10 minute crossover between sessions to allow people to leave and arrive - please respect this 10 minute window so everyone has a safe, comfortable visit without being rushed
🐶 Poo bins and poo bags are available at the park
🐶 Water point at the park for drinking water
🐶 Shelter for rainy days!
🐶 Cancel or reschedule your booking up to 24 hours in advance - just click the link in your booking email
🐶 Buy packages of sessions to save money (making park hire just £7 a session!)

Book online: https://wellyandtails.co.uk/book

A little baby update.... Baby Holly joined us a week last Tuesday, I didn't do an update as I had to go back to hospital...
20/02/2025

A little baby update.... Baby Holly joined us a week last Tuesday, I didn't do an update as I had to go back to hospital for a bit after being a bit poorly after my c section, but I'm home now and recovering well.

Alma, my big white wolf of a nanna dog, has been keeping close by us at all times and watching over her. She's the perfect dog for kids, despite looking like a scary wolf to everyone else.

Georgie the spaniel has had a good sniff but is too boisterous to be out loose with her currently as he's a sofa/wall/window bouncer Tigger type.

And Solo the collie is seriiiiiooousssly weirded out by this little bald rabbit thing I appear to keep walking round the house with - so he's allowed a look and sniff from a distance while he slowly gets used to what's going on.

We're taking it easy at home now ❤️

SOS - My dog just snapped at another dog on a walk!If you've just come back from the walk of hell and need a bit of mora...
18/02/2025

SOS - My dog just snapped at another dog on a walk!

If you've just come back from the walk of hell and need a bit of moral support, then check out the guide on our hub "Help! My dog just lunged at another dog".

It’s a horrible feeling when this happens. You’re embarrassed, ashamed, probably pretty shook up, and wondering what went wrong.

But take a deep breath – you and your dog will get through this. 💛

🐾 Here’s what to do next:

✅ Decompress – No walks for 24 hours, keep things calm, and try relaxing at-home activities to bring down your dog's adrenaline and cortisol levels. (And your own!)

📌 Don't make any rash decisions. Your dog isn't the worst dog in the world, you're not the worst dog owners, these things happen. We're human and your dog is a dog. We make mistakes, we take chances, we drop a lead, we forget to do something.

🔍 Understand the trigger – It might feel like it came out of nowhere, but your dog may have been stressed already, uncomfortable, or dealing with pain.

💛 Be kind to yourself – You and your dog are both doing your best in a tough situation. You might feel angry at your dog, but they're just reacting how they think is best. It might seem irrational, but to them, it feels completely necessary. They're not trying to beat you.

🎯 Plan for next time – Get back on track and start training some SOS skills like a quick 180 turn with a "Let's go!" command or focus and engagement on you. It won't be instant, but you'll have a plan to work on the difficult stuff, and will give your dog a better way to cope in those situations.

Get the infographic over on our hub here: https://wellyandtails.co.uk/reactive-dog-barked-infographic/

Did you know we are one of the cheapest dog parks around? (But we also think we go above and beyond despite our lower pr...
15/02/2025

Did you know we are one of the cheapest dog parks around? (But we also think we go above and beyond despite our lower price!)

We have Package Deals that make regular visits even cheaper!

📌With our 10 for 7 offer, you can get field hire for just £7 a session for up to 2 dogs!

📌Or you can choose our 5 for 4 offer - just head over to the booking page and scroll down to view the packages on offer.

Here's the facts:

🐶 There's no deadline for using up your slots, so you don't have to rush to book
🐶 You can buy the package, then book your individual slots when you want. You could book one today, then another in a week, and so on...
🐶 When you book, you just put your package code in
🐶 You can check how many sessions left on your code by going to the main booking page, and scrolling down to the bottom of the page where it says "Check code" and entering the email address you booked with

Find out more here: https://wellyandtails.co.uk/book or click the link in our bio.

🚶‍♂️🐶 Controversial Topic - Why I Recommend a Break from Walks for Reactive Dogs 🚶‍♂️🐶🛑Avoiding dog walks is avoiding th...
13/02/2025

🚶‍♂️🐶 Controversial Topic - Why I Recommend a Break from Walks for Reactive Dogs 🚶‍♂️🐶

🛑Avoiding dog walks is avoiding the problem!
🛑How can you fix a reactive dog if you never take it on a walk!

These are some of the things I see posted about on social media about stopping walks with a reactive dog.

But there's a good reason for it, and all new reactive dog clients have to have a period of no walks for 1 - 2 weeks at least when I start working with them. So why?

🐕 Behaviour is practiced – The more your dog reacts, the more likely they are to keep reacting in the future. Not less. Otherwise they would have stopped reacting on your daily walks. Something has to give.

The more we practice a behaviour, the 'better' the behaviour will get - just like practicing a trick, but with reactive barking and lunging.

⚡ Stress adds up – Walks can be overwhelming for reactive dogs, keeping them in a cycle of stress and anxiety that builds up day after day.

🎯 Skills need practice in a low distraction environment – Before tackling the world, your dog needs to learn some simple skills in a low-distraction space, then build up gradually to more and more distractions that mimic a normal walk.

Some people think skipping walks is avoiding the problem. But if daily walks were the solution, wouldn’t the issue have improved already? 🤔

Think of stopping the walks like a circuit breaker to stop the behaviour in its tracks while you focus on learning some new skills.

You can download the full PDF handout for free over on the Welly and Tails Hub: https://wellyandtails.co.uk/behaviour-handout-walk-break-reactive-dog/

What does this mean for animal intelligence?The significance of this particular study is that it means that an animal is...
10/02/2025

What does this mean for animal intelligence?

The significance of this particular study is that it means that an animal is capable of understanding that you and I, or you and they have different brains, thoughts and experiences. (Therefore the ape understands that the human doesn't know where the food is, and helps them out).

Many animals aren't capable of understanding that we all might have individual thoughts that the other doesn't have. It's a complex thing to process, and something we take for granted.

Dogs are one of the few animals where it's been shown that they understand that you and them have different thoughts and feelings, usually by studies where the dog looks to their human for information about where something is (like pointing and informing the dog to go in that direction to find the food).

Or, following our gaze to look at something we're looking at.

It seems like such a simple thing, but is actually a really unusual and complex behaviour.

Dogs really are unusual in that they have developed communication methods between themselves as a species, but also different communication methods with humans. They infer a lot from our looks, glances, gestures, words, actions, emotions and so on.

Again, not all animals are capable of this.

Some great apes realize when a human partner doesn’t know something and are capable of communicating information to them to change their behavior, a new study shows.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University studying bonobos found that they would point to where treats were hidden if they could see their human partner didn’t know where they were, according to a statement from the university, published Monday.

Working with three male bonobos, study co-author Luke Townrow, a Johns Hopkins PhD student, would sit across a table from one of the animals as another person placed a treat under one of three cups.

In some cases, Townrow would be allowed to see which cup the treat was under, and the bonobo would wait for him to pass it the food.

At other times, he would not be able to see where the treat was, and the bonobo would point to the right cup to help him find the food.

The “seemingly simple experiment that demonstrated for the first time that apes will communicate unknown information in the name of teamwork,” the statement reads.

Read more: https://cnn.it/3CFlcI4

Baby news!I've not mentioned it to many people but we're expecting our baby to arrive next week (basically I'm due next ...
06/02/2025

Baby news!

I've not mentioned it to many people but we're expecting our baby to arrive next week (basically I'm due next week, this is probably why I've not announced it as this is the most weirdest awkward pregnancy announcement I've ever read).

How are you supposed to say it normally? 🤣

🐣 That's why there hasn't been any puppy socials scheduled in the diary for the time being, but once I'm back up and running I will do some young puppy social sessions at the barn initially for any pups missing out on crucial socialisation time during that window, then when I'm fighting fit again I'll be ready to take on all you crazy pups again.

🐕 It is also why I've not been taking on any reactivity cases for the next few months, but I've spoken to anyone who has got in touch to point them in the right direction and give them some immediate behaviour 'first aid' help.

🌄 Dog park field hire will operate as normal, so no change there! You might get a reply sometimes from my husband instead of me (if it sounds a bit abrupt and serious then what will be him, he's lovely but doesn't do social media small talk that well 😂😂)

In the meantime if you need additional help, behaviour stuff - Tracy at Canines Behaving Badly is a trusted behaviourist who operates in this area 👍

For puppy classes you have Jen at Clever Dogs Dog Training in Blencow and Katie's K9s who runs puppy and agility courses in Skelton and other places nearby.

I'll be posting on here too regularly so you won't escape me completely!

Weekend bookings are open! But the park must be accessed from the Ellonby/Skelton end (not from Blencow/Greystoke) due t...
31/01/2025

Weekend bookings are open!

But the park must be accessed from the Ellonby/Skelton end (not from Blencow/Greystoke) due to the ongoing roadworks closures. This is also confirmed in your gate code email as a reminder, but the park is fully accessible from the Skelton end 👍

There were already some bookings in the diary so only a few slots free, take a look at what's available over at https://wellyandtails.co.uk/book

Have a lovely weekend everyone - looking fairly dry at the moment ☁️

31/01/2025

Katie's K9s 👇

Thursday bookings!There's only a few slots free that I've just released now, and I've emailed everyone with a booking al...
29/01/2025

Thursday bookings!

There's only a few slots free that I've just released now, and I've emailed everyone with a booking already but the dog park road is closed between Skelton/Ellonby side and the park, but accessible from Blencow end (the road workers will let dog park clients through).

Road workers may be visible from the dog park while they're working so everyone's had an email with the option to cancel (I was going to have one of the slots myself but my dog wouldn't manage seeing people from the park).

Hope that makes sense! 🙏

** ROAD CLOSURES **For the next few days, I've shut the park to new bookings because of road closures planned for the do...
27/01/2025

** ROAD CLOSURES **

For the next few days, I've shut the park to new bookings because of road closures planned for the dog park road and Skelton.

For existing bookings, I have to play it by ear each day as it says the road is closed but then isn't and so on, so we're checking each day.

Today, there is a section of road closed in Skelton village itself but the dog park is still fully accessible and bookings have been emailed to notify.

For the next few days, I'll do the same each day - it's frustrating for us as we've spoken with the council to get clarity but no specific info about when exactly things will be shut and which sections so we have to figure out as we go each day.

Hopefully you can bear with us and we'll keep you updated 👍🙏

We're very lucky to have The Green Veterinary Surgery  located just around the corner from the dog park (literally a 3 m...
13/01/2025

We're very lucky to have The Green Veterinary Surgery located just around the corner from the dog park (literally a 3 minute drive from the dog park).

You never know what might happen in life, so I've put up a poster with the Green Vets' details in the shelter in case you ever need urgent vet attention while at the dog park.

They operate their own emergency out of hours too (but most of the time their opening hours will mirror our opening times anyway).

They are in Skelton village, on the main village road: Ellonby Road, CA11 9SQ

Telephone number: 017684 84258

Address

Unnamed Road/between Ellonby And Blencow (what3words:///feasts. Touches. Thundered)
Carlisle
CA119SH

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 7pm
Tuesday 9am - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 7pm
Saturday 9am - 7pm
Sunday 9am - 7pm

Website

https://wellyandtails.co.uk/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Welly and Tails posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Welly and Tails:

Videos

Share

Category