Dogwood Adventure Play - Dog Walking Fields & Training Centre

Dogwood Adventure Play - Dog Walking Fields & Training Centre Dogwood Adventure Play has two purpose built secure fields available to hire on a sole-use basis. As Welcome to the North East's first Dog Adventure Park!

An enriching environment for your dog to run, play, sniff, discover and learn. A place for you to relax. Dogwood Adventure Play is set across seven acres of countryside with two secure fields and a training paddock. We’re between Darlington and Stockton and easily accessible from both - though we serve clients from all across Tees Valley and the North East and Yorkshire. Our purpose-built parks ar

e available for you and your dog to hire on an individual basis all year round, seven days a week. Ideal for dogs that can’t be let off lead in public places – perhaps because they don't enjoy meeting other dogs, or for those that don’t have great recall skills, puppies or adult dogs who need to work on training in a secure environment, owners of rescue dogs who need to bond with their new companion, or anyone else who enjoys watching their dog run free. You have exclusive use of the park during your booking. The coded double-gate entry system and carefully timed slots mean you won’t be disturbed. For extra peace of mind, in-field parking allows you to lock the gate before letting your dogs out of your vehicle. Adventure Play® frames increase confidence, range of motion, strength and balance, while the Sensory Gardens are made up of a variety of smells, surfaces and textures to engage all the senses and reduce stress and anxiety, encourage dogs to be more secure in their surroundings, and provide mental stimulation and enrichment. Dogs love exploring the fascinating environment rich with scent, while their happy humans sit back on a bench and relax. Where would Dogwood be without Scentventure®? Well, just another field. Dogwood is a SCENTVENTURE PARK where your dog can sniff, climb, stretch and develop strength and confidence - all the components needed for calm, relaxation and focus. Enriched environments like Dogwood are well-known by behavioural experts to reduce behavioural problems such as reactivity. Dog Trainer, Scentwork Instructor and Canine Enrichment Specialist, Katie created Dogwood Adventure Play when she needed a safe space to exercise her own reactive rescue dog Lao. Since then, Dogwood has hosted thousands of off-lead adventures, helped hundreds of reactive and distracted dogs and their owners enjoy stress free walks via Katie’s signature training system Scentventure, and created an international community of Club Dogwood members who are enjoying calm walks and adventures, no matter where in the world they live. Katie brings over a decade of experience at Dogs Trust, qualifications, accreditations and hundreds of hours of learning from the top minds and organisations in the industry to ensure you and your dog always benefit from the latest scientific research and behavioural studies. She also offers a consultancy service to help other people open their own Dogwoods around the country. Community is at the very heart of everything we do. Dogwood advocates for rescue dogs, donating Adventure Play sessions to local rescues every week and hosting fundraisers throughout the year. Now you and your dog can enjoy the same fear-free, off-lead experience as Katie and Lao at Dogwood Adventure Play, the North East’s first dog adventure park. Your dog was born to sniff, discover and play, and at Dogwood you can give them exactly what they need whilst you enjoy a relaxing, stress-free adventure walk with your best friend. Get in touch to find out how you can join our exclusive dog adventure community. As seen in The Times, Edition Dog, BBC, Puppy Post and more.


''We've tried other secure fields in the area but they're not a patch on Dogwood. Our dogs cry with excitement when we say 'Dogwood'. The original and best!''

- Sue Green

A brand new set of collectables is about to land! We love love love our Scentventure Achievement Awards - they’re our en...
17/02/2025

A brand new set of collectables is about to land!

We love love love our Scentventure Achievement Awards - they’re our enamel pins that Club Dogwood members can earn along the way. We launched them in 2021 and we’re up to 23 and counting!

Now, in addition to the pins, you will also be able to earn Wilderness Explorer patches!

These are embroidered patches that you collect when you complete activities with your dog. The emphasis is on exploration, escapism, time in nature, simple pleasures, memory making and new horizons.

Think Scouts, but for dogs!

The first ones are dropping in March 👀

Escapism. Unplugged adventure. Road trips. Days stretched out. Forests and beaches, barbecues and pine trees. Skin warm....
15/02/2025

Escapism. Unplugged adventure.

Road trips. Days stretched out. Forests and beaches, barbecues and pine trees. Skin warm. Messy, salty hair.

Hot flask. Cosy layers and shorter days, the golden hues and crisp mornings.

Lazy afternoons reading under the shade of a tree, or buried beneath winter blankets.

Simple pleasures.

New horizons.

You don’t realise it, but your shoulders are no longer up by your ears. Your jaw is not clenched. At one point, imperceptible to you, your shallow breaths expanded deep and full into your belly.

Your most alive. Your fullest.

Camp fires and connection.

Waves, trees, sun, sky and fur. Your dog by your side.

Playlists that when you listen again months later, you’re transported back to the crackle of bonfires under the starry night sky.

Nostalgia.

Freedom. Freedom to explore. Freedom to dream.

Fairy lights and magic. Forts in the woods.

Carefree.

Simplicity.

Wilderness Explorers.

A Pawlentine to Club Dogwood, by Nic (Arthur’s mum!)Roses are redDogwood's the bestMy dog was reactiveBut now we are ble...
14/02/2025

A Pawlentine to Club Dogwood, by Nic (Arthur’s mum!)

Roses are red
Dogwood's the best
My dog was reactive
But now we are blessed.

🌹

Roses are red
Scentventure's a charm
Behaviours were challenging
But now we feel calm.

🌹

Roses are red
Yes, there's bumps along the way
But since we found Dogwood
There's wins EVERY day.

🌹

Happy Valentines, Dogwood Land!

🧡More than just dog training…Club Dogwood is about support, celebration, and knowing you’re never alone. Through the tou...
13/02/2025

🧡More than just dog training…

Club Dogwood is about support, celebration, and knowing you’re never alone.
Through the toughest moments and the biggest wins, we’re here—guiding, uplifting, and reminding you that you and your dog are safe, loved, and supported.

We love this heartfelt reflection from Jacqui:

‘’You've got me: through the toughest times when I thought I couldn't carry on anymore: to celebrating all those massive wins when we made baby steps in our progress.

You're there. It's like my daily mantra: "I'm safe. I'm loved. I'm guided." It brings me peace of mind and wellbeing - a total holistic approach for not just our dogs, but for us as human beings. I've never experienced a community like ours.’’

Nellie and Chantal love being part of Club Dogwood because of “how much fun Scentventure brings to our lives!”If trainin...
12/02/2025

Nellie and Chantal love being part of Club Dogwood because of “how much fun Scentventure brings to our lives!”

If training is boring, it’s gonna be a tough old slog to the finish line 🤷🏼‍♀️

Training should always be fun and enjoyable, for both humans and dogs!

Tongues out! Show us what you’ve got 👅 Here we have the handsome Zeus demonstrating a rather demure TOT. It’s Tuesday. Y...
11/02/2025

Tongues out! Show us what you’ve got 👅

Here we have the handsome Zeus demonstrating a rather demure TOT.

It’s Tuesday. You know what to do. Tag us in your story or share a pic!

“Where have those 5 years gone?! Rocky and I have loved every minute of it.” Dawn and Rocky are founding Club Dogwood me...
09/02/2025

“Where have those 5 years gone?! Rocky and I have loved every minute of it.”

Dawn and Rocky are founding Club Dogwood members. Dawn says that Rocky went from ‘socially awkward’ to ‘the perfect gentleman’, enjoying group walks and becoming somewhat of a VIPaw everywhere he goes!

We love you Rocky Dog! 🧡

February is the month of love, although if you’re lucky enough to have a dog, every day is filled with love! Inspired by...
06/02/2025

February is the month of love, although if you’re lucky enough to have a dog, every day is filled with love!

Inspired by this, we asked members what they love about Club Dogwood, so throughout the month we will share some of those!

First up: Bo and Lucy! Their “favourite part is our Scentventure family and the endless supply of dog photos!’’

Yup, I do believe we are blessed with the best social media feeds! And the best family, of course 🧡

When you do the hard things, life gets easier. Face the tough stuff now—whether it’s committing to quiet walks even thou...
03/02/2025

When you do the hard things, life gets easier. Face the tough stuff now—whether it’s committing to quiet walks even though they’re inconvenient, sticking to that training schedule even when you’re tired, or being consistent with cues and boundaries when it’s easier to give in ‘just this once’, doing what it takes now means smoother walks and an easier life ahead.

The easy way out is only easy today. Tomorrow it’s procrastination, overwhelm, and the constant feeling of 'I'll get to it tomorrow.'

Who is already grateful to their past selves for putting in the hard work? 🙌🏻

When your dog pulls, barks, lunges, or ignores your recall, they’re likely not paying attention to you because they’re d...
02/02/2025

When your dog pulls, barks, lunges, or ignores your recall, they’re likely not paying attention to you because they’re distracted by all the sights, sounds and smells on the walk.

The most common advice dished out by trainers?

‘’You just need to make yourself more interesting!’’ 💬

🤢And it makes me want to vomit a little as it’s one of those empty vacuous statements that gets thrown around, often without explanation.

When it does come with an explanation, it’s all about squeaky voices and high-arousal toys which just ramp up your dog and get them high as a kite.

Besides the damage it can do to your dog’s health and behaviour, I can’t think of a worse way to spend my walks, can you? Making ridiculous noises to compete against squirrels? Like a performing seal. Hardly the relaxing walks we pictured, right?

Club Dogwood member Lucy said trainers told her this all the time but never said how to actually do it - and it left her feeling like a failure.

Your dog isn’t ignoring you because they don’t like you, not because you’re boring, not because you have less personality than a squirrel, not because you’re a failure... but it’s just because there are more urgent things currently getting their attention.

Until you can cut through the distractions, you will not achieve stress free walks...

BUT you’re not expected to automatically know how to do that.

On Thursday I showed a group of dog owners a new kind of walk that gains and keeps your dog’s attention, WITHOUT ridiculous squeaky voices and high-arousal toys.

Drop me a message if you would like to watch it before it comes down tonight 💌

Five years ago, Club Dogwood was just a spark—an idea built on the love of dogs, the thrill of Scentventuring, and the p...
01/02/2025

Five years ago, Club Dogwood was just a spark—an idea built on the love of dogs, the thrill of Scentventuring, and the power of a like-minded community.

Today, it’s something bigger than we ever imagined. It’s a movement, a family, a pack—a place where dogs and their humans come together to explore, connect, and step boldly beyond the ordinary.

For five years, we’ve walked side by side. Through forests and fields, with muddy paws and courageous hearts, we’ve tackled reactivity, cracked loose lead walking, built rock-solid recall, and turned separation anxiety into confidence. We’ve seen breakthroughs, celebrated wins, and proven that with patience and the right support, change is possible.

We’ve watched dogs come alive, seen confidence grow, and felt the deep, unbreakable partnership that forms when you move through the world, connected.

But Club Dogwood has never just been about the dogs. It’s about the people. The ones who cheer each other on, who share stories, who remind us that we’re never in this alone.

And if Club Dogwood is five years old, that makes Scentventure six, and Dogwood itself will be - gulp - seven this year! My babies, all grown up 🥹

Whether you’re a Club Dogwood member, Scentventurer, or Dogwood regular, whether you’ve been here from the start or just found your way to our pack, you are what makes this community extraordinary. Your courage, your kindness, your unwavering dedication to your dog—it’s the motivation for everything we do.

So today, we celebrate YOU. The Scentventurers, the explorers, the seekers of fun and freedom. Those who dare to step forward for their dog, to trust the process, to believe in the partnership you’re building together—not just in the easy moments, but in the challenges too.

Crack open the Pawsecco. Here’s to five incredible years of Club Dogwood—and to all the adventures still to come.

Side by side, step by step. Together, we go further.

‘’He’s an ex-hunter. You'll never be able to walk him properly."Or rather, "È un ex-cane da caccia. Non riuscirai mai a ...
31/01/2025

‘’He’s an ex-hunter. You'll never be able to walk him properly."

Or rather, "È un ex-cane da caccia. Non riuscirai mai a portarlo a passeggio come si deve."

(because this unsolicited opinion was dished out in Italy.)

I was crushed.

Lao was a ball of energy. Never been on lead. Hunted wildlife for a living. Lunged at everything that moved (those low flying swallows were the bane of my life). I was embarrassed to take him out.

But I refused to give up.

So I tested, trialled and errored, and discovered one of the handiest tools in Lao’s stress free walks strategy:

Sequences.

This simple approach taps into a dog's natural love for predictability and reward. AND it’s a turbo-powered distraction defeater!

Perfect for those EXTRA distracting distractions.

All you do is create a simple, repeatable sequence of 3 or 4 techniques that your dog already knows.

So you take those 3 or 4 well-practiced exercises and do them one after another. That’s it!

The brilliance of Sequences are in their simplicity.

Meanwhile, the distraction passes on by. And your dog remains cool as a cucumber 😎

Don't let anyone tell you your dog is a lost cause.

With the right approach, even the most challenging dogs can focus and relax.

Have a go at a Sequence today using cues your dog already knows.

Ever cried over spilled coffee after a tough week? Your 'spilled coffee' moment is your dog's barking 'at nothing' momen...
27/01/2025

Ever cried over spilled coffee after a tough week?

Your 'spilled coffee' moment is your dog's barking 'at nothing' moment.

Understanding this connection will transform your relationship with your pup.

Stress is rarely just about the moment - it's cumulative.

That's trigger stacking, and your dog experiences it too.

Each stressor your dog encounters is a flame being lit:

The doorbell rings 🔥
A delivery person approaches 🔥
A loud vehicle passes by 🔥
Your neighbour's dog barks 🔥

Individually, these might not affect your dog too much. But stack them up on top of each other?

BAM! 💥

Your dog reacts in a way that seems totally out of proportion.

That reaction may look like aggression, over-the-top-excitement, or ears-switched-off-ignoring-you.

Understanding trigger stacking changes everything. It helps you see the world through your dog's eyes and anticipate when they might struggle.

Next time your dog seems to overreact, or react out of the blue, or they react to something they're usually fine with, take a step back.

It could be trigger stacking.

Recognising these patterns is the first step to helping your dog cope better with stress.

Trigger Stacking was one of the popular themes we covered in last week’s Stress Free Dog Walks Challenge. If you would like to watch the replay, drop me a message 💌

P.S. We all have our 'spilled coffee' moments! 🫶

I've been keeping this a secret from Club Dogwood 🤫We're coming to the end of a full trip around the sun since we starte...
26/01/2025

I've been keeping this a secret from Club Dogwood 🤫

We're coming to the end of a full trip around the sun since we started 'The Adventurer's Almanac' last February. And what a joy it has been.

The Almanac was our gateway to forging a deeper connection with the natural world and nurturing a positive, resilient mindset so we can show up calm and confident for our dogs.

When members claim their Almanac Award, I'm gifting them an embroidered patch... plus a mini version for their dog!

🌲 That's as well as planting a tree for every Almanac Award earned.

Congrats, Three-Six-Five Scentventurers! ✨

Let me tell you a little secret…The moment you shift your mind, you shift your life 🧠✨Your thoughts are POWERFUL. What y...
23/01/2025

Let me tell you a little secret…

The moment you shift your mind, you shift your life 🧠✨

Your thoughts are POWERFUL. What you focus on becomes your reality. When you're stuck in negative beliefs like "I'm not good enough for my dog" or "this training technique will never work," guess what?

Your actions follow that path, and you end up proving yourself right 🙃

But the second you choose to think differently - when you start believing in yours and your dog's potential, focusing on possibility instead of pessimism - you change EVERYTHING.

It's not woo-woo; it's science 👩🏻‍🔬

Your brain looks for proof of whatever you think about most. So when you think, "I can do this," your mind starts finding ways to make it happen.

I've seen it firsthand in our Stress Free Dog Walks Challenge this last week.

Shifting your mindset doesn't mean all your problems disappear, but it DOES mean you're seeing them differently - and that changes how you show up for your dog.

Choose one unhelpful thought to let go of today. Your dog will thank you for it 🧡

🤔Do you ever feel like your dog is just… different?🧐And so they need something different… 🤨Something you can’t quite put...
22/01/2025

🤔Do you ever feel like your dog is just… different?
🧐And so they need something different…
🤨Something you can’t quite put your finger on…
😖Like an itch you can’t scratch.

When Kate adopted Maddie, she got all of the uuuusual questions 🥱

‘’People kept asking about her recall and could I let her off the lead yet?’’ Kate said.

Yet something didn’t sit right with her, ‘’but I couldn’t articulate it.”
Then Kate started ‘The Roadmap to Stress Free Walks’ programme — a unique approach that combines strategy with a deep understanding of what dogs truly need to calm down, listen and thrive. For Kate, it was like finally scratching that itch.
💬‘’I really loved the approach. I had been feeling that it was what I needed to do since adopting Maddie in September. Scentventure gave me a way to understand this and to explain it to other people, as well as feeling more confident and having a structured approach with tools to use.’’

Through The Roadmap, Kate gained the clarity, confidence, and practical techniques she’d never been able to find the words for. And Maddie flourished.
What about you? If you feel like something’s just not clicking, The Roadmap is likely the part that’s missing. But don’t wait too long - the doors close at 10pm 🐕💨

If only dogs came with a manual 📚Chances are, no one sat you down before you got your dog and said, “Here’s how their br...
22/01/2025

If only dogs came with a manual 📚

Chances are, no one sat you down before you got your dog and said, “Here’s how their brain works. Here’s what they need to stay calm. Here’s how to make sense of their all of their behaviours.”

And yet, many of us feel like we should just *know* 🤷🏻‍♀️

I want to take the pressure off you. Of course you’re not expected to automatically know how your dog works.

That’s not a reflection of you—it’s just the reality of sharing your life with another species.

In every other area of life, we know we need to put in a little time for learning. Why should dogs be any different?

😵‍💫 You can’t solve what you don’t understand. A bark isn’t just a bark. A lunge isn’t just a lunge. Behind every behaviour is a need or stressor. Learning to decode these signals is how you will keep your dog feeling safe and calm - and yes, well behaved.

🧩 Behaviour isn’t random—it’s rooted in your dog’s biology and environment. Learning how to interpret their cues and meet their species-specific needs is fundamental if you want relaxing walks.

🧘🏽‍♀️The more YOU understand, the calmer and more effective you become. That confidence has a ripple effect, and you will see better behaviour from your dog as a result.

What would happen if you let go of the idea that you need to figure out all the answers alone and allowed yourself to be supported instead?

That’s the first step to a calmer, happier life and easier, relaxing dog walks.

You don’t have to do this on your own anymore. The doors to The Roadmap are open - but only until 10PM TONIGHT.

You’ll have coaches that understand you, a community to welcome you, and experts to guide you 🧡

Address

Redmarshall Road
Stockton
TS211EX

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Our story

Welcome to the North East’s first Dog Adventure Park!

Dogwood Adventure Play is set across seven acres of countryside and comprises of two enclosed fields and a training paddock. Our purpose-built fields are available for you and your dog to hire on an individual basis all year round, seven days a week.

Ideal for dogs that cannot be let off lead in public places – perhaps because they do not enjoy meeting other dogs, or for those that don’t have great recall skills, puppies or adult dogs who need to work on training in an enclosed environment, owners of rescue dogs who would like to bond with their new companion, or anyone else who enjoys watching their dog run free.

Bring a ball or your dog's favourite toy, make use of the Adventure Play frames or just relax while your dog sniffs and explores the fascinating environment rich with scent. You have exclusive use of the field during your booking. Our coded double-gate entry system and carefully timed slots mean that you won’t be disturbed. In-field parking allows you to lock the gate before letting your dogs out of the car. Adventure Play equipment is provided to increase confidence, range of motion, strength and balance in dogs, while the Sensory Garden is made up of a variety of smells and textures which reduce stress and anxiety, encourage dogs to be more secure in their surroundings, and provide additional stimulation and enrichment. After an initial Introduction Session, the facility is self-service and you will be sent a code to unlock the gates, along with full instructions.