Our story and why
Dogwood is important to us

We’re a family who loves dogs, and all of our dogs have their own personalities (including voices). There’s something for them all in this wood.

Songo is a very handsome young man who did not have the best start in life. Although he is extremely loving and friendly with his family and close friends, he struggles when it comes to interacting with other dogs. This means his public walks are mostly on a long lead or on bad days a very short one. While helping Songo overcome these problems, we had to find a space where he could run freely off the lead and enjoy a woodland walk without the risk of running into other dogs.

Zesa is a totally loyal black lab, but at 10 years old is becoming a bit of an old lady. She’s not keen on racking up the miles, hates a pavement/road which feels a bit hard on her joints now, but loves a woodland wander with plenty of smells to keep her keen “gundog” nose trained. If she’s particularly lucky she might even flush out a pheasant.

And then there’s Flint, a very foolish flat-coated retriever. He’s daft as a brush, as friendly as they come but completely distractable and whilst he can hear the sound of a biscuit dropping in to the dinner bowl from 500 metres, seemingly he’s not that great at hearing his name or whistle when faced with, well anything really…

We created Smeaton Dogwood as a place for all dogs, and their owners, looking for a relaxed, stress free, woodland walk.