Zoomies Zone: The park where dogs get 2 acres of safe space all to themselves!

A south Liverpool dog lover has opened a zoomie park where dogs can have two acres of green space all to themselves to run around.

Anne McKenna created Zoomies Zone in Halewood to give owners somewhere close to the city to let their dogs off the lead safely.

Since it launched in August this year she’s had people coming from as far as Southport with their four-legged pals, either on their own or with friends they can interact well with.

Anne says there’s been a rise in the number of owners wanting a private place where their dogs can have fun without the worry of an incident with another dog or person.

And with American XL bullies due to be added to the list of banned breeds from December 31, meaning they’ll have to be kept muzzled and on a lead in public, she’s expecting that to go up even further.

“There are a lot of reasons why people use a dog park and the obvious one is reactive dogs,” she explains. “That can be reactive to other dogs, sometimes people, sometimes noise, there can be various triggers.

“Trying to walk a reactive dog is really difficult and it’s not always just your dog. You might take your dog out on a lead and be really sensible, but it could be other people letting their dog run up to yours.

“Those situations can make owners very nervous so to be able to go into an enclosed safe space, where there are high fences and nobody else there and to let them off the lead takes away that anxiety.

“When you watch what these dogs do when they’re here for the first time, some of them will look as if to say, ‘are you sure mum?’ and others will literally just run like mad the length of the field. It’s just so nice to see that especially when people tell you this is a dog that hasn’t ever been off the lead before.”

Anne says reactive dogs aren’t the only ones coming to Zoomies Zone, she also has dogs that can’t be let off a lead because they have poor recall, bitches on heat, rescue dogs and young dogs out for the first time after their vaccinations, as well as owners who are pregnant or have mobility issues.

This is her second dog adventure park – she opened the first one in Anglesey in the summer of 2021 to give visitors on holiday somewhere dog-friendly to go apart from the beach.

Halewood, where she’s from originally, was always a planned site but it proved difficult to make it happen.

“I’m the owner of four Labradors myself and I’ve always wanted to set up a secure park in Liverpool but finding land had proved near-impossible until one of my neighbours was selling this,” she explains. “We now have 16 acres on North End Lane, so we’ve turned two into Zoomies Zone and then we’ve got some woodland and horses grazing.

“As a local girl, it’s always been my dream to have a safe haven for dogs of all ages, sizes, temperaments and breeds while they exercise off lead.

“Not many will run for a full hour so we do have some 30-minute slots. Some dogs don’t run that much at all, they just like to mooch around, explore and sniff because that’s what comes naturally to dogs.”

Anne says she set about creating a space that combines what’s called natural enrichment for dogs, including mature trees, dog-friendly plants and a rainwater pond, with play stuff like obstacles, a tyre mountain and logs for them to climb and toys hanging on ropes.

Owners can choose to book a slot exclusively for their dog or dogs, or share the time with friends or family.

“As long as they know each other and know their dogs can interact well then they can come together. We would never advocate people booking with someone they don’t know, because it’s not a socialisation session for dogs that don’t know each other.

“Zoomies Zone is to give dogs some fun, either on their own or with others, and when you see them you can see how happy it makes them.”