How it all started

About Us

In early 2022 we lost two of our dogs and one of our cats within 3 months of each other. They were all good ages (14, 15 and 14) and had had long and happy lives, but it was still really tough losing them so close together. We wanted a break from getting any more pets to focus on our remaining two dogs and cat. We had rescued a labrador during lockdown and he was very nervous, so we wanted to work on his confidence around people. Walking could be difficult for him because everyone had got dogs during lockdown and there were lots more people around – although the flip side is that he loves other dogs.

Of course, our hearts were not as sensible as our heads, and we saw a Facebook post about a rescue charity in Cyprus that had puppies and were enchanted by a little black and tan girl puppy whose ears were bigger than the rest of her. We researched hound type dogs to ensure we knew what to expect, applied for her and were approved. And so, Olive came into our lives – virtually at first through photos and videos until she was old enough to travel to the UK. Olive arrived in the UK in June 2022 in a whirlwind of long legs, flapping ears and little hound howls.  She was immediately confident and independent but fitted in well and was definitely a character.

It quickly became apparent that as soon as she stepped into the outside world, we were of little interest to her and all she wanted to do was run and run often disappearing from view for heart stopping moments, until she reappeared at full speed. Sometimes she chased other dogs or butterflies and birds but often she just ran for the joy of running. Not so joyful for us though as we worried about her getting onto roads, in with livestock or just getting lost. No amount of training, long leads, toys, nice treats and silly voices made any difference and walks became stressful and frustrating for Olive and us. It was also harder to focus on our other dogs – one an older dog who couldn’t walk far and a younger dog who was nervous. We also noticed that on our walks we met more dogs who were playful, intrusive or had poor recall so it was hard trying to manage Olive on a lead.

We went on holiday to Anglesey and the owner of the holiday cottage had a secure field business and as part of your stay you got sessions in the field. This was life changing. We could walk without worrying about losing Olive or battling with her on a lead, our older dog could potter and our young labrador could chase his ball. We haven’t looked back and now regularly use secure fields.

I retired in 2021 and wanted to do something meaningful and close to my heart. Once we started using secure fields, we realised the enormous impact they had on the lives of so many dogs and their owners and for so many different reasons – their dog is nervous, reactive to other dogs or people, in training or a flight risk like ours. We have also come to realise that with the rise in dog ownership during covid lots of people use fields just for a peaceful walk without lots of dogs and people. Setting up our own secure field felt like a great solution for us to use ourselves and to support other dogs and their owners.  We looked for the right field for almost a year until we saw one just outside Hadfield with stunning views and a sense of peace and space. After a tense auction the field was ours and our dream of Hounds Haven was one step closer to reality.