The very first Sensory Garden in an animal shelter in the Netherlands! (as far as is known to the editors of the Dutch Snuffle garden project).

Alexis is assistant manager at the Bommelerwaard Animal Shelter. Earlier this year Alexis attended our workshop “Creating a snuffle garden for your dog”. Alexis said that they already do a lot for the dogs at the animal shelter in terms of enrichment such as offering snuffle mats, doing brain work games and they created a sensory garden for dogs.

The editors of the Sensory garden 4 dogs project were immediately pleasantly surprised, because we think a sensory garden in a shelter is important and want to promote it as much as possible. A sensory garden has a positive effect on the well-being of shelter dogs. In the UK there have been sensory gardens in shelters for many years, in the shelter in Genk in Belgium there is also a sensory garden. And in 2020 a sensory garden has been realised in the animal shelter in Kaiserslautern in Germany. The chairman Anne Knaube said during an interview that they are very enthusiastic about the positive effect of a sensory garden for dogs*

So it's about time for us for an interview with Alexis from this great shelter. The interview took place by telephone on July 15, 2022.

Sensory Garden 4 Dogs:  Where is the Sensory Garden located in the shelter?

Alexis:  Behind the shelter there are 5 fields, of which 1 field is set up as a sensory garden for the shelter dogs. This is a temporary sensory garden because a new building is coming up. We hope that this will be completed by the end of the year and that the sensory garden can be put into use next year. This will be at the front of the building, which can also be visited by outsiders. The new sensory garden will therefore be furnished with different surfaces, sniffing plants, etc. At the moment, the temporary sensory garden is not open to outsiders, because owners with dogs then would have to walk past the shelter dogs, which in turn causes a lot of unrest among our dogs. Our idea is that then people will have a nice outing with the dog and at the same time they can help shelter dogs through their visit/donation.

Sensory Garden 4 Dogs: What does the Sensory garden look like?

Alexis: The sensory garden is about 8 x 8 metres big.  There are paving stones all around, some soil and grass in the middle. There is a wooden playhouse with a hard plastic slide at the back. An extra floor has been made, so that the dogs can easily go one floor higher. We left the slide on. Some daring little dogs even go down the slide. The big dogs examine the house from top to bottom. There is a large tree that provides shade. There are car tires, a pile of wood and stones scattered throughout the garden. There are sniffing mats scattered around that are sometimes filled with food. There are really all kinds of things used to let dogs sniff.

When the weather is nice, there are shells that we fill with water and sometimes we hide balls in them. Dogs really like this too. There are also digging options, so we excavated a piece with sand in it, but the dogs can actually dig anywhere.

Hills have been made containing sewer pipes. Dogs find this fun and exciting. However, this was made on a different field, because we try to make something interesting for the dogs on every field.

Sensory Garden 4 Dogs: Is the sensory garden fenced?

Alexis: The garden is fenced with wire mesh and there are sheet piles separating the fields. This is done so that the dogs can't see each other. The height is 2 metres 10. This is also done for more safety to prevent dogs from jumping over it. Dogs that are known to escape easily will only go into the fields where the mesh is slanted to avoid climbing.

Sensory Garden 4 Dogs: Do you see a positive effect of the sensory garden on the dogs?

Alexis: For many dogs it is desirable that they are busy with their heads. We have seen this, for example, in an ADHD dog, a real bouncing ball. This dog became completely relaxed after a sniffing session and was much calmer for the rest of the afternoon. You can see with many dogs that they are very interested in the sensory garden, where they can stimulate their senses.

Sensory Garden 4 Dogs: How Often Do Dogs Enter a sensory Garden?

Alexis: We mainly look at what a dog likes to do. One dog likes to play and the other dog likes to sniff. There are a number of other fields with activities for dogs. We try to find a daily change for every dog through a schedule. We also look at what a dog can or cannot handle. There is also a dog that demolishes and it therefore cannot not come into the sensory garden unless someone stays with it..

Sensory Garden 4 Dogs: When was the sensory garden established?

Alexis: I dare not say that because I have been working here for about 5 or 6 years and since then there has always been something of a sniffing garden. This sensory garden has been improved and expanded over the years.

Sensory Garden 4 Dogs: Is the sniffing garden also used for, for example, meetings with people who are interested in a dog?

Alexis: We don't meet interested parties in shelter dogs in our sensory garden, we usually do this outside the shelter, because dogs tend to be much more relaxed there. If people come with their own dog, the meeting is always outside. The shelter dog gets put on a safety harness and we first go for a walk to see how they react to each other.

Sensory Garden 4 Dogs: How Many Dogs are there at the moment?

Alexis: That varies a lot from week to week. Sometimes we have 10 dogs and then only 3. When kennels are empty, these kennels are used for people who want to house their dog somewhere during their vacation. This gives us extra income, which benefits the shelter.

Sensory Garden 4 Dogs: Thank you Alexis for your time and this interview. We would like to be kept informed of your good work and new construction. We would like to promote your future sensory garden via our website and FB page, so that hopefully you will receive extra donations by then.

We hope that other shelters in the Netherlands and other countries have been extra inspired to start something too.

Another great way to help shelter dogs is that there are also sensory gardens that make their garden available to shelter dogs. Such as, for example, the Breda shelter. They have entered into a collaboration with sensory garden “Snuffeltuin Pawsitive” in Breda and the indoor sensory garden “Dogs own choice” with the local shelter in Hoogkarspel.

If you want to read more about Animal Shelter Bommelerwaard in Bruchem or if you are interested in the dog Noeska from the picture you can find info on

https://dierenasiel-bommelerwaard.nl/