We Are Developing Dogs
Welcome to Ely Dogs Activity Meadows at Developing Dogs, located just outside Ely in the beautiful Cambridgeshire countryside. Our meadows are co-owned and run by Sian Ryan – canine training and behaviour expert and familiar face from BBC2’s Me and My Dog. Drawing on years of practical experience and strong academic foundations, Sian has shaped every part of our fields to offer you and your dog the safest, happiest place to walk, train, and explore together.
Who We Are
Sian is supported by her husband, Paddy, co-owner of the meadows and the person behind much of the design and construction of our equipment. Alongside his work here, Paddy is also the Chief Coach for the women of Cambridge University Boat Club. If you follow the annual Boat Race, you may have seen him on the BBC preparing and supporting his crews.
How We Started
In 2014, we opened the Developing Dogs Training Centre and began sharing our fields whenever classes were not in session, offering a secure environment for dogs who needed safe, enclosed space. When we launched our Holiday Cottages in 2017, we reduced field hours to accommodate our guests – until 2021, when we were able to expand and create the dedicated fields now known as the Ely Dogs Activity Meadows.
What Matters to Us
Providing private, enclosed, thoughtfully designed spaces for dogs and their owners has always been central to what we do. Long before we opened our gates, it was a dream we were determined to make real. Today, we’re proud to offer a place where dogs of all kinds can enjoy freedom, fun, and safety – and where their humans can relax and enjoy the experience too.
We look forward to welcoming you to Ely Dogs Activity Meadows
CHECK OUT OUR LUXURY DOG FRIENDLY HOLIDAY COTTAGES
The most important team at Ely Dogs Activity Meadows are the resident dogs past and present, Riley, Woody, Buzz, and Cooper.
Celebrating Riley
The original and the best.
The reason Developing Dogs, Ely Dogs Activity Meadows, and Holidays With My Dogs exist.
The reason I completed my Clinical Animal Behaviour MSc, and why Paddy and I spent three years living 150 miles apart so I could keep learning at the University of Lincoln.
Riley came to us as a rescue at about a year old. She loved people and other dogs – until one day, she was attacked by an off-lead labradoodle while already in pain. That moment changed everything.
Back in 2008, living in London, I left my job to study dog behaviour and search for a location to create something new: a private dog walking field.
No one had really heard of the idea back then – most thought I was mad.
When we opened in 2014, we were among the very first in the UK. Now, private dog fields are an established part of farm diversification, with hundreds across the country.
Today, I’m proud to have been at the forefront of giving dogs and their people a place to walk in peace.
And above all, I’m proud to celebrate Riley.
She was the inspiration for it all – and her legacy lives on in every happy, safe walk that happens here.
Sian x