Adventures await! Chase Joy. Run Free. Find Your Heart Song. 
Where tail wags meet tree whispers and every step is a fairytale in the making.

Nestled on 12 acres of private, enchanted woodland just minutes from Goderich, Ontario, Forest Tails is more than a camp—it’s a heart-centered haven where dogs are free to: run wild, chase wonder and remember what it means to be free.

Each visit is a soulful adventure, curated with care and intuition. Through forest trails, splashing pure spring-fed pond swims (seasonal), and nose-led exploration, your dog will experience physical freedom, whole-body conditioning, and a deeper sense of connection to themselves and other canine friends. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know before your dog’s Forest Tails adventure.

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Does my dog need to be social and friendly?
Yes. Forest Tails is a social adventure camp, so campers need to enjoy the company of other dogs. We carefully match personalities, energy levels and play styles. Think summer camp cabin assignments, but furrier.

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Do you offer overnight boarding?
No. We adventure by day and sleep in our own beds at night. Forest Tails is a daytime camp only.

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Do you pick up and drop off my dog?
Yes! Our Canine Chauffeur Service picks your dog up and brings them home after camp. Door to forest and back again.

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Do I need to be home for pick up and drop off?
Nope. We can arrange safe access with you ahead of time. Your dog may have a busier social calendar than you do.

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What happens at camp?
Forest trails, sniffing, social play, scent work, agility, enrichment, exploring and plenty of opportunities to simply be a dog. No two camp days are exactly alike.

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What time is camp?
Camp runs from 10:30-12:30. 

 

How long is camp? The adventure itself is approximately two hours, plus chauffeur time.

 

How long will my dog be gone?
Usually longer than the two hour camp session because we’re picking up and dropping off their camp friends too. Consider the van ride part of the experience. Every great camp needs a bus. (depending when your camper is picked up, he/she could be away from home for 3-4 hours). 

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Do you run camp in all weather?
Almost! Sunshine, snow, mud and a little rain are all part of outdoor adventure. We only change or cancel camp when conditions could be unsafe. Dogs are considerably less concerned about their hair than we are.

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Where is Forest Tails?
Five minutes south of Goderich on Highway 21, tucked away in our own little piece of dog heaven.

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Is Forest Tails fenced?
Forest Tails is a natural outdoor adventure environment rather than a fully fenced traditional daycare. Each dog’s recall, experience and comfort level are considered carefully.

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Can my dog participate on a leash?
Absolutely for one camp day. I am unable to permenantly have your dog on leash as I amange the whole pack and being off-leash is the experience.

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Does my dog need perfect recall or training?
Nope. Perfect dogs are suspicious anyway. We work with dogs as individuals and incorporate guidance and learning naturally throughout camp. Usually recall improves by 80+ percent after only a few camp sessions.

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Does my dog need to be spayed or neutered?
Not necessarily. We consider age, temperament, behaviour and compatibility individually. But I will only allow one unfixed dog per group to eliminate the obvious issues.

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Do you accept all breeds?
We look at the dog, not the label. Temperament, sociability and compatibility matter much more to us than breed.

 

Do you have different groups?
Yes. Groups are small and thoughtfully curated according to size, personality, energy and play style. We want your dog to find their people. Well… their dogs.

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How often should my dog come?
There’s no required schedule. However most campers come at least once per week,  some up to three. Some campers come every other week. Familiar campers also get the lovely benefit of building friendships over time.

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Will I get to see what my dog did?
Yes! We share photos and/or videos from camp. Fair warning: you may discover your dog has a whole life you knew nothing about.

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What should my dog bring?
Mostly themselves and their sense of adventure. We’ll tell you if anything special is needed that day. We supply the forest.

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What if I’m not sure my dog will fit in?
Ask us! Tell us about your dog, their personality and social experience and needs and we’ll help decide whether Forest Tails is right for them.

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What makes Forest Tails different from traditional daycare?
Forest Tails was created around what dogs naturally love: movement, nature, exploration, friendship, sniffing, learning and freedom. This is why I call it "adventure camp".....

It isn’t somewhere your dog simply spends a few hours.

It’s somewhere they get to have a life of their own for a little while.

And then the chauffeur brings them home. 🐾

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Why Do I Call It Adventure Camp?

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Because growing up, camp was one of those rare places where everyone belonged.

It didn’t matter where you came from, what your background was, what your grades were, or whether you were the loudest person in the room or the quietest.

You arrived as you were.

And somehow, surrounded by trees, water, dirt paths and open sky, all the things that seemed to separate us in the outside world became less important.

We played. We explored. We got dirty. We laughed until our stomachs hurt. We made friends with people we might never have met anywhere else.

And somewhere along the way, camp became more than a place.

It became a feeling.

A little community with its own language, rituals, friendships and memories. A place where you were known. A place where you belonged.

In a strange and beautiful way, going away to camp felt like coming home to yourself.

That is what I wanted Forest Tails Adventure Camp to be for dogs.

A place where a dog doesn’t have to perform.

Where nobody cares whether you’re the fastest runner, the strongest swimmer, the bravest dog in the forest, or the one who needs a little extra time before joining in.

You simply get to be a dog.

To put your nose to the earth and follow a scent simply because it fascinates you.

To splash through a pond.

To leap over a fallen log.

To run beneath the trees with friends you have come to know and trust.

To stop and investigate something completely invisible to every human standing nearby.

To gain confidence.

To discover what your body can do.

To learn the rhythms and boundaries of a group.

And sometimes, simply to stand quietly in the forest and take it all in.

No pressure.

No agenda.

Just movement, curiosity, friendship, expression and joy.

But there is something else happening out there that we cannot always see.

Nature is extraordinarily rich sensory territory for a dog.

A forest floor contains layer upon layer of information. Leaves, soil, water, bark, wildlife, plants, other dogs and yesterday’s rain create an ever changing landscape for a nose designed to investigate the world.

Sniffing isn’t wasted time.

It is part of how dogs gather information, make choices and understand their surroundings. Scent based exploration engages their minds and gives them opportunities to investigate, problem solve and make choices for themselves.

Then there is the environment itself.

Instead of fluorescent lights, concrete, traffic noise and the repetitive stimulation of human spaces, there is wind moving through leaves, uneven earth beneath their paws, changing scents, water, sunlight, shade and room to move.

Their bodies are working.

Their noses are working.

Their brains are working.

I sometimes think of it as allowing a dog’s nervous system to speak the language it was built to speak.

Nature has its own rhythms. Light, sound, scent, movement, temperature and season.

Dogs are exquisitely tuned into those changes.

At Forest Tails, spring does not smell like autumn.

Monday’s trail does not smell like Thursday’s trail.

The pond after rain is not the same pond it was on a hot August afternoon.

There is always something new to discover.

And when dogs return week after week with many of the same campers, something even more beautiful happens.

Familiarity grows.

Trust grows.

Confidence grows.

Friendships grow.

The forest stops being simply somewhere they visit.

It becomes somewhere they know.

Somewhere they belong.

But perhaps the most beautiful part of our relationship with dogs is that the healing has never travelled in only one direction.

We give them safety, food, adventure and a place to belong.

And somehow, they give us something just as profound in return.

Dogs watch us.

Our faces. Our gestures. Our voices. Our moods.

They seem to know when something in us has changed, sometimes before anyone else does.

Smile at a dog and watch what happens.

Their eyes soften. Their body changes. Sometimes that wonderful open mouthed dog grin appears.

And suddenly you are smiling even more.

Who made whom happier?

Perhaps that is part of the magic.

We reassure one another.

We regulate one another.

And sometimes, without ever realizing it, we bring one another home.

For many of us, there have been days when that relationship has meant far more than companionship.

There have been dark mornings when getting out of bed felt almost impossible, but somebody was waiting beside it with a wagging tail.

There have been heartbreaks survived one walk at a time.

There have been nights when the only living being we wanted beside us had four paws and said absolutely nothing.

Animals have carried people through grief, loneliness, illness, loss and chapters of life they weren’t sure how they were going to get through.

Sometimes they even give us a reason to keep going.

Feed me.

Walk me.

Come outside with me.

Stay.

Not spoken in words, of course.

They never needed words.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest things dogs teach us.

The deepest love is not always spoken.

Sometimes love is simply staying beside someone.

A head resting on your knee.

A body curled against yours.

A pair of eyes following you from room to room.

A tail that still celebrates your return as though you have been gone for years instead of twenty minutes.

Dogs remind us that love does not always need an explanation.

Sometimes the strongest love says nothing at all.

It simply stays.

And perhaps that is why creating a place where dogs themselves feel safe, understood and joyful matters so deeply to me.

They have done that for us for thousands of years.

Forest Tails is, in some small way, our opportunity to return the favour.

To give them a place where they are known.

Where friends, forest and adventures are always waiting.

Where, for a couple of glorious hours, nobody needs them to be anything other than exactly what they are.

A dog.

That is why I call it Adventure Camp.

Because camp was never simply somewhere you went.

It was somewhere you belonged.

Somewhere you were known.

Somewhere you were welcomed exactly as you were.

And somehow, beneath the trees and open sky, you found your way home.

Not to a place.

To yourself.

That is what I wanted for them, too.

Adventure Camp.

Because every dog deserves a place in this world that feels a little like coming home.

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