Why Enrichment Leads to Happier Dog Boarding
At Royvon, our mission is simple: to give dogs the happiest, healthiest, most enriching lives. While dogs are boarding with us, this means experiences that help them to feel great, even when they are away from the family they love. In the past, dog boarding meant just providing food, shelter, and maybe a walk or two. But we know it takes more than that to keep your dog’s tail wagging while they are boarding.
That’s why enrichment is at the very heart of everything we do. Dogs love enrichment; it taps into their natural instincts, offers mental stimulation, builds confidence, and helps to calm them. It’s a workout for the brain, body and nervous system, and it makes them feel good too.
Fifteen years ago, we pioneered nose-to-nose play in the UK, giving dogs safe social opportunities while boarding. At the time, people thought we were mad to allow dogs to interact nose-to-nose, but we proved that it could be done safely, with massive benefits for the dogs. Thanks to happier, less stressed dogs, our boarders became healthier and happier, and our vet visits reduced by 75%.
But even nose-to-nose play didn’t meet the needs of every guest. We recognised two special groups who needed the same level of stimulation and fun, but who couldn’t enjoy the group play sessions:
- Anxious dogs, or dogs who prefer human company over other dogs
- Dogs who can be reactive or who display undesirable behaviours with other dogs
For these dogs, enrichment activities have been transformative, fostering calm confidence, structured focus, and an outlet for their energy, all customised to their needs.
How We Customise Enrichment for Every Dog
No two dogs are the same, especially when they board. Some dogs are used to their owner working from home, with constant companionship and social enrichment. Others may be used to more solo time with minimal daily attention.
This means their needs when they board will be completely different. We use our knowledge and more than 65 years of experience to match dogs to the right enrichment activities. At Royvon, enrichment is a cornerstone of how we care for dogs. Every staff member is trained to deliver it with passion and skill, reading each dog’s body language and preferences so that enrichment is truly enjoyable.

Enrichment pillars at Royvon cover:
✅ Play
✅ Social interaction
✅ Sensory experiences
✅ Cognitive problem-solving
✅ Calm/rest skills
These pillars allow us to tailor enrichment to every dog, building their trust that they are in a safe, nurturing and rewarding environment and helping them feel confident, fulfilled, and relaxed while staying with us.
We have also invested in creating dedicated enrichment areas at each of our locations, like Scent Spaces, Sensory Gardens, and Enrichment Zones, so dogs can safely explore, play, and learn every day.
Because our team genuinely loves dogs, they love working with dogs on enrichment. It’s a two-way street, because a happy team helps dogs to have their best stay and happy dogs make for a motivated team!
Feel reassured by our many excellent reviews
Your dog or pup is in safe hands with Royvon
It has been very difficult for us to leave Riley in anybody else’s care because he requires experience and a controlled environment and we were blown away by how intuitively and confidently the team at Royvon took care of him and put our minds at ease. Millie who checked Riley out was fantastic too and had spent extra time with him that morning, and everybody we met on site was so responsive, kind and professional. It is life changing to know there is a place we can trust with a tricky but beloved dog, and we are looking forward to Riley building strong relationships with the team there. Thank you Tilly, Millie and all at Royvon!
Sisu absolutely loves it at Royvon and gets excited every time we pull into the car park!
From the moment we drop her off, we know she’s in great hands. The staff are professional, caring and clearly passionate about what they do.
Sisu always comes home happy, healthy and tired after enjoying days packed with play, training and love from the team :).
It gives us total peace of mind knowing she’s getting great care and we never hesitate to book her into Royvon when we’re going away.
We highly recommend Royvon!
I can now go on holiday knowing that my dog will be having a great time too.
Alfie and familyxx
Both Leo and Pippin had a great time at Royvon, staff all very pleasant and clearly love working with the dogs. The videos of the dogs out and about shows how happy they are whilst on their holidays. Wouldn’t hesitate to use Royvon again.
Over the last few months, Mimi has done a brilliant job of training both Gus and me and I cannot recommend her and Royvon highly enough. Gus responded to her immediately and tried so hard to do everything that she asked of him. Her patience and clear understanding of what Gus and I were struggling with was reassuring. The notes sent after each training session were so helpful and ensured that I was consistent with training between sessions. At 12 months old, Gus will now walk on a loose lead, check in with me before going to another dog and sit quietly as other dogs walk by. We have both loved every 1:1 session with Mimi and look forward to doing more training with her.
We dropped Maysie off for her initial assessment with Romeo all muzzled up to be safe. We spent approx an hour and a half with him, walked through his training routes including the town, playing fields and railway station. We watched some of the training techniques he would be using and then we left her there looking very sorry for herself. Within an hour of us leaving Romeo sent a video through of them both and Maysie was eating treats out of his hand - muzzle free.....we were absolutely gobsmacked! We visited again the 3rd day for a training seasion and then left her there for her residential. We received daily updates, photos and videos from the Royvon Team showing how she was improving and also enjoying additional playtime and socialisation with some of the other dogs.
When we returned to Royvon we had a 3 hour handover session with Romeo walking again through his training route. We were able to see how much Maysie had improved since our first visit and tried some of the techniques ourselves with guidance from Romeo. We then a further couple of hours with him again the following day before returning home with Maysie.
We have definitely seen positive improvements in her behaviour since she has been in training with Romeo and cared for by the Royvon team. She seemed to have taken really well to everybody there and had been giving them all her special Maysie cuddles by the time she left.
Over our first week at home we have been continuing to incorporate the training we have learned into our walks. It has been a bit of a challenging week transitioning back to home life but we are committed to putting the work in and Romeo has been keeping in touch with his invaluable guidance and support.
We have a follow up session booked in at the beginning of July and are confident that with the tools, guidance and additional support from Romeo and that Maysie will continue to improve and that these new behaviors she is learning will just become natural for her.
Romeo is undeniably passionate about his dogs in his care. He genuinely wants to achieve a positive outcome for both dogs and their owners. His professionalism, knowledge, understanding and empathy shown towards Maysie and his ongoing follow up support for ourselves has been nothing short of amazing. We can't thank Romeo and the Royvon team enough and look forward to returning back to visit in July.
Especially Tilly, Millie and Ella who looked after my German Shepherd Ralphy. It was so clear to see how loving, caring and attentive you all were with him … it truly made a difference.
When I got home, he was relaxed, happy and clearly well looked after. It’s a huge comfort knowing he’s in such good hands.
Thank you again for all the love you gave him.
I love getting the daily photo updates and seeing him playing with his friends. It’s such a relief knowing he’s in a safe and stimulating environment while I’m at work.
Highly recommend to any dog parent looking for peace of mind and a tired, happy dog at the end of the day!
Olive has just completed her three weeks intense training and it’s like we’ve brought home a different dog. Not only is she calmer in the house, but we can now walk her without her being petrified of every noise and person that comes near her. She’s even just walked the school run with me.
Romeo and the team at Royvon have been a godsend to us, and we can’t wait to see how much further they can help Olive grow into a much loved happy and confident family pet.
I found royvon by sheer chance and it’s changing our lives. The staff were from the very first contact to his stays now so comforting and reassuring, seeing my obvious nerves about Hunters behaviour Chloe especially gave me all the time in the world, listening to my ever ending knowledge dump about hunter, why’s he’s like this, triggers, how once he’s settled he’s lovely and since the day of his confidence stay i’ve not looked back. dropping him off to strangers which is absolutely my worst fear with a reactive dog and they set such an energy he’s excited to leave me and settles in so happily. I get regular updates of how he is, what he’s doing, anything they want to tell me and it is just the best thing to open my phone to. i get photos and videos of walks and play, updates on his eating.
from someone who suffers constantly stress of a dog with behavioural issues, this is the absolute best care i’ve had for him hands down. i can’t thank the Esher team enough, especially his main handler chloe for the time and patience they give us
When we went back for our top up session, Orphy was super excited to drive through the gates and could not wait to get out of the car! We did about an hour with Charlie, going over techniques to keep Orphy interested and help us with her ongoing training while she’s at home. The refresher appointments are a nice touch and definitely worthwhile!
We absolutely recommend Royvon and are so grateful to have found them!
We want to say a huge thank you to Romeo, Kelsey, and the entire care team at Royvon. You took amazing care of Buddy, giving daily updates of his training sessions and group plays, which really helped to put our minds at ease. Buddy has built a lovely bond with Romeo and the team, and I’m sure he will look forward to any day plays there in the future.
Jasper was extremely reactive to just about everything, including people, dogs and traffic.
Through a lot of hard work, we have made so much progress with Romeo and Kelsey. They have really gone above and beyond to try and make him more manageable, and what a difference it’s made.
He is still reactive, mainly to dogs, but he can do so much more now. As with any German Shepherd puppy, we still have lots of work to do, but we believe we now have the tools to succeed thanks to Royvon.
We will still be coming back as Jasper has built a stone bond with both of his trainers, but we thoroughly recommend Royvon for anyone struggling with a difficult dog, or just a dog that needs training!
The choice of services available makes boarding here a seamless home away from home experience for our Labrador, Dune. The staff are friendly, welcoming and professional and our dog is always very well looked after. The daily updates and photos alongside Royvon's insta posts give us the confidence to leave our furry family member in their capable hands.
When we are away, we appreciate all the photos and comments about Dexter’s day! We are using you again next month! Thank you!
More reasons to trust Royvon


Brand New – Themed Enrichment
We’re taking enrichment to the next level by introducing themed enrichment events throughout the year, designed to keep both our guests and team engaged and excited.
For Summer 2025, we are proud to launch our first ever Royvon Summer Camp, inspired by the story of Camp Barkalot. Your dog will become a Scout for the summer, taking part in confidence-building adventures and enrichment games designed to build skills and spark joy.
Summer Camp will include:
- Scout Training activities like teamwork challenges and obstacle courses
- Scent-based quests in the forest-themed Scent Spaces
- Pawcasso art weeks where dogs get creative with safe paints and materials
- The Barklympics with playful competitions and prizes
- Earning badges (like the Happy Camper Badge, Scout Safety Badge, and Barklympian Badge) that celebrate your dog’s progress
Each week, there will be a new theme to keep enrichment fresh and fun. Whether your dog is a social butterfly or prefers 1-to-1 handler time, there’s something for every dog to love.
And you won’t miss out on all the fun too, we will send you updates from your dog’s activities everyday.

Benefits for You
Our enrichment programme benefits owners just as much as it benefits dogs:
- ✅ Peace of mind knowing your dog is cared for holistically
- ✅ A calm, confident dog coming home after their boarding stay
- ✅ Fewer behavioural problems developing or returning after a stay
- ✅ Confidence that Royvon knows your dog’s unique needs
We know it can be hard to leave your dog behind, but with Royvon’s enrichment approach, from calm enrichment to playful social activities and now themed events like Summer Camp, you can truly relax, knowing your best friend is safe, happy, stimulated, and loved.
Join Our Summer Camp Adventure
If you want your dog to experience the very best of modern, enrichment-based boarding, Royvon is the place, and this summer is the perfect time to start. Camp Barkalot at Royvon Summer Camp promises to be a memorable, confidence-building adventure for every dog.
Because dogs love enrichment, and enrichment makes for happy dogs in a boarding setting.
👉 Ready to book your dog’s place or learn more? Contact Royvon today and see how enrichment can change your dog’s boarding experience for the better.
