Take a peek at pooches inside a doggy day care centre

Her staff includes a dog behaviourist and she has team members who have all done animal care courses. During the day, dogs, who might otherwise be spending their days alone in a house, awaiting an owner’s return, come to the centre to run about with their ‘friends.’ And, just like in an infant day care centre, the dogs form friendship groups and partnerships – occasionally the most unlikely of friendships. Two of the best buddies who regularly attend The Barkyard are a giant Newfoundland and a diminutive West Highland Terrier. “They are inseparable,” says Jennifer, who blames loneliness for many serious dog behaviour issues. She explained: “We get people who say that their dog is tearing their house apart when they’re out. “Of course they are because they’re being left for eight hours at a time. When dogs are in day care with us we play games with them all day and they go home exhausted.

“Obesity is the biggest problem for dogs these days, but we have had dogs who have been obese when they came to us but after a few weeks are a normal size.”

She also believes that some prospective dog owners don’t do enough research before choosing an animal and end up with the wrong breed.

But she acknowledges that this is a difficult problem to address.

As she points out: “We had a free workshop on how to buy a healthy, happy puppy and not one person turned up.”

In the evenings and weekends The Barkyard hosts all manner of dog training courses, including flyball and agility classes that Jennifer teaches. There are even courses for children to learn how to handle dogs and a new doggy slimming class is about to start, hosted by a veterinary nurse.

Once a month the venue holds an adoption day, at which local dog rescue charities – typically Canine Allsorts, Knine and Kitty Care and the Pennine Animal Welfare Society – aim to find new homes for the animals in their care. The next one is on Saturday, March 24, from 11am.

Jennifer says the events have a 75% success rate and are a practical way to match up dogs with owners.

She explained: “The dogs have to be happy to have people around them and generally be OK with other dogs, but if they aren’t then we give them their own space.

“We think it’s a good way to meet a dog. If you go to a kennel you can’t see what the dog’s really like, but at our adoption days you can be out there playing with a dog and find out more about it.”

She’s eager to help adopters, offering training and providing three months of free stayand-play sessions for new owners of rescue dogs. The Barkyard also raises funds for the charities.

Jennifer says: “I always consider we are a business with an altruistic side; you can act as a charity and still make money.”