I took my Rottweiler to Hykeham dog pool and it was better than expected

Since adopting my Rottweiler I have been regularly looking for new ways to tire him out, and now that the days are getting shorter and colder, swimming is the perfect indoor activity. I've previously taken him for a swim at locations near Newark and Grantham as swimming is one of the best forms of exercise for dogs, but I have been looking for something a bit closer for a while.

Earlier this year Soggy Dogz opened in North Hykeham and I had been considering going for a while, but always found myself travelling to a location we had been to before or making the most of the warm weather by hiring a paddock or going for a walk somewhere new.

However, with the freezing temperatures we have had lately I have found myself taking Bear on shorter walks to keep him out of the cold. It's been difficult to get a session booked at other places we have visited before as there is such high demand, and so we finally decided to try Soggy Dogz, which is just off the A46 at the business park.

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I was initially a little unsure about the site as it cost £20 for 20 minutes, and we had previously booked 30 minute slots for the same price or cheaper at other sites. However, after we got there I was really impressed with the site, staff and the whole experience, it was definitely great value for money and better than I expected.

I checked the availability one Saturday morning and as luck would have it there was one session left for that particular afternoon, so I quickly snapped that up. The booking process was really easy and we got to the site around 15 minutes early so we would have time for Bear to have a wee and I could change.

Pet owners don't have to go in the pool with the pets, it's up to each person individually, but I know from experience that Bear is incredibly cheeky and will swim in circles in the centre of the pool when it's time to get out where nobody can reach him. There are parking spaces right outside the business, and opposite these is a small area of artificial grass which encourages pets to go to the toilet, which saved us endlessly walking around the car park hoping he would go.

The owner Abi was incredibly lovely and welcomed us into the warmth, and as it was our first visit we had a health and safety form to fill out, but this didn't take long and whilst I was completing that she was giving Bear some fuss. There was a large changing room so I went in there to get ready and was pleased to see a steel ring on the wall, which you can use to clip your dog's lead to.

I forgot to bring Bear's life jacket with me but Abi had a large range of jackets available to borrow, and I was really pleased there was one big enough to support a 50kg dog. After a couple of minutes we were in the pool and Bear was deciding which toys to bring in, which was almost all of them.

I used the ladder to get in at one end, but a little further down on the pool there was a large ramp that allowed dogs to carefully get in and out, which is perfect for dogs that might be a bit more nervous. Abi was super lovely and even took out all of the smaller balls and found some larger ones instead to make sure Bear didn't accidentally choke on as he is a giant dog.

The 20-minute session flew by, and although we are used to a little longer Bear was absolutely tired. The pool was bigger than I expected, and all of the changing facilities were lovely and the toys were a good quality so I felt it was worth the price.

Plus there are deals available for people with multiple dogs or wanting longer sessions, group sessions or introduction to water classes, such as 40 minutes for £35 or two dogs for £30 for 20 minutes. However, the best thing they do is dog pool parties, which I could not believe but thought this was the cutest idea ever.

Bear was not too happy about getting out of the pool, but once he was out and on the other side of the building a little gate was put across so he couldn't suddenly run off and launch himself into the pool. After getting dried off and changed we made our way back to the little reception area and was thrilled to get a little stamp loyalty card.

I love things like this, and it's a great incentive to keep people coming back. Plus, after eight visits you get a free 20 minute session for free, which means you would have got nine sessions for the price of eight, making it an average of £17.77. The whole place had a really lovely atmosphere and it was all nice and warm, and the staff lovely.