Royvon is a family business, established in 1959 in Merthyr Tydfil by Roy and Yvonne. Their son Darren grew up around dogs and started his dog training practice skills on the dogs that came to stay for boarding, to the delight of customers who saw their dogs progress quickly.
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2 customer reviews
Wendy
My dog comes along for boarding a few times a year. Staff are always friendly and caring and my dog really enjoys the add-ons, eg. enrichment sessions or social walks. More...
Rachel Gorman
Hi Darren, it’s Rachel here - Frankie’s owner. I just wanted to reach out and thank you from the absolute bottom of my heart for all that you and your simply fabulous team at Royvon have done for Frankie and in turn for me and my partner during this unthinkable situation where my partner was seriously injured in an accident in France and we were unable to return to the UK as planned.
Knowing that Frankie was being cared for so expertly and so compassionately was a huge weight off my mind during the most difficult time of my life. Thank you for making everything so easy, for liaising with my friends when I felt too overwhelmed to get in contact and for making it possible for friends to pick Frankie up on our behalf. Please could you pass on my heartfelt thanks to all your incredible staff, for caring for Frankie so incredibly and for all the wonderful, uplifting updates & photos I received each day. I am leaving you a 100 star review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you again. I will never, ever forget what you have done for us…. and we have definitely found the most wonderful people to look after our beloved beagle Frankie for every future occasion 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Rachel, Neil & Frankie 🐾🐾
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What do you love most about your job?
Dogs! Everyone in our team is united by a love of dogs. We share the belief that positive, force-free training is a real treat for dogs, who love the engagement and play, whatever their personality. We love giving them the best holiday while boarding and nothing beats helping a dog to turn their life around in residential training.
What inspired you to start your own business?
Royvon is a family business, celebrating 65 years in 2024. Started by the parents of current owner, Darren James, it is now run alongside his wife Hannah. The business is always evolving, open to feedback and looking for more ways to support dogs and their owners to live happy lives together. Darren was inspired to start training dogs because he saw the devastating result of poorly trained dogs being put to sleep and wanted to make a difference. This is one of the main reasons why there is never any judgement when someone comes in at their wit's end with their dog: turning up shows how much you care and we are with you every step of the way.
Why should our clients choose you?
Our services are intentionally broad to help people with whatever challenges they are facing. Our boarding is suitable for dogs of all personalities and many choose us for dogs that suffer with anxiety, knowing that their dog can have a schedule to suit their needs.
Our training include everything from initial assessments with an expert trainer to get some input into any issues you are experiencing, to our signature residential training: a three week intensive programme where your dog stays with us to work with their trainer on agreed goals. At the end of the three weeks, owner training begins and we support you throughout your own journey to embed the training and become the focus of your dog's attention, even in uncertain environments or situations.
We only use modern, positive, force-free training methods, backed by the latest scientific understanding.
Can you provide your services online or remotely? If so, please add details.
For those who aren't close enough to one of our sites and would benefit from expert input before committing to training or boarding, we offer online assessments. We are able to offer some types of owner training via Zoom but this will depend on the training goals.
Dog training
At Royvon, we have been caring for, developing and training dogs for three generations. No matter what situation brings you to us, we will have experienced it before and will be able to advise and reassure you that we can help.
The Royvon dog training philosophy is centred on two things: our love of dogs and the belief that a well-trained dog can live happily in the company of confident owners who feel they can take them anywhere.
The 1-2-1 session will help to determine what you dogs’ development areas are as well as how much support you may need during home training. You will find the session informative and useful, hopefully fun too, regardless of what you decide to do next.
The dog trainer who spends time with you and your dog will make a recommendation on the non-residential dog training programme or combination of programmes that will best suit your goals. With the right focus at home on training before behavioural issues set in, and the expert input of Royvon dog trainers, your dog will likely never need residential training.
The dog trainer who spends time with you and your dog will make a recommendation on the programme or combination of programmes that will best suit your goals. With the right focus at home on training before behavioural issues set in, and the expert input of Royvon trainers, your dog will likely never need residential training.
Residential Dog Training
Our flagship residential dog training programme offers a smart solution for a variety of needs. If you are struggling with a particular aspect of your dog’s behaviour it may feel like a huge relief to bring your dog to Royvon and let us take on the training. Through an intense three-week period, we see huge shifts time and time again. We work with your dog every day to help them overcome behavioural issues they have or to continue to develop their obedience skills, the programme is based on your requirements and your dog’s needs.
When it comes to the time to collect your dog, they will not just be pleased to see you but will be proud to demonstrate what they have learned. We will talk you through their training experience to conclude phase one of the dog training programme.
Phase two is the three month continuation of dog training at home, focussing on owner training. We will set you and your dog up for success and help you on the journey to continue building on their new skills. Training is a life-long activity and an intense residential stay is a super-charged way to move forward in the right direction or reset from the wrong one.
While your dog is enjoying the stimulation of training and socialising with other dogs, where appropriate, you can enjoy a holiday away knowing that they are well looked-after in our award-winning dog-hotel style accommodation. We even create a WhatsApp group for the team who are caring for your dog to share videos about your dog’s wellbeing and training progress. While you’re visiting exotic new cities or just relaxing on the beach, your dog is having a great time discovering new experiences and getting in some relaxation time too!
Our team are on hand 24 hours a day to ensure dogs are safe, healthy and happy, getting the attention they deserve. Both our Esher and Merthyr Tydfil training sites are licensed, insured and secure and our experienced staff are trained in dog first aid, as well as loving dogs and sharing plenty of affection and reassurance when your dog is away from their family.
Puppy Training Classes
(3-6 months)
Once your puppy is fully vaccinated, the fun begins! Our small group puppy classes have been created using everything we know about the young dog brain. Groups are kept limited so that puppies have chance to socialise without being overwhelmed. Suitable for puppies from three to six months, this series of six on-site classes will take you and your little one through all of the basics that will become essential life skills. This includes mat training, how to play with your puppy to build focus and trust, helping them to feel comfortable at the vet and a variety of skills that we will practice in a variety of environments. Puppy classes book up in advance, please get in touch to add your name to the next available class block.
Puppy Training
(3-6 months)
These one-to-one, 45 minute sessions with one of our puppy training experts are ideal for those who can’t make our puppy classes but still want to get going with training while pup is young, before they reach adolescence. This is an ideal stage to step in and embed the right desired behaviours using positive training techniques, before things like stubbornness and an unexpected decline in listening can often set in! Your puppy will be forming a strong sense of their own personality at this stage and you will likely have some key areas that you want some support with. This one-to-one service allows us to focus on these while making sure you as the owner are as involved in training as possible. You can book the timing of these sessions to suit you but we do recommend keeping sessions close together, especially for young dogs, to stimulate increased learning and progression.
Reactive Dog Training (non-residential)
Reactive Dog Training Programme
If you have a reactive dog, it can deeply affect the relationship between you and cause stress about taking your dog for a walk, let alone spending more time together on further adventures. The aim of our reactive dog training programme is to turn that feeling around so that you can both enjoy walks on a loose lead.
Over a six week period, using a combination of 1-2-1 training and group maintenance classes where you can practice your training in a controlled environment, you will learn the skills required to gain confidence with your dog and build trust between you.
Dog Boarding
Dog Hotel Accommodation:
Every dog has their own private, temperature-controlled inside room and an outside area, with caring staff on hand 24 hours a day. What they get up to during their days with us is up to you and your dog’s personality. You can select from a wide range of enrichment activities, from play sessions to expert training lessons, woodland walks to brain puzzles.
Country Retreat:
Offering the same private indoor and outdoor accommodation, our country retreat is at the foot of the Brecon Beacons, offering additional options for running and exploring the wide paddocks and local green spaces. You can still build your dog’s schedule to suit their needs, including training with our qualified team.
Royvon Playhouse:
As well as offering fun, active daycare, our Royvon Playhouse centre combines everything we know about the enrichment of dog play and socialising with secure boarding. With focused dog care from our team 24 hours a day, boarding here is like an action-packed holiday where your dog will make plenty of new friends. While the programme for group playtimes is structured, you can add on extra enrichment activities to suit your dog’s needs. Owing to the open play nature of our Playhouse, we can only accept non-reactive dogs for this type of boarding.
Residential Dog Training:
Royvon developed the first residential dog training programme of its kind and we are proud to continue to evolve to deliver this intensive training to dogs and families that need it. This option is suitable for dogs with behaviour issues as well as those who need more general obedience training. Residential Training is three weeks, with a committed trainer working directly with your dog and reporting back to you on progress. At the end of their stay, your trainer will continue to work with you through ‘owner training’ to give you all the tools you need to continue training at home.
Dog Daycare (Playhouse Bridgend)
The space at Royvon Playhouse has been designed for dogs to have their happiest holidays. Large outdoor spaces offer room to roam securely, play equipment to climb on, race around and try out some new activities. Large indoor paddocks provide play spaces for new dog friends to enjoy their stay in their own style, whatever the weather. Royvon Playhouse offers dog-friendly dogs free flow extended playtime, from 8am to 4pm each day. Dogs that have anxiety or aggression issues have other suitable options to ensure they have lots of exercise and fun in a suitable environment. Toys are provided and staff get actively involved with having fun with the dogs.
