Is Howells Adventure Farm dog-friendly? Almost. Pet dogs are permitted in limited areas when the farm is open on regular family days. However, Howells Farm, located in Fonthill, Ontario, does host Howells Dog Days on select days throughout the season, which is a great compromise.

Many farms open to the public are dedicating select days as ‘dog day’ in response to patron requests to bring their pups along. Howells Dog Days are examples of how to do ‘dog days’ right.

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Some festivals are doing the same (like the one I encountered in Louisville, Kentucky during Derby Week and pumpkin festival here). Designating specific days for pets is a good way to satisfy people for whom dogs are family, while balancing the concerns of those who might not share that enthusiasm.

This year, Howells’ Dog Day in the Sunflowers was particularly vibrant – fun vignettes including antique bathtubs and bikes were set up for photos among the sunflowers. Zinnias were in full bloom for bouquets, added vendors and pet store reps lined the entranceway, and the Niagara Humane Society benefitted from donations.

Agri-tourism and Working Farms

Agri-tourism has been a thing for a while – working farms that grow anything from corn to pumpkins to decorative flowers are opening their properties to the public for a fee. Many have upped the ante on the experience too, including Howells.

Climbing on hay bales is definitely fun for kids, but now many farms have added playgrounds, slides, climbing walls, sunflower, and lavender patches for photos (and picking at the end of the season). Howells has all that, and more.

Howells Adventure Farm

I first visited Howells Adventure Farm with my nephews fifteen years ago. I have fun photos of them being pulled in individual barrel carts painted like pumpkins pulled by a tractor. Halloween was the big deal at Howells. Back then, the farm was open to the public only around the haunting season.

How things have changed. Howells Adventure Farm is now open all summer, offering even more adventures and activities, and some of the same animatronic chickens, frogs, and singing skeletons. Today’s, map of the property looks like an Amusement Park from the mid-twentieth century and celebrates its 50^th anniversary in 2024.

Here are all the adventures Howells Farm offers:

• Tractor pulls
• Giant corn pit for digging
• Pirate Ship Playground
• Haystack Jumping Pillow (a trampoline)
• Double Doozy Tube slides, a basketball game, and climbing ropes
• Individual fire pits for rent Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 to 10:30 pm.
• Pens of goats, chickens, mules, and big and little pigs

On select ‘Dog Days’ only, your dog can experience the farm too. This includes photos in the sunflower fields and lavender patches. Lavender is in season early July, sunflowers in August, and pumpkins in October. You can even pre-book a professional photographer.

Preregistration to the dog event is necessary, so Howell’s staff can monitor numbers. One dog per person and admission is $20 per dog/person and, during Dog Day in the Sunflowers in August, includes a cut-your-own boutique of sunflowers and/or zinnias.

Summer Howells Dog Day

How did my dog do? Well, she did pull on the leash, as usual, and was very excited by all the stimulation. But we both got a lot of exercise walking along the gravel trails, up and down the hills, and past cages of animals. I kept her far back from the chickens – because my bird dog spaniel was waaay too interested in poultry. (See notes below). Fortunately, farms have a lot of space, which also helps with dog interaction.

My dog likes goats and makes play bows toward them. However, at Howells, I discovered something that does frighten my fearless canine: huge brown pigs. When the warthog-like face of a big brown pig turned to face my dog from behind an enclosure, my pup scampered back to me and hid by my leg. Turns out, pigs are scary. Apparently, so are tractors. Riding the wagon pulled by a large tractor along steep hills from the sunflower patch to the zinnia garden was not my dog’s favourite part of the day.

What did fascinate my spaniel were chickens (of course), the smells of the farm, and – oddly – the tube slides. She sat at the end of the slides watching intently as one kid after another appeared at the end of the tube. My pup left Howells after two hours of physical and brain activity, and I left with pumpkin donuts and a boutique of zinnias I’m glad I went back and gathered.

Pet Dogs and Pumpkins

During pumpkin buying season, pets are permitted to visit the small Beer and Wine Garden patio area at Howell’s and can come along to select your fall pumpkins on non-dog days.

However, if you want to roam the entire property with your pup, sign up for a dog day marked on the Howell’s Adventure Park online calendar with a paw print. The next dog-friendly day at Howell’s Adventure Farm is Dog Days in the Pumpkins, October 10, 2024. 5 to 9 pm. Check out other dog and pet events in Canada here.

What to consider when taking your dog to a working farm

Clearly, there are a few things to consider when taking your dog to working farms such as Howells Adventure Farms and others, even if the facility is declared dog-friendly:

1. What is your dog’s prey drive? Even though farm animals are behind enclosures, they can be stressed by dogs lunging at them. Keep the dogs back from the animals, or don’t bring them if their pry drive is uncontrollable.
2. Is your dog social with other dogs? Events like dog days are a good idea because they keep dogs from non-dog people. However, there is a concentration of dogs. How your dog reacts to other dogs is an important consideration. Some farms, including Howells, limit the number of tickets sold on dog days, which limits the number of dogs.
3. Is your dog vaccinated and more? It’s a farm, so there is the potential for infectious stuff floating around, along with fleas and ticks.
4. Leash control? Clearly, dog events on a farm require leashes (and picking up after your dog). My spaniel’s leash-walking skills have a lot to be desired, so I use a front clip no-pull harness (affiliate), and I added a second Kurgo leash (affiliate) that attaches to my waist for extra control. The advantage of a farm is space.