Barks and Recreation

Barks and Recreation Melbourne’s ONLY Fear Free Certified Dog Daycare. Best Dog Daycare in Merri-bek 2024, 2025, 2026
Compassionate, safe, structured care for every dog.

Tours welcome!

September Greyhound Social Club - BOOK NOW!! You know this is the BEST club around, and it WILL book out, so get in quic...
05/09/2026

September Greyhound Social Club - BOOK NOW!!
You know this is the BEST club around, and it WILL book out, so get in quick ✨

Note: we had told a few peeps that we were going to add a third session this month, however we realised that this month’s event falls on a long weekend and is on AFL grand final day, so thought that less noodles might be around. So if you’re in town, get in quick to secure your spot!

What a pawsome first day for Winnie the puppy Corgi x Poodle! 💕🐶 Winnie came in super eager this morning, handing out pl...
04/09/2026

What a pawsome first day for Winnie the puppy Corgi x Poodle! 💕🐶 Winnie came in super eager this morning, handing out plenty of kisses and cuddles to our staff in reception before confidently entering the pen like an absolute champ! 🌟 She quickly discovered that daycare is all about making new friends, treats, chew toys, chasey and a good old-fashioned wrestling match! 😂 She spent most of the morning zooming around with Nora, while Frankie and Monty did their very best to keep up with her puppy energy! 🏃‍♀️💨 Outside the fast paced fun continued as she raced around like crazy with her brand new pals, before it was time to slow those little legs down, and have a peaceful rest and sniff in the sunshine. 🌿😴 What a wonderful first day, Winnie! We’re so happy to have you as part of the Barks & Recreation family! 💕🐾

This morning we welcomed Nori, our newest addition to the Barks and Rec family! 🥰Nori arrived confident and ready to say...
04/09/2026

This morning we welcomed Nori, our newest addition to the Barks and Rec family! 🥰
Nori arrived confident and ready to say goodbye to her humans before heading in to meet some new friends. While she explored and made herself familiar with the new environment, she did lots of sniffs and bonding with staff for some yummy treats. It didn’t take Nori long to find her new bestie in Tato, and the two were side by side all day! 💕 Tato happily showed her the ropes, getting right into shredding some boxes, doing laps of the yard with the group, fetch, some digs in the sandpit and getting up to plenty of fun. At quiet time she had a little lay down but was soon back on her feet and ready for more! 😂
What a wonderful first day for this gorgeous playful girl! We’re so happy to have Nori as part of the Barks crew and can’t wait for more adventures with her! 💕

Today we welcomed siblings Loki and Freya! 💕Loki was no stranger to daycare life, bursting through the doors with excite...
03/09/2026

Today we welcomed siblings Loki and Freya! 💕
Loki was no stranger to daycare life, bursting through the doors with excitement and eager to say hello to everyone. Freya took a little longer to settle in, which is completely understandable for her very first daycare day, but she handled it beautifully! 🥰
Freya enjoyed plenty of fetch and chasey with her new friend Jett the Maltipoo x, while Loki preferred joining in on treat hunts and having a good wrestle with Billie the Cavoodle. 🐶💨
Both newbies got stuck into some serious cardboard shredding, enjoyed lots of pats and explored all the fun our daycare has to offer. Freya even had a little dig in the sandpit, while Loki was busy sussing out all the exciting new smells. 👃🐾
By quiet time, the duo were more than ready to test out our cosy beds for a well-earned rest. 😴💤
It was an absolute pleasure having Loki and Freya join us today. We hope they had as much fun as we did, and we can’t wait to see them again soon! 💕

Please welcome the very cute Arty! 🐾💙 This adorable little Mini Schnauzer joined us for his first ever daycare experienc...
02/09/2026

Please welcome the very cute Arty! 🐾💙 This adorable little Mini Schnauzer joined us for his first ever daycare experience, and he had such a fun day getting to know his new surroundings and making some new friends! While Arty was happy to say hello to everyone, he seemed to particularly enjoy hanging out with dogs around his own size. 🐶
Arty quickly found some friends in Rupert and Pikelet, and he even tried to convince Pikelet to join him for a game of chasey! 🏃‍♂️💨 He’s also quite the little chatterbox and wasn’t shy about letting us know what he thought of all the excitement. 🗣️😂
When it came to toys, Arty knew exactly what he liked balls and rope toys were definitely high on his list of favourites! 🎾🪢 He had plenty of fun playing with his new toys before heading outside to explore. Out in the sunshine, Arty loved zooming around, stopping for a little munch on the pet grass, having a good sniff around the sandpit and even taking a little dip in the pool. 🌿☀️💦
Safe to say, Arty had plenty to keep his little legs busy on his first day! Between making friends, chasing balls, exploring every corner and keeping up a steady stream of Schnauzer commentary, he certainly made himself at home. 😂💕

Introducing our latest firecracker, Molly! 🩷This confident girl came bounding in ready to make herself right at home, an...
02/09/2026

Introducing our latest firecracker, Molly! 🩷
This confident girl came bounding in ready to make herself right at home, and it didn’t take her long (4 minutes to be exact 😂) to hit it off with fellow Westie Chester! The pair quickly became the best of buddies and were soon getting stuck into all the fun together. 🥰 Molly didn’t waste a second of her visit, doing endless laps around the yard with the rest of the group in tow! She raced through the sandpits at full speed, leaving clouds of dust behind her, leaping through and over the pools and collecting the nearest toy on the way past! 🥎 💦 Molly made sure nothing was left unexplored and even got herself involved in some very enthusiastic rip rips before heading back to her favourite activity of all… wrestling! Inseparable from new Westie bestie Chester, they spent the rest of her visit having the best time keeping each other thoroughly entertained right up until it was time to head home. 🥰 Molly was absolutely on the go from start to finish, so after a big half day of zoomies, mischief, splashing and making new friends, she was more than ready for a very big nap! 💤 Something tells us this gorgeous girl is going to be keeping us very entertained on all her future visits! We’re so happy to have you with us, Molly! 💕 Here’s to plenty more zoomies, adventures, wrestling and new friendships!

Say hello to Bobbie the Staffy x Kelpie! 🐾This handsome little guy arrived super confident and excited for a day full of...
01/09/2026

Say hello to Bobbie the Staffy x Kelpie! 🐾
This handsome little guy arrived super confident and excited for a day full of fun and he certainly made the most of it!
Bobbie loved playing fetch, chasing the ball and tire toy, having a wrestle with Bailey, and work hard with the treat toys.🥎
He was definitely in his element outside, splashing around in the pool 💦, zooming around the yard with Fergus and Eddie 🐕💨, and sniffing out all the goodies during treat hunts around the pirate ship! 🏴‍☠️
By quiet time, you’d think Bobbie would be ready for a well-earned rest… but nope! 😂 He had other plans and spent his time having another wrestling match with his new friend Pepperoni! 🐶💪
Needless to say, we think Bobbie will be getting a very good sleep tonight! 😴😂
Welcome to the Barks and Rec family, Bobbie! ❤️ We can’t wait to see you again soon!

Please welcome our latest bundle of cuteness, Murphy! 💛Coming in for his first ever daycare visit, Murphy was a little s...
01/09/2026

Please welcome our latest bundle of cuteness, Murphy! 💛
Coming in for his first ever daycare visit, Murphy was a little shy and unsure of his new surroundings, so we took things nice and slow with plenty of cuddles and some quiet observing of the group. He’s such a sweet and gentle boy, and it wasn’t long before his confidence started to grow! 🐶Murphy soon joined in for a little rip rip to see what everyone was up to, and once we headed outside, his confidence really started to shine! Seeing the group doing some laps was all the encouragement he needed to join in and have a little run himself. He absolutely loved exploring the pool and sandpit, and had a great time playing some fetch too! 🎾 💦 It was so lovely watching this gentle boy find his little paws and explore all the fun to be had. After a big morning of new experiences, new friends and lots of fun, Murphy was ready to head home for a very well deserved big nap! 😴 What a beautiful first visit, Murphy well done little buddy! 💙

31/08/2026

It was a BIG weekend just gone for lots of our greyhound friends, with our monthly Greyhound Social Club on Saturday, as well as the Hound-Tees Festival of the Hound yesterday 🥰 Here are some snippets of Saturday’s fun at our Social Club!

Greyhound Social Club is on at Barks and Recreation on the last Saturday of every month (except December). Our next one will be held on Saturday September 26th. If you’d like to be notified when bookings open, make sure you’re on our mailing list!

Hello to handsome Henry! 💙🐶 Our newest Labradoodle friend arrived this morning full of energy, confidence and ready to R...
28/08/2026

Hello to handsome Henry! 💙🐶 Our newest Labradoodle friend arrived this morning full of energy, confidence and ready to RUN! 🏃‍♂️💨 He loved meeting all his new buddies and quickly got stuck into the action, enjoying some big wrestling sessions with Maple and Charlie. Henry zoomed around with Goldie and Javi, joined in on some snuffles and even took a dip in the pool! 💦 He had a little go at cardboard shredding, but honestly, why bother with enrichment activities when there are friends to play with?! 😆 Henry’s favourite game of the day was definitely chasey with the group. He had a quick rest during quiet time, but it wasn’t long before he was back up and ready for more fun with Maple and Javi! What a fun first day, Henry! We can’t wait to see you back for more action-packed adventures! 🐾💙

Address

4 McDonald Street
Coburg North, VIC
3058

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 6:30pm
Tuesday 7am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 7am - 6:30pm
Thursday 7am - 6:30pm
Friday 7am - 6:30pm

Telephone

+61390990716

Website

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