If you buy the tiny 'pea' shingle it's very very small and a lot softer than other ones.

I would have thought the bark would be fine - once it gets damp it seems pretty soft to me. There are different sorts/grades, so maybe you've only seen the courser grades - ask a good independant garden center about what sorts of bark mulch they stock.

but both will be a problem to keep clean unless you give them a separtate toilet area. That problem aside I'd go for bark. our dog used to get shingle in his pads when we took him on the fore shore of the beach and it always ended up causing problems.

You can now buy shredded rubber made from tyers (is that spelled correctly?). It is sold for use in horse corrals and childrens play areas.

while i think on dont use cocoa shell mulch as the dogs eat it and it is poisonous. also check that the shredded tyres as BA suggests isnt a tempting treat:o)

Seaburn, you're quite right.
I hadn't thought about the cleanliness side ..... anything that moves like bark etc cannot be kept clean so ...... not a good idea.

Sand is quite good. Cheap to put down, easy to see where mess is, easy to clean up, soft for the dogs, though they will dig and easy to top as necessary. They actually love sand. I have a large sandpit for mine and they spend hours in it. They love to make hollows to sleep in. They have been taught not to use it as a toilet area though.

Bark is not a problem to them but not so easy to see where they have 'been'.

trust me when i say use concrete slabs with a shingle drain away at the end . not much just enough so the water has somewear to go.id run the slabs right up the side of your garden with abot enough room to walk up to clean up .you could like me cement it but slabs would be easier.dont put the slabs on sand and cement and but them right up to each other as this will also help the drainage .the dog poo is easy to pick up and the dog run is very easy to hose down .you can use bleach or a little jayes fluid to keep the smell down to.id probably try and hide it with plants or use a shorter fence pannel so you dont have to look at it .the other bonus is it keeps the dogs nails down and they cant dig .i have some pictures on my blogs of my dog run and garden and i have 5 dogs in my pack.ive bean doing this for about 20 years and never had to cut my dogs nails apart from the toy breeds once in a while. my 11 year old springer has never had his nails cut . i found and do find that the subject of dogs living in your garden is never broached at all .i hope ive helped take care bye for now .

wear abouts in norfolk are you sam . im in thetford ..