It’s no secret that, as full time pet sitters, our favourite animals to care for are dogs! We love exploring all corners of the U.K. with a four-legged friend by our sides, even more so when we can take a pooch to a dog-friendly event or festival! There are so many wonderful dog-friendly dates for your diary coming up this year – here’s a round-up of our favourites:
Dog Fest: Various locations and dates
Dog Fest plays host to several dog-friendly festivals across the U.K. We’ve had the pleasure of attending Dog Fest twice – once at their sprawling Cheshire location, while pet sitting Chihuahua Jessie, and subsequently at their Christmas event in London with our Borrow My Doggy pal Yoshi. Both were fantastic days out for us and our four-legged friends, where they took part in competitions and were spoiled with lots of treats from stall vendors!
At Dog Fest you can attend Breed Meet-Ups, take part in the Big Dog Walk with other owners, and even meet celebrities and dog-fluencers! There are lots of stalls full of food and gifts to treat your pooch, and so many have-a-go activities that there really is something for every dog. If you’re thinking of going to Dog Fest in 2023, check out our full review!
Ticket prices start at £21.40 for 1 adult. Find out more here.
All About Dogs: Various locations and dates
A two-day dog festival – what’s not to love? All About Dogs is the UK’s largest dog festival, organised by dog lovers, for dog lovers. The show brings a weekend of fun for all the family, in four locations across England.
The weekends are jam-packed with activities and displays. There’s the arena displays and have-a-go activities that are usually seen at dog-friendly events, but All About Dogs also boasts on-site experts on-hand to give advice to dog owners. Then there are the dog quizzes, live music performances, LOTS of shopping opportunities as well as free competitions and talks, and space to camp at 3 of their 4 events. With so much to see, your pup will definitely sleep well after this festival!
Ticket prices start at £12.50 for one adult. Find out more here.
Discover Dogs: Location and date TBC
Organised by the Kennel Club, Discover Dogs offers visitors the chance to meet over 200 dog breeds of all shapes and sizes! We visited the event at London ExCel in 2019, where even we met dog breeds we’d never heard of – like the Mexican Xoloitzcuintle – and had the opportunity to talk with their owners and learn more about each breed.
In addition to meeting an abundance of different dog breeds, the main ring has a fantastic line-up of must-see displays, from police dog demonstrations, to flyball, heel work, and shows from Golden Retriever and Staffordshire Bull Terrier teams. While it’s not permitted to bring your own dog to the event unless they are an assistance dog, there are around a hundred stalls to browse for shopping opportunities for your pet, as well as charity stalls, and a Cuddle Corner where you can enjoy fluffy snuggles with dogs in lieu of bringing your own!
Ticket prices TBC. Find out more here.
Dogstival: Broadlands Park, Romsey. 3rd and 4th June.
While much smaller than other dog festivals, welcoming around 16,000 visitors, Dogstival is a fabulous dog-friendly weekend and the self-titled ‘Coolest dog show in town’!
The best part about visiting a dog festival in June is that (fingers crossed) the sun will be shining – hence Dogstival have a K9 Splash Pool for doggos to practice their diving and swimming techniques while keeping cool! There’s a Muddy Paws Tavern hosted by Dog Furiendly, a Scurry Village for dogs to practice retrieval with the chance to win prizes in timed trials, and ‘Barkour’ – parkour for dogs! While some dog events repeat the same activities, Dogstival are working hard to be creative with theirs and it’s this that keeps visitors returning to this smaller event every year.
Ticket prices start at £18 for one adult. Find out more here.
Good Woof: The Kennels, Goodwood, West Sussex. 20th and 21st May.
What a setting for a dog-friendly day out! Taking place at The Kennels on the Goodwood estate, Goodwoof offers a weekend of upper-class action for dogs and owners alike.
You’ll find world-class competitions featuring top canine athletes, wellness workshops, field and trail demonstrations and talks from behavioural and veterinary experts. Returning to Goodwoof for 2023 is ‘Barkitecture’ – an architectural exhibition and competition amongst kennel designers, overseen by The Duke of Richmond and Kevin McCloud (of Grand Designs fame!). On Saturday, there will be a celebratory parade of Poodles led by the Duke of Richmond gathering in front of The Kennels. Whether your pooch is a purebred or a bit of a mongrel, Goodwoof promises to be a spectacular event for all!
Early bird ticket prices start at £30 for one adult. Find out more here.
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Battersea’s Muddy Dog Challenge: Various locations and dates
If you and your dog are more the adventurous types, the Muddy Dog Challenge is for you! Hosted at 6 stunning locations throughout the year, participants have the opportunity to enjoy a muddy dog walk in a beautiful setting while raising money to support Battersea cats and dogs home.
The Muddy Dog Challenge is a 2.5K or 5K obstacle course that you can choose to run or walk, with or without a dog. The 6 locations are dotted around the country, including the New Forest, Windsor and Leeds. If the events are too far from home, you can choose to sign up for the ‘DIY’ Muddy Dog Challenge and take on the distance from your doorstep, on any date during the year. We took part in Battersea’s Muddy Dog Trek in 2019, hiking 20km and fundraising over £200 between us. While we didn’t have a dog with us then, we met so many lovely dogs and their owners during the hike!
Tickets for the DIY Challenge are £10 for one adult. Early bird ticket prices for a set location start at £37 for one adult and one dog. Find out more here.
Pup Up Cafe: Various locations and dates
What if we told you you could spend a couple of hours mingling and shopping with 50 Dachshunds running around? Or Frenchie and Pugs? All over the country, Pup Up Cafe hosts events that are exactly as they sound – a limited time, cafe-based event for dog owners to socialise with their pooches at dog-centric events!
Not all the events are breed-specific – Pup Up Cafe also host events where all are welcome! Next in the calendar is a series of Valentine’s Day themed events, where professional photographers will be on hand to provide owners with snaps of their pooch with a Valentine’s Day backdrop and props. You can browse local businesses, and receive unlimited puppuccinos and treats for your dog, all while meeting other dogs and their owners.
There are limited spaces at these pop-up events, so if you miss out on tickets there’s always the Pup Up Cafe Festival in Devon on September 9th! As the event takes place in Autumn, Pup Up Cafe provides a festival for dogs that won’t be too hot for little paws or flat faces. There will be Dog Olympics, agility courses, best dressed competitions and lots of other prizes for categories including fanciest Frenchie, sassiest sausage, coolest Collie, most handsome Husky, and prettiest Pug! A variety of trade stands, photo opportunities and games for dogs and humans alike are in store, with many more activities still to be announced.
Tickets for Pup Up Cafe start at £9.50 for dog owners. Tickets for Pup Up Cafe Festival start at £18.95 for an adult dog owner. Find out more here.
Events closer to home
If you find it’s too far to travel for any of these events, or are just looking for more, then we recommend searching Meet-Up.com for thousands of dog-friendly events across the country. After a quick search on the site, we found SO many sweet dates for the calendar in 2023, including a monthly meet-up and dog walk in Hyde Park, a Frenchie meet-up on Valentine’s Day, and even puppy yoga! There are also hundreds of walking groups that specifically state that they welcome dogs – have a look in your area and see if you can find some new local four-legged friends to go walkies with!
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