DogFest 2022 – An Amazing Dog Festival to Celebrate Your Fur Baby
Let’s face it: dogs are not always welcome everywhere. Have you ever wished that there was an event just for dogs? A place where they could be themselves, meet other pups in their community and enjoy some wholesome activities with other dog lovers? Well, there is one!
This is why we decided to review for you DogFest 2022 – a great day out for you and your four-legged friends.
We’re talking about a Dog Festival where your pup can learn behaviours and tricks, play in a ball pen, meet other dogs and even lick a liver-flavoured lolly to cool down!
Read on if you’ve not been to DogFest before and wonder what it’s all about!
What is DogFest exactly?
DogFest is an annual festival celebrating dogs and their owners – apparently the nation’s favourite too! – in multiple locations: Surrey, Warwickshire, Cheshire, Leicestershire, Hertfordshire, and Yorkshire.
DogFest was created with dog lovers and their best friends in mind, which is exactly why you will find everything you and your dog need in one single place: countless stalls to cater for all your needs, from natural, grain-free training treats to dog whisky, have-a-go activities where you and your pooch can try out the agility runs or even diving (dog only, that one!), ice creams for dogs and mini photo sessions. You name it, everything you can think of is probably at DogFest!
Tatton Park’s DogFest 2022
This year, DogFest will take place in no fewer than seven different places throughout the country! But the one we attended and want to tell you about took place on the 18th and 19th of June in the beautiful grounds of Tatton Park in Cheshire. (Yep, the one that’s usually full of deer, not dogs). The two-day event was jam-packed with fun activities for dogs and their owners, competitions and stalls galore. DogFest has something for everyone, dogs and their humans alike.
What’s on for Dogs at the Show
With plenty of areas for pups to meet new friends, it is an excellent occasion for dogs to see other dogs and socialise. We came with our seven-month-old pup that found it a little daunting at first but quickly got in the DogFest spirit!
The first one worth mentioning is the ball pen play area! A real meeting place where dogs of all ages and sizes can play with hundreds (thousands?!) of pink balls – which is probably their ultimate dream, right? – and meet and greet one another.
Ball pen meeting and playing area
Next, we have the Agility Arena, where dogs and their owners can race, jump and turn at lightning speed! All the dogs we saw there seemed to be having the best of times, regardless of their agility level.
Agility Arena
We even gave it a go with our pup Vixie at the hay bale jumping area held by Wisdom Panel. Despite being ‘a massive wuss’, Little Vix received a medal ‘for trying’!
Quick phone snap before she ran away!
And as the weather was pretty hot that day, how better cool down than with dog diving?! We couldn’t give it a go with Vix as she is super scared of water, but other bolder dogs seemed to be having a blast!
We also tried (well, the dog did!) the dog-friendly liver-flavoured ice cream, but it was so appreciated that we did not get the chance to immortalise the moment! Next time, maybe.
Finally, your dog will certainly enjoy the opportunity to stretch its legs on the Dog Trust’s Big Dog Walk in the woodland. You can choose to do either 2 or 4 km and make a charitable donation to the Dog Trust to help dogs in need find their forever home. (We did 4 km PLUS the Dog Trust challenge Planks for Pups that week! How fit are we going to be?!)
What’s on for Humans at the Show
Dog lovers will be delighted to learn that there will be a range of activities for humans to enjoy too. Actually, Callum & I thought after the event that we should have done one day with our dog and one day just the two of us to give us enough time and freedom to talk to all the fantastic speakers there, participate in workshops and buy treats, leads, harnesses and collars without having to drag a whining pup that cares a lot more for dried pig ears than the rest! (shout out to Durham animal feeds!)
DogFest put on an exciting programme of talks, demos and workshops. Our favourite one was a demo by the Cheshire and North Wales Police and their working dogs. Seeing how obedient and close to their handler these dogs are was SO impressive. The dogs sometimes even have to make a judgement call themselves and intervene if they believe their handler is in danger. Great stuff. Thank you to the Police for taking the time to come to DogFest and sharing their expertise with us.
Obedience Workshops in the Obedience Ring: retrieval and obedience, by Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist Kassie Woods (and even a jazzy dog dance demo with the 2020 British Champion Nicci Hindson and her dog Elsa.)
Main arena: flyball demo by the brilliant Wilmslow Wild Dogs!
Less exciting for dogs but very entertaining for their owners are the Fun Dog Shows! We booked Vix in for the Best Rescue Show. She did not win but at least got to practise staying sat and quiet for a while – not THAT successfully, but practice makes perfect! –
Pep talk from Daddy at the Best Rescue Show
And last but not least, DogFest is full of cool and creative snapshot opportunities! Keep an eye out for them, it’s like an Easter egg hunt, and they’re worth the search!
Many Pets, DogFest’s headline partner this year, even set up a mini studio to take unforgettable shots of your pets.
Final thoughts
All in all, DogFest 2022 promises to be the most exciting dog event of the year. Don’t miss out on this chance to celebrate the special bond between you and your best friend.
Wherever you are in the country, there is a DogFest for you! So, mark this event on your calendar and prepare for an amazing weekend of fun and discovery.
