The Dog Lovers Festival places animal welfare and the safe interaction of Dogs and people at its highest priority.

We appreciate that an important part of the visitor experience is interaction with dogs so, for the sake of all dogs at the Festival, we don’t allow visitors to bring their own dogs to the Festival and we’ve developed the following visitor guidelines which we expect every visitor (including the infants/children in your care) to respect and abide by:

  1. In all cases, seek permission from the owner/handler before approaching or interacting with any dog at the Festival.
  2. Respect the signs on each stands advising: “You must ask permission from, and have supervision by, the person in control, prior to approaching any dog on this stand”.
  3. We encourage you to use the hand-sanitisers available at various points throughout the Festival (after patting each dog) to prevent any bio-hazards being passed from animal to animal and to humans.
  4. If you see a dog sleeping or behind a barrier, crate, rope-line or fence, please don’t approach or pat the dog without the owner’s permission. It’s likely the dog has been put here for a rest or the owner doesn’t wish for that dog to be handled by the public.
  5. Please ensure that all infants and children in your care are closely monitored to ensure they are not approaching or handling any dogs at the event without your supervision and adherence to these rules.
  6. Listen out for any public announcements about dog safety and welfare made throughout the Festival.
  7. If you see a dog under stress or have any concerns whatsoever regarding dog welfare, please report this to staff at the Info Desk.
  8. We have dedicated staff roving the Festival to monitor dog safety and welfare, including a vet on site at all times.

We will also ensure every dog in the event:

  • Has a bed to rest on;
  • A place to get some quiet time away from crowds;
  • Plenty of water at all times; and
  • Has been vetted for behaviour and health.

We even have a number of dedicated ‘Animal Welfare’ staff and dedicated vets roving the event to ensure all dogs in the Festival are being taken care of, never under stress, and happy.