Frequently Asked Questions

At the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, Melbourne. Visitors can enter the venue via the Nicholson Street entrance or the Northern entrance located opposite the Melbourne Museum.

Friday 1 May, Saturday 2 May, and Sunday 3 May.

9:30am to 5pm daily.

The Dog Lovers Show was developed to celebrate our Best Friends and to educate, entertain and inform Dog Owners & Lovers, not Dogs.

It presents a unique opportunity to meet and connect with over 1,000 beautiful Dogs, more than 150 breeds and learn more about our wonderful canine companions. We have worked hard to ensure that this is under controlled conditions for the safety and welfare of Dogs and people.

We could never deliver this level of care to visitor Dogs, especially as we expect around 40,000 people to attend again and over 90% of our visitors own one or more Dogs. We would also need to test the behaviour of every Dog prior to entry and review their vaccination certificates which would just not be possible.

And of course the issue of where to do their ‘business’ in an indoor venue, the smell/mess, how to clean it up and the queues and frustration this would all create. As a family friendly event we also welcome a lot of kids and as we all know it is impossible to control the unpredictable nature of children (i.e. tail pulling and hug tackles!) so allowing visitor Dogs would be just too dangerous.

It is also an indoor event in a heritage-listed venue, so please understand that we are very different to outdoor shows in Melbourne where you can bring your Dog such as local festivals or the Million Paws Walk. We are more like a Home Show, Motor Show or Boat Show but for Dog Lovers and you can’t bring your house, car or boat into any of these shows either!

So for these numerous reasons and our primarily due to the love and respect we have for our beloved Dogs, we trust you understand our reasons behind the policy not to allow visitor Fur-kids into the Show. For more information regarding this policy, please click here.

Please note:  Visitors with accredited Assistance or Service Dogs are able to bring their Dogs into the Show.  To receive entry into the Dog Lovers Show you will need to provide evidence that your Assistance Dog is formally trained to help you manage your disability.  If your Dog has a PTV pass, that is sufficient evidence.

Yes, visitors with accredited Assistance or Service Dogs are welcome and able to bring their Dogs to the Show however, visitors will just need to show verification at the entrance door.

Go to the BUY TICKETS page to purchase your tickets now for the 2020 Show!

Tickets can also be purchased on the door but this cannot be guaranteed as it depends on demand. Transaction and credit card fees apply to online tickets but if you purchase tickets at the door no transaction fees will be charged (only a small credit card fee).

Undercover car parking is available under the Melbourne Museum but this fills up very fast – entry is via Rathdowne Street or Nicholson Street. There is metered street car parking available around Carlton Gardens, but it is limited. We also have a wide range of special deals and advance booking discounts with many of the other car parks in the precinct. Click here for a range of parking options and special deals.

We recommend you take advantage of the many public transport options to avoid car parking costs and traffic delays – for all the public transport options please click here.

ATM machines are located within the Royal Exhibition Building. Most exhibitors will be selling and launching an extensive range of fantastic new products and services at the event with Show Specials and great offers exclusive to the Dog Lovers Show. Most Exhibitors will accept credit cards and EFTPOS payments but we also recommend you bring cash to the event, just in case.

Everything to see and do in the Show is FREE, including the Vitapet Arena shows, Main Stage talks, Black Hawk DockDogs, PETstock Assist Adoption Zone & Stage, Breed Showcase, Outdoor Arena, Insta-Pooch stage, Pat-A-Pooch, Bow Wow Meow Perfect Match, Melanie Newman’s Ask-A-Groomer Zone, Dog Friendly Beaches and Parks wall, Clara H Nails zone, Funny Photo Wall, Face Painting and everything else!

Please note that there are limited seats for the Vitapet Arena, Main Stage, Black Hawk DockDogs, Outdoor Arena and the PETstock Assist Adoption Stage sessions so we recommend you arrive early. Seats will be allocated on a first-in-best-dressed basis.

No doubt this will be one of the most popular features at the show again and the Zone will be presented by one of Australia’s leading face-painting companies. The team will have a range of fantastic breed designs specifically for the Dog Lovers Show and please expect some delays due to the popularity. For more information, please click here

Absolutely! It’s like a huge doggy-product-and-service supermarket! Hundreds of Exhibitors are on hand to showcase all the latest and greatest toys, treats, food, tech and services to reward your pooch. Click here to check out the 2020 Exhibitors. In the coming weeks we’ll share details of Show Specials and New Products which are coming to the 2020 show.

Check back here closer to mid-April 2020 to view the Official Program which also contains the final Melbourne Show Map.

We are governed by the Victorian Domestic Animals Act, which states that under no circumstances are we permitted to have any Dog adopted and/or sold at the event.  However, all the information will be on hand to ensure you are very well informed on the best options and you can start the process.

The 2020 Breed Showcase will present over 50 different breeds from across Victoria. Click here to view the list of the breeds being showcased in 2020.  There will also be a wide range of other breeds throughout the event in the Pat-A-Pooch area, Dog Adoption Zone, Insta-Pooch stage, Outdoor Arena, Melanie Newman’s Ask-A-Groomer Zone, Exhibitor stands, and more.

All timetables are available on their attraction pages:

Vitapet Arena, Main Stage, Insta-Pooch Stage, PETstock Assist Adoption Stage, Outdoor Arena, Black Hawk DockDogs Pool and Melanie Newman’s Ask-A-Groomer Zone

If you have a business that Dog owners or lovers would love to know about, or know of a business you’d like to see at the Show, please contact the Sales Team at Event Management International on (03) 9696 9961 or via email at Jo Farrugia: [email protected] or click here to visit the Book a Stand page of the website for details.

For any additional enquiries not covered on the website please contact the Event Management International team on 03 9696 9961 or email your query to: [email protected]

Applications for our 2020 volunteer program have opened. Click here to view the application page.