The Dog Lovers Festival prioritises animal welfare, and the safe interaction of dogs & people.

We appreciate that an important part of the visitor experience is interaction with dogs so, for the sake of all the dogs at the Festival, we have developed the following visitor guidelines for the welfare and safety of every dog at the Festival.

Every visitor (including the infants/children in your care) is asked to respect and abide by the following important guidelines:

  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 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 that they have 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 the dogs in the Festival are being taken care of, never under stress and happy.

The Dog Lovers Festival was developed to celebrate our best friends and to educate, entertain and inform dog owners and lovers, not dogs.

Each Festival presents a unique opportunity to meet and connect with hundreds of beautiful dogs and learn more about our wonderful canine companions. We work 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 if visitors were able to bring their own dogs, especially as we expect around 30,000 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.

So, please respect this position and do not bring your dog to a Dog Lovers Festival.