Woofstock June 13-14 2009 +Advice for the event

[kokopup]

You may be over reacting by having a do not feed sign on your dog. We have a huge festival in Birmingham every year called Do Dah day. In all the years I have been going I have never had anyone try to feed anything to my dog. There are many food suppliers with regular kibble and treats but none were ever offered to my dog directly. We had many vendors offer food and treat samples to us but never directly to our pet.

Unless the people of Canada are very different that those of the southern US then most people do not do anything to your pet without your permission. That goes for petting or feeding. Now the child will rush up and start petting without asking but if there was a sign saying do not pet they would not read it.

In Alabama when we go to the bank or Starbucks we are always given a treat but it is always given to the adult and not the dog.

If your dog has problems with other dogs sniffing then the type of festival you are going to is not the best place to socialize your pet. I can assure you that there is a lot of sniffing going on when you have thousands of dogs all walking around and greeting each other. if you have reservation as to whether it will tolerate sniffing well then I recommend you stay at home.

[ParNone]

I've no advice, but got a chuckle out of the name... Woofstock... how clever!

[Seravieve]

You may be over reacting by having a do not feed sign on your dog. We have a huge festival in Birmingham every year called Do Dah day. In all the years I have been going I have never had anyone try to feed anything to my dog. There are many food suppliers with regular kibble and treats but none were ever offered to my dog directly. We had many vendors offer food and treat samples to us but never directly to our pet.

Unless the people of Canada are very different that those of the southern US then most people do not do anything to your pet without your permission. That goes for petting or feeding. Now the child will rush up and start petting without asking but if there was a sign saying do not pet they would not read it.

In Alabama when we go to the bank or Starbucks we are always given a treat but it is always given to the adult and not the dog.

If your dog has problems with other dogs sniffing then the type of festival you are going to is not the best place to socialize your pet. I can assure you that there is a lot of sniffing going on when you have thousands of dogs all walking around and greeting each other. if you have reservation as to whether it will tolerate sniffing well then I recommend you stay at home.

I agree with both parts.

My mom and I just attended Bark In The Park with Eli several weeks ago and only had 1 person try to give him something, a dog biscuit, which he wouldn't take anyways (He doesnt eat in public...). The guy was a worker and was a the dog fountain station (multiple water bowls and bottled water for the pups). We've gotten treats through the drive thru pharmacy at Walgreens, and some other place I can't remember. They're always the milkbone-type and are always given to me. Even at Petsmart they ask before they give to the dog.

Dogs and crowds.. I'd keep a short leash on her.. Whoever thought retractable leashes + crowd = good idea was a moron... lots of people with those stupid retractable ones at BITB and they were a mess. Eli is shy with strangers but he did well when I kept him close to me (I used a 4ft leash and a prong collar).

Good luck! Sounds fun! =)