Pet expo 2012

SillyMangoX

Its set up for the pet expo as far as I know so you should be fine! I cant bring our dog, just too far in the car and I dont think my cats would want to come

Papillon!

SillyMangoX wrote: »

Its set up for the pet expo as far as I know so you should be fine! I cant bring our dog, just too far in the car and I dont think my cats would want to come

Best news! Im defo going to try get down now

andreac

Do you have to bring your puppy? Might be a very long day for a young pup.

Papillon!

Shes nearly 5 months now and full of energy. I think it'll be a good opportunity for her to socialize so she'll have her two humans to carry her if shes sleepy

westies4ever

i havent read the whole thread so sorry if this has been asked before; i'm hoping to go on Sunday with my two but hubbie has to work sunday morning so it'll depend what time he gets home. I dont want to buy tickets in advance in case we cant make it - can you pay the entrance fee on the day? thanks.

andreac

Yeah you can pay at the door.

andreac

I just think 5 months is very young to have all day at a thing like this. Mine are there on the stand all day and its mentally tiring on them and they are adults, personally its just not somewhere i would bring a very young pup, unless i was only there for an hour or so, but thats just my thoughts on it.

westies4ever

stupid question number two - do they have water for dogs and other pets available or should I bring my own supply?

andreac

Im sure they will have water, but i would bring my own, just in case too.

SillyMangoX

andreac wrote: »

I just think 5 months is very young to have all day at a thing like this. Mine are there on the stand all day and its mentally tiring on them and they are adults, personally its just not somewhere i would bring a very young pup, unless i was only there for an hour or so, but thats just my thoughts on it.

Or else you are paranoid Cooper will get a taste for pug puppy :P

Papillon!

SillyMangoX wrote: »

Or else you are paranoid Cooper will get a taste for pug puppy :P

She has a face only a mother could love :rolleyes:

tk123

I'd say you'll be grand with the pup - tbh unless you're waiting to see something in particular you'll only be there a couple of hours and you can always take her outside for a break? Def bringing a water bottle with me this time as the bowls were few and far between last year even though they said they'd have loads - we ending up visiting Red Mills' stand a few times to rob their water lol My dad wants vet bed for the back of his car now too lol so we'll be visiting bronteglen again!

Papillon!

Yeah defo just be there for a few hours. Hopefully theres stalls selling nice harnesses, shes bursting out of her puppy one at this stage :pac: Shes getting the little pug fat rolls on her neck. Have to be seriously carefully with her food portions

SillyMangoX

Anyone have a shopping list planned?:)

tk123

Well?!? Did anyone go? Looks good from pics on FB!

SillyMangoX

Yeah I'm just back from it now, found it very good. Was way less cramped than last year, especially around the breed village. And of course I got to meet andreac and her lovely Cooper who was a cuddle monster! Got some free samples, lots of competitions to enter, stuff to buy. I didn't think there was as much stalls as last year with collars, leads and all that. Very poor selection! But lots of food stands, lots of toys, some interesting stuff like veterinary aloe vera and a special soap to stop itching! And the cat world wasn't segregated from the dogs so dogs were jumping up all over the tables where the cats were caged And another bad point, none of the staff seemed to know where anything was on, like I was looking for the sheep dog demonstration and was told to go out the door and it was either left or right... duh! I was also looking forward to seeing the doggy mastermind thing, but there was no info as to where it was on, only the times, so I went to the arena at the time but there didn't seem to be anything on in there. Oh and also the fire alarm kept going off and telling us to evacuate because someone decided it would be a good idea to bring a burger and bagel van inside! But over all I really enjoyed the day, met loads of lovely dogs. And I now want a great dane more than ever!!!!

Themadhouse

Where there many cats there? I know there was a selkirk, burmese, norwegian forest. Anything else? Any Coons?

SillyMangoX

yeah there was one coon, a tabby fellow, there was a siberian and exotic short hairs. Only 3 exhibitors over all as far as I know!

westies4ever

Hubbie working all day tomw - and he'll have the car. Not going to make it

mosi

[/QUOTE] And another bad point, none of the staff seemed to know where anything was on, like I was looking for the sheep dog demonstration and was told to go out the door and it was either left or right... duh! [/QUOTE]

Funny you mention that. I went outside to give my little one some fresh air and walked up to the left, and came across the sheepdog demonstration. It was literally one man and his dog - and no spectators. Nothing was really being announced...I always go in the fun dog show and nobody seemed to know when it was on (although the online timetable said 4). I got there just before 4 so maybe I missed it. Would have been very interested in the Doggie Mastermind but I didn't get there in time. That lack of organisation and announcements, and the fact that there were fewer exhibitors, made there seem to me like there was less of a buzz than previous years, but maybe it felt that way as I got there late in the day. I also agree that the cats should have been segragated, even with a screened off section if a different room wasn't available. I wasn't too keen on the farm section either...there were ducks and guinea fowl in small cages which wasn't great at all.

On the plus side...I got a few samples and entered loads of competitions...I won a 6 month supply of food last year, so hopefully lightening will strike twice
It was far less cramped than last year, so was much more pleasant to walk around and talk to people. I loved seeing the rescue greyhounds (I always do) and got to meet some of the breeds. The Irish Terriers were great to see, while I totally fell for the Black Russian Terriers.

Overall, I'm glad I went (got the Pigsback deal) but I do think that they need to iron out a few organisational issues. I'm not sure if Punchestown was the best venue for it. I still think that the three day Expo two years ago in the RDS was the best I've been to. It was spread out between the outside and inside, so it never felt too cramped yet was still quite easy to check out demonstrations, displays etc that were going on in the arenas outside the main venue. That year felt like a correct balance between the madness of last year and the underwhelming effect of this year. I think that it is great to have an event like this and would love to see it continue. I'd be worried that if they don't get it right, people will be put off going to it.

tk123

They've posted a new timetable on FB for today - at least they're listening to feedback! Heading down today

toadfly

Its a bit late I know but for anyone with a RB dog we brought Lexi last yr and absolutely no problem her not being muzzled. I contacted them beforehand just to be sure before we drove from galway and the lady gave me her mobile number said to call her if I had any problems on the door.

SillyMangoX

I didnt see one dog with a muzzle. A few head collars all right but no muzzles.

blueturnip

We were there this morning. I was quite disappointed with the 'cat world'. Two cats! Mind you they were both beautiful, but still.

Loads and loads of dogs which was interesting as I am not really a dog person, but some gorgeous breeds.

This is the first time we have been so have nothing to compare it to. Think €10 each was a bit pricey for what was there. I guess if I had a dog I probably would have liked it better.

tk123

SillyMangoX wrote: »

I didnt see one dog with a muzzle. A few head collars all right but no muzzles.

I saw a GSD with a muzzle today. It was a bit crap tbh - loads more space because there was way less exhibits...stayed for about an hour and left.

Sigma Force

Sounds dissapointing, glad we didn't scrape together the money to go. Poor cats, so not fair to have them so near the dogs. What a shame.

westies4ever

hubbie got home earlier than the thought he would so made it in the end. Took my two westies. It was a bit crap imho. I loved the different dog breeds - especially the glen of imal terrier - im terrier biased though. But really that was it. I thought the stalls werent great - maybe it was late in the day, got some shampoo for my females itchy skin though - havent tried it yet. Spent about 45 minutes there in total - definitely not worth the €10.

There was something going on at the back - kids up on stage singing/screeching into microphones and the noise was deafening and excruciating. We left at that point. Other than getting out for an hour, the different breeds, meeting a lady who has four westies and the dogs doing a bit of socialising, its thumbs down. Think I'll give it a miss next year.

SillyMangoX

Its a pity there were so few exhibits, I was meant to buy a new collar and harness for my lady, a purple collar for a springer and 2 leads of chihuahuas, one blue and one red. I couldnt even get any of them, there was better quality stuff in pet mania. Most of the stalls were organizations looking for money rather than shops selling stuff, and there was one stall by a pet shop which had really nice stuff, I would have spend about 50 on toys alone but they wouldnt sell any of their stuff, they were only there to advertise their online shop which seemed really stupid to me. And I dont get why they have a screaming bunch of stage school kids every year, nothing at all to do with pets! But despite all the giving out Im doing I still really enjoyed my day!

westies4ever

SillyMangoX wrote: »

Its a pity there were so few exhibits, I was meant to buy a new collar and harness for my lady, a purple collar for a springer and 2 leads of chihuahuas, one blue and one red. I couldnt even get any of them, there was better quality stuff in pet mania. Most of the stalls were organizations looking for money rather than shops selling stuff, and there was one stall by a pet shop which had really nice stuff, I would have spend about 50 on toys alone but they wouldnt sell any of their stuff, they were only there to advertise their online shop which seemed really stupid to me. And I dont get why they have a screaming bunch of stage school kids every year, nothing at all to do with pets! But despite all the giving out Im doing I still really enjoyed my day!

Thats what I thought too - I wanted to get new collars for my two and couldnt find any I wanted - I can be picky I suppose and I prefer leather to the fabric type ones, but didnt find any I wanted. There was a good selection of beds mind you, though I didnt need those.

Im the same - although Im giving out, I love being able to take the dogs anywhere (doesnt happen often in Ireland) and we did enjoy it. €5 entry would have been plenty have to say!

BullBauld

Myself and Rufus went on Saturday. I wasn't at previous expos in RDS so nothing to compare to.

I thought it was ok.

It was great to see all the other breeds...the Irish terrier was one of my favourites but like above I am terrier biased.

I thought there would have been alot more to it actually, it felt a bit sparse. But I suppose it gave plenty of room to wander and not be on top of everyone else.

I met andreac and her two lovely rotties. Had a brief chat while Flo and Rufus had a bit of a play. Cooper was resting in his crate. Smashing dogs.

Got a few samples too which will be tested as Rufus' new food is not agreeing with him.

I actually got a raw food sample(1k chubb) off Dogsfirst stand and Rufus made little work of it later on when we got home. Gonna have to take to plung 100% with the raw diet I reckon. It's the future!!

For me the expo was only ok. But for Rufus he totally had a ball meeting so many other dogs and thats the main thing. He slept like a log all evening when we got home .

Myself and Rufus will be there again.