Paws in the park - anyone going?

tk123

Well the title says it all - is anyone going to paws in the park? Last time I was at Cloughran was for Dog Expo and it was quite cramped and got packed quickly enough..but this one will have outdoor stuff as well. On one hand I'm tempted to for socialization but on the other I don't know if I'm bothered going if it's going to be packed to the rafters!

VonVix

Would love to go, but no transport for me and my pooch.

tk123

Well we dropped into it to get some Nutriment to try. Lots of space and not too cramped but lots of barking little sh1ts on flexi leads in Bailey's face! :mad:

muddypaws

I was approached by them last year to put a canicross race on over the weekend, I went and had a look at the site, but I didn't feel it was suitable, and I was concerned about how hot it could be, (I also had family illness to deal with) so declined. I was in Dublin this morning, and walking the dogs at 5.15am and being warm, I think I made the right choice, although I'd had lots of interest from canicrossers, both here and from the UK, who wanted to come over for the weekend, could have been a good part of the weekend.

I was interested in the dock jumping, aqua splash pool they have, did you see it? What did you think?

tk123

muddypaws wrote: »

I was approached by them last year to put a canicross race on over the weekend, I went and had a look at the site, but I didn't feel it was suitable, and I was concerned about how hot it could be, (I also had family illness to deal with) so declined. I was in Dublin this morning, and walking the dogs at 5.15am and being warm, I think I made the right choice, although I'd had lots of interest from canicrossers, both here and from the UK, who wanted to come over for the weekend, could have been a good part of the weekend.

I was interested in the dock jumping, aqua splash pool they have, did you see it? What did you think?

I didn't see any dock jumping just two smiths/argos pools with a ramp that was ridiculously steep on the way out lol!! Some kids coaxed their dog in (a husky) and it couldn't get out - they were drowned lifting it lol!! I didn't see the guy from Slaney so ended up just getting some nutriment to try - nice sized chubs for 4.50 although the salmon one has chicken in it I wanted the baa/moo tubes but they'd none left. My friend will be there again tomorrow with therapy dogs but I think she'd faint getting them! :pac:

muddypaws

I do feel sorry for the organisers, there is definitely a dog owner market here, but I'm not sure that its big enough for big events like this and pet expo. A club I was involved with looked into bringing a dock jumping pool over from the UK and it costs thousands, way out of our budget.

Its a vicious circle, people might go once, but not bother going again if there's nothing new or different, but trying to get new and different 'attractions' and stalls etc depends on numbers and moneys made at previous events. Maybe it needs to be run in conjunction with a major championship dog show?

Irishchick

I was there. It was ok. Small enough.

What really annoyed me was people constantly ignoring the yellow ribbon thing they had going. People were asked to leave dogs with yellow ribbons on their leads alone, to give them space as the may be nervous or unsure.

I spent a lot of the day trying to keep feral kids or loose dogs away from my dog. She's a rescue and was badly abused. I'm trying to get her socialized. Some people were respectful but the amount of people that just came up and shoved their hand in her face was astounding!

It would have benefited from more stands and things. You could have walked around it in 10 mins. I only really stayed for the dog show, which was badly organised. They kept grouping and mixing around categories. When I asked nobody seemed to really know what was happening.

VonVix

Irishchick wrote: »

I was there. It was ok. Small enough.

What really annoyed me was people constantly ignoring the yellow ribbon thing they had going. People were asked to leave dogs with yellow ribbons on their leads alone, to give them space as the may be nervous or unsure.

I spent a lot of the day trying to keep feral kids or loose dogs away from my dog. She's a rescue and was badly abused. I'm trying to get her socialized. Some people were respectful but the amount of people that just came up and shoved their hand in her face was astounding!

It would have benefited from more stands and things. You could have walked around it in 10 mins. I only really stayed for the dog show, which was badly organised. They kept grouping and mixing around categories. When I asked nobody seemed to really know what was happening.

Do you know who was in charge of the dog show?

tk123

muddypaws wrote: »

I do feel sorry for the organisers, there is definitely a dog owner market here, but I'm not sure that its big enough for big events like this and pet expo. A club I was involved with looked into bringing a dock jumping pool over from the UK and it costs thousands, way out of our budget.

Its a vicious circle, people might go once, but not bother going again if there's nothing new or different, but trying to get new and different 'attractions' and stalls etc depends on numbers and moneys made at previous events. Maybe it needs to be run in conjunction with a major championship dog show?

Yeah I agree - it's the same old stuff every time. I only went to pet expo and dog expo for socialisation for Lucy - I bought 2 charity bandanas at Pet Expo, and some food and vet bed at Dog Expo. Today I only went to get the food - handy for us since it's only 15 mins away at most. The plan was to take Lucy for socialisation but she went into heat this morning(!) so took the boy instead. At one stage he was mooching in the grass in front of the Husse stand and the guy was in the middle of a sales pitch and commented that all the dogs were stopping there because they loved the food so much it was that tasty - I had to bite my tongue and not say that he'd eat rubbish if I let him! :pac:

Irishchick

VonVix wrote: »

Do you know who was in charge of the dog show?

I think it was pawsitive dog training & the DSPCA. Alex patrelli (sp?) The guy thats sometimes on the radio and I think he is a trainer for the DSPCA - he was the judge.

I actually like him. He gives very sound advice whenever I hear him on the radio.