Barkly Barks Dog Festival

Today's adventure was to the Barkly Barks Dog Festival, in Brunswick. I was partly expecting a puppy parade, like in that bottle episode of Community, but I had lunch plans, so couldn't hang around long enough for the dog parade. It was really cute seeing all the dogs.

And even though there were so many dogs in once place, they all seemed really well-behaved, and they all got along well together.

(That big dog was actually bigger than me if I was down on all fours.)

The owners seemed perfectly happy for you to pet their dogs, or take photos with them. They had stalls with different doggy treats, and various competitions for dogs.

You could even have your dog's photo taken professionally by "Pupparazzi":

Seeing all the dogs made me want one of my own, but the presentation I got to see spoke about some of the things you really need to consider before buying a dog:

• Dogs require physical and mental stimulation. For a lot of people living in the inner city, they just don't have enough space in their house for dogs to run around in, and if you work full time, you might not be able to walk your dogs as often as it really needs to in order for it to get exercise. Carrying a dog around in your purse does not count as exercise!
• If you are planning to start a family, or already have one, be wary of breeds like the Maltese, which tend to bite people.
• Also, if you want to travel, consider what you are going to do with your dog. The Akita breed doesn't really like being trained, and may not behave well when in the company of another person while you are away
• Consider how much food the dog will need to eat. Larger dogs like Great Danes will eat a lot.

The vet that took care of MrFodder's dog said that with our current lifestyle, it is really unfair on the dog if we were to get one, because we both work quite long hours. I agree with her, and think that it would be irresponsible of us to get a dog right now, especially as we aren't even able to keep the house clean when it's just the two of us!

Something to dream about for the future though. :)