Pet Expo next weekend...

baby and crumble

Hey guys, anyone going to be going to the Pet Expo in the RDS this weekend? I got a groupon ticket a few weeks back, will probably be only able to make it to the Sunday... If anyone else is there fancy a mini meetup? I caught up with SillyMango last year and met Dude and Peaches (!!!!) so BEAT THAT ANIMAL & PET ISSUES!!!!!

rannerap

I'm thinking of going mostly so I can see if they'll let me hold the micro pig

baby and crumble

Sarannewrap wrote: »

I'm thinking of going mostly so I can see if they'll let me hold the micro pig

HOLD THE PHONE THERE'S A MICROPIG???? :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

SingItOut

I was going anyway but oh my god micro pig?! :eek:

*breath taken* ... Myself and the other half are going on the Saturday, it's his first time there and my third. He's going to bring his red and white Siberian husky so say hi if you see us! We're all friendly

tk123

baby and crumble wrote: »

HOLD THE PHONE THERE'S A MICROPIG???? :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

Yep they have pigs, goats etc in a little pen - I was a bit annoyed last year that the owner of these animals seemed happy for dogs to have their faces up to the pen/barking at the animals and freaking them out when in a farm situation the dogs could be shot for what they're doing! :rolleyes:

Not sure if I'm bothered going. I went last year more for socialisation with Lucy being a baby but really there's not that much in it that I'm interested in? It's also always full of unsocialised freaking out which I've grown a bit weary of lol!:o

VonVix

I'll be there but working on the day.

FurBabyMomma

I'm thinking about going but dunno if it's madness to travel up with 3 dogs and a baby!!! How much are the tickets do you know?

tk123

FurBabyMomma wrote: »

I'm thinking about going but dunno if it's madness to travel up with 3 dogs and a baby!!! How much are the tickets do you know?

I wouldn't travel far to it tbh... I live in Drumcondra and don't think it's worth the hassle of driving 30 mins to it lol :P


Did anyone see their FB post the other week when the web summit was on? It ended with something like no geeks allowed - they were flamed and deleted it lol :pac:

FurBabyMomma

tk123 wrote: »

I wouldn't travel far to it tbh... I live in Drumcondra and don't think it's worth the hassle of driving 30 mins to it lol :P


Did anyone see their FB post the other week when the web summit was on? It ended with something like no geeks allowed - they were flamed and deleted it lol :pac:

Oh really? Thanks for the input as I'd be travelling 90mins and I'd hate to be disappointed.

tk123

Have you been to it before? It's loads of stands - some pet related like dog food manufactures with discounts/samples, some selling toys and accessories, stuff like guide dogs, therapy dogs and some rescues etc. They have some animal displays - like farm animals or reptiles too. There's also loads of non-pet related stuff which nobody seems to go to(:p). They usually have a ring in the middle for displays or talks. It can get very very busy so if you were going I'd go early to avoid the crowds and also to get a parking space outside

A friend had a stand for their business one year with a jar of lollipops on the table... he caught a woman trying to tip the whole jar into her bag lol!!! :pac:

baby and crumble

Yeah, probably not madly worth it paying full price and travelling loads... Crufts it ain't! But I really enjoyed it last year, and this year as we're getting ready to get our first cat I'm looking forward to having a wee wander- I've had cats in my family home growing up but they were outside countryside cats so didn't have to worry about litter trays etc. I loved getting to hang out with some rats and guinea pigs last year since I don't have my own and my hamster is lazy as!

anniehoo

VonVix wrote: »

I'll be there but working on the day.

Me too....working the Saturday

tk123

anniehoo wrote: »

Me too....working the Saturday

I met 4 boardsies last year AND saw 3 boards cats!! Couldn't get too close to them with the dogs lol!:P AND we met Lucy's sister too lol!

VonVix

anniehoo wrote: »

Me too....working the Saturday

Now that makes me REALLY curious haha!

SillyMangoX

The famous kitties won't be there this year as I'm working/have rehearsals at the weekend BUT there's a cat show taking place during it this year which I'm excited about. I just seriously hope they're holding it upstairs, with this format of cat show the owner has to carry the cats from the holding pens to the judging pens so I could imagine cats getting freaked out easily. Though saying that, I had Dude out on my lap nearly all of the Sunday last year and he was happy out with his lead and harness on, and his blankie to suck Gonna miss meeting some of you boardsies again though, it was nice to put faces to the names

Knine

I will be there in my usual spot for both days with the Border Terrorists! Things a bit hectic in Knine's house as I am in the middle of a house move!

anniehoo

VonVix wrote: »

Now that makes me REALLY curious haha!

Ha well if you figure it out come over and say hi! I'll be on a big yellow and blue stand

Raminahobbin

I'll be swinging by on Sunday morning, can't wait

VonVix

anniehoo wrote: »

Ha well if you figure it out come over and say hi! I'll be on a big yellow and blue stand

When I get the chance to do a bit of shopping (who am I kidding, most likely a lot of shopping) I'll keep that in mind! I might be knackered from running around though. :P

tk123

Now I'm tempted to go for socialization for Lucy because missed the dog thing in Cloughran in June lol!... Only thing is that if I see my friend they're going to go MAD to see her and make a show of me Every year I go I say it'll be my last then end up going again!

SingItOut

Is the expo in the main arena or Simmons court this year? The site won't work for me to check

tk123

SingItOut wrote: »

Is the expo in the main arena or Simmons court this year? The site won't work for me to check

The main arena again.

SingItOut

Great thanks, I wasn't sure because the christmas expo thing is on in the RDS at the same time. I wasn't sure which location

baby and crumble

SingItOut wrote: »

Great thanks, I wasn't sure because the christmas expo thing is on in the RDS at the same time. I wasn't sure which location

The website says Simmonscourt...

Whispered

I was tempted to go, but not sure, then I read the posts saying that the Christmas Expo is there too! :eek:

How can you NOT go. Pets and Christmas. The worlds best things!

tk123

baby and crumble wrote: »

The website says Simmonscourt...

You're right - it says RDS and then Simmonscourt... That would actually be better for parking lol! :pac:

RDS site says the toy/xmas thing is in Hall1 and Expo site says they're in Simmonscourt

http://www.rds.ie/venuemap

I went one year and carried vetbed and 2 bags of food from the main hall back to Simmonscourt - i thought my arms would break... That was also the year Bailey poo'd in the ring during a demo lol :eek::p:D

tk123

Went along - €6 parking was a bit steep I thought :mad:. Anyways it was the usual Pet Expo. I got a few samples, entered a few draws and touched a snake lol. Next year I'll save my €20 and buy a treat for the dogs I think. They were both very good - Bailey of course went mad when we saw some of his favourites but settled down. Lucy was amazed by the birds and ESPECIALLY the ducks and geese - more so with the smell of their poo than anything else lol!! I sussed out Anniehoo's stand but was too shy to ask "Are you Anniehoo??"

Most annoying thing was the old lady who asked if she could give them a biscuit...and gave them each a dentastix! >_< Bailey couldn't really chew it standing up and was walking around with it in his mouth guarding it which was dangerous - I was lucky when a child asked first before petting him(!).. so had to take them to a corner and wait for him to eat it. I gave them both probiotics when I come home so hopefully they're not sick!

baby and crumble

I quite enjoyed it. Glad I got the 2 for 1 tickets. The cat show was enjoyable, especially the American judge who explained how and what she was judging for. Enjoyed seeing the Irish Therapy Dogs, definitely want to do that when we get ourselves a dog. Which hopefully will be a rescue greyhound, I love seeing the guys from the specific greyhound rescues! 😄

SingItOut

We had a great day out, we didnt bring the husky after. We got the dogs and catss some treats and bandanas for their collars. I met allis sister! So pretty but of course i would say that the baby papillon was the cutest little thing!

We didnt have to pay as a friend working there got us free passes luckily. The cat world was fascinating! And the baby african greys were so cute!

anniehoo

I really enjoyed it, met lots of people I should have met a long time ago and it was less crowded than the last time I was there. Tomorrow will be jammers.

Met the lovely Knine and her 2 beauties too.

The cat village was my biggest surprise. So much better than the last time I was there.

TK there's only so much you can do with these types of expos. You can't go OTT with anything like this. What else would you like to have?

The 'petting' area I dont understand though. Alpacas in a pen and various avians at ground level I don't get.

I met lots of lovely people and had a good conversation with the Cavalier stand as their poster actively states 'ethical breeding'.

VonVix

I cuddled a Border Terrier in the breed village! My thought was "I bet you're a boardsie!" but I didn't say anything because I was sure I was smelling of badly of ham.

SillyMangoX

I've been enjoying looking at pictures of the pet expo on facebook from many of the people who I've befriended from the cat show world and got an awful pang of 'oh I want to be there!' How is the cat show laid out, is it in a separate place to the main expo?

tk123

anniehoo wrote: »

I really enjoyed it, met lots of people I should have met a long time ago and it was less crowded than the last time I was there. Tomorrow will be jammers.

Met the lovely Knine and her 2 beauties too.

The cat village was my biggest surprise. So much better than the last time I was there.

TK there's only so much you can do with these types of expos. You can't go OTT with anything like this. What else would you like to have?

The 'petting' area I dont understand though. Alpacas in a pen and various avians at ground level I don't get.

I met lots of lovely people and had a good conversation with the Cavalier stand as their poster actively states 'ethical breeding'.

I can't understand why they put that petting area right inside the door?! Could the animals not freak out if a dog comes in and barks at them? I was lucky I saw the ducks before the dogs and was able to steer clear of them! I remember one year a dog (husky I think) attacked one of the animals outside - I think the same dog had been kicked out of the breed village because the dog was aggressive towards some of the dogs there.

What would I like? I don't know tbh - maybe because I've been a few times it's just same old same old? I don't think they cater for people who come earlier anymore - before there was demos and shows earlier and again in the afternoon. I would have loved to enter the scrufts show but we got there around 10:30 and I didn't think it'd be fair on the dogs to hang around until 2:00 or 3:00 - Lucy was already trying to lie down for a nap lol!!
One year they had a cool demo with a customs dog and a lineup of volunteers - one had 'drugs' planted on them and the dog found them. The guy spoke about how the dogs are trained, where they come from etc etc and it was really interesting.

And oops I annoyed the donkey people by not buying a rope toy - we had the same kind and bold Lucy was eating and then nearly chocking on the strands..then I didn't buy a raffle ticket because I didn't want half the stuff in the hamper lol!

anniehoo

SillyMangoX wrote: »

How is the cat show laid out, is it in a separate place to the main expo?

Do you remember before (maybe 3ish years ago) it was upstairs? Badly advertised and signposted. With 4 or 5 very bored cats in cages. If I was guesstimating sizes I would put the main Expo 7/10ths dogs to 2/10th cats (major improvement) and 1/10th ( rodents and exotics) and some 'farm' animals' which they still haven't got right yet. Alpacas are not pets imho.

There was very 'serious' comps going on when I went in (4 times) with the cats.All cages were not on the ground and some cats mid judging were playing with each other between shows. There was no stress from other animals but I still do wonder why owners put themselves through the showing hassle in the first place. The owners seemed more stressed than the animals lol.

Saw a Scotish Fold for the first time ever. Beautiful.

It's a funny place the Pet Expo because it's a mix of an awful lot of people who I see giving out about each other online, all have their intentions in the same place but for whatever reason don't seem to make an equal or better connection IRL.

Social media is great but I made a point of meeting 3 people today that I have chatted to online over various animal issues and I was so glad I did.

SillyMangoX

It was a very serious show, first TICA show for the club that put it on (there's a few TICA shows in Ireland.) Honestly it's not that stressful but obviously the pedigree owners who are trying to rack up the points to get champion status would be taking it extremely seriously, you can only get up so many points within a year so as far as I know it would have been 'make or break' for a lot of them! I prefer GCCFI shows anyway because you don't have to be carrying the cats up and down to the judges constantly :P Actually as far as I know there's a fancy dress competition for the cats tomorrow so that could be worth a look in Glad to hear the cats get a bit more of a look in this year though! I'm sooo tempted to skive off my rehearsals tomorrow and head up but I'll be killed :pac:

Inexile

I couldn't make it this year and Im raging. I should have been helping out on a stand.

I usually end up buying stuff so I guess its a cost saving exercise.

tk123

Was that the cat part beside the loos? I ran into the loo first before I brought the dogs in and could hear something going on like announcements being made but didn't investigate because Bailey was barking when I left them in the car. When we were going around we ended up where there were food vans etc - I think on the other side of the cats(!) :eek: took the dogs out straight away.

I was dying to see if Bailey would know you Anniehoo and if he thought you were his friend or not lol!!

DforDisaster

I'm heading in today for a little look-see and maybe a few purchases (any one see any good bargains on dog stuff?)

I was there twice before, once in the RDS, and once somewhere very far out - punchestown maybe?

To be honest I mainly go to see if I can fuss any nice dogs in the breed village! (Soon to be dog-owner, who has wanted a dog forever - frequently found dragging boyfriend to Pet Expo, Kennel Club Shows, Crufts, Local Waggiest Tail Competitions...I think he will be relieved when I can get my doggy "fix" in the comfort of our own home!)

Inexile

DforDisaster wrote: »

I'm heading in today for a little look-see and maybe a few purchases (any one see any good bargains on dog stuff?)

I was there twice before, once in the RDS, and once somewhere very far out - punchestown maybe?

To be honest I mainly go to see if I can fuss any nice dogs in the breed village! (Soon to be dog-owner, who has wanted a dog forever - frequently found dragging boyfriend to Pet Expo, Kennel Club Shows, Crufts, Local Waggiest Tail Competitions...I think he will be relieved when I can get my doggy "fix" in the comfort of our own home!)

Oh god Punchestown was awful!

Don't forget you fuss the dogs that are on the rescue stands too.... Im sure they greyhounds would appreciate a bit of attention and few head rubs too. But then Im biased

DforDisaster

I LOVE the greyhounds - there is something about the shape of their head and body that makes them very satisfying to stroke! I'm always surprised at how big they actually are - most of them are so quiet that you don't really notice their size until they have a stretch. I am an equal-opportunities fusser :-p

God yes, punchestown was a bit of an epic fail - there was some poor guy with a sheepdog outside doing very impressive things, but without anyone really knowing he was there!

Inexile

DforDisaster wrote: »

I LOVE the greyhounds - there is something about the shape of their head and body that makes them very satisfying to stroke! I'm always surprised at how big they actually are - most of them are so quiet that you don't really notice their size until they have a stretch. I am an equal-opportunities fusser :-p

God yes, punchestown was a bit of an epic fail - there was some poor guy with a sheepdog outside doing very impressive things, but without anyone really knowing he was there!

Then you should get your hound fix then today as Jacob aka Mr Tall Black and Shiny and Rua will be there plus a few others. Both these boys are big but they curl up small

I saw the guy with the sheepdog I just thought he was some guy doing a bit of training never realised he was part of the Expo.

Enjoy

tk123

Ah just saw on FB that the vet who did Bailey's op is at the expo!! Would have loved to thank her in person!

DforDisaster

Had a grand time. Was very taken with the alpaca!

I'm always surprised that there aren't more pet-related trade stands - there were very few today. I did get some vet bed though.

The cat-world was much better than other years - it was interesting to see the different crate covers they had (one was like a lawrence of arabia tent!)

Loved getting to see the therapy dogs, and got to give a lovely Galgo a fuss over at the H.U.G. stand.

nxbyveromdwjpg

Went to this yesterday, was a bit of craic.

Just about the cat world / cat show - was there domestic cats in there? I know from googling that the cat show in May is exotic breeds but did owners bring their cats to the Expo there and compete them?

My cat is better looking then a lot of them you see, I'd fancy his chances next year although he might attack the other cats.

Sassy58

Was so disappointed with PetExpo from the sheep as you walked in the door tied on the outside of the pen - was too a stressful environment for them with all teh dogs coming in on top of them. I thought the poor hamster in the balls getting thrown around the table was a disgrace and did anyone see the poor baby parots all huddled together trying to keep warm and not a heat lamp or pad in sight

SillyMangoX

nm wrote: »

Just about the cat world / cat show - was there domestic cats in there? I know from googling that the cat show in May is exotic breeds but did owners bring their cats to the Expo there and compete them?

My cat is better looking then a lot of them you see, I'd fancy his chances next year although he might attack the other cats.

Yep there's always a household pet section in cat shows as well as the pedigree breeds. It's quite fun really if you get into it, I've shown all my cats at various shows. Some people get crazy competitive even in the household pet section and it's a tad off putting but if you don't let it affect you then it's good! It's not a case where you can just bring your cat along on the day though you have to register their entry about a month-ish beforehand. I'd love to see more people enter their moggies, it's usually just the same few people that enter the section so would be nice to see some fresh faces!

baby and crumble

Sassy58 wrote: »

I thought the poor hamster in the balls getting thrown around the table was a disgrace

I felt a bit weird about that too but I kept checking throughout the day and to be fair they were only out in balls for 10 minutes at a time. The guy standing next to it seemed good about keeping an eye on them.

SillyMangoX wrote: »

Yep there's always a household pet section in cat shows as well as the pedigree breeds. It's quite fun really if you get into it, I've shown all my cats at various shows. Some people get crazy competitive even in the household pet section and it's a tad off putting but if you don't let it affect you then it's good! It's not a case where you can just bring your cat along on the day though you have to register their entry about a month-ish beforehand. I'd love to see more people enter their moggies, it's usually just the same few people that enter the section so would be nice to see some fresh faces!

One of the entries on the Saturday was a gorgeous one-eyed blue who I took a very big shine to! It was lovely to see a one-eyed cat, especially as we're adopting one. I'd love to show her, she's a beauty but she hates being picked up apparently, it really stresses her out (they think she was picked up and thrown into oil) so I wouldn't like to do that to her.

Raminahobbin

I really enjoyed it, was there yesterday morning for a few hours. I really only go there things for the dogs, to see breeds I don't normally and get chatting to some owners.

I didn't see any alpacas there though, just llamas- did I miss the alpacas??

The cat area was perfectly handled, I thought - quiet, out of the way of the dogs, with loads of space and variety. The cats seemed very relaxed this year - think they finally got the formula right!!

The sheep/goats/bird area always annoys me so I don't bother with that any more.

Favourite dog of the Expo: Black Russian Terrier puppy

muddypaws

DforDisaster wrote: »

I'm always surprised that there aren't more pet-related trade stands - there were very few today. I did get some vet bed though.

Probably because of the price of the stands, i've a few friends that have had stands previously, but ended up losing money, so stopped going.

DforDisaster

Raminahobbin wrote: »

I really enjoyed it, was there yesterday morning for a few hours. I really only go there things for the dogs, to see breeds I don't normally and get chatting to some owners.

I didn't see any alpacas there though, just llamas- did I miss the alpacas??

The cat area was perfectly handled, I thought - quiet, out of the way of the dogs, with loads of space and variety. The cats seemed very relaxed this year - think they finally got the formula right!!

The sheep/goats/bird area always annoys me so I don't bother with that any more.

Favourite dog of the Expo: Black Russian Terrier puppy

Oh, maybe it was a llama, rather than an alpaca! I get them a bit confused sometimes!

I, too, loved the Black Russian Terrier puppy - I had never seen a BRT puppy before - so cute!

@Muddy Paws - you are probably right about the price stand. I guess now that people have access to so much pet related on-line shopping, trade stands at an event like that mightn't get as much custom as they would have done some time ago.

tk123

muddypaws wrote: »

Probably because of the price of the stands, i've a few friends that have had stands previously, but ended up losing money, so stopped going.

+1 I know somebody who had a small table - i think it was €350? He got no extra custom and lost a day's work from being their on the Saturday so wouldn't do it again.