No Easter Bonnet for my dog … he’s sporting a sparkly new spring bee collar from Doggy Boutique. I’ve been shopping.
Specifically, I’ve been shopping at the Canadian Pet Expo at the International Centre in Toronto near the airport. This annual expo is popular – so popular, Airport Road was backed up for blocks thanks to traffic turning into the convention facility twenty minutes after the event started Friday morning. Parking is free, but congested.
The Canadian Pet Expo isn’t just about stuff, though every toy, treat, pet service and related industry is represented here along with dog breeders, rescues, and many dehydrated meat products, which seems to be the trend of the year. I’ve been meaning to give it a try too … I just need the dehydrator (affiliate link).
The Canadian Pet Expo is also about meeting social media ‘pet celebrities’ like Dozer the pig, who patrolled his own play zone; Horton and Hazel who posed for pics; 3 Furry Beauties, and Molly the fire dog promoting fire prevention and safety with Durham firefighters.
Dock Dogs compete in the diving pool, agility pooches race against the clock and each other, and dogs attending the expo (there are many) can run the Dog Lover Days lure course – as in previous years.
The expo is on all weekend, April 19 – 21, 2019. If you miss it, here’s a chance to win some stuff that came home with my pup Victor: An 8 oz bag of Vitality Natural Rewards chicken tenders, Weruva’s Goldie Lox dog food wet pouch, stuffed hedge hog toy, Jaker’s 5-inch Beef chew, and food samples from Nulo, Nutram and Taste of Northern Life.
Win! Simply comment below – what’s your favourite pet expo and where?Â
Contest is open to US and Canada until April 30, 2019.
Winner will be contacted via the email associated with your name and will have a week to reply.
Check out all the pet events in Canada this year here.
unfortunately there are none near me where i live now. when i lived in northern virginia, i used to go to the one there. i would love to go to a really nice pet expo. they have a reptile pet expo in raleigh,
but i dont like reptiles. the closest pet expos to me now are 3-4 hrs away 1-way which would be a long day. i have always wanted to go to the one in Florida where all of the new products are shown. mainly for pet stores but i would love to go. i know my friends that own the local pet store go every year.
Yes, while researching pet events across North America they do seem to be concentrated in specific areas, usually in or near big cities.
I love the Chicagoland Family Pet Expo held in Arlington Heights, IL (and I can make a stop at the Japanese marketplace there while I’m in the area).
So many new pet expos for me to check out. Awesome. Thanks for the info.
Not really an expo but love the cluster dog shows in KY and GA. There are all kinds of events to compete in and tons of shopping.
That sounds good too. I’m hoping to get to a similar competition-based event in Michigan in May. Thanks for posting.
I love the Long Island Pet Expo in the Park (Copiague, NY) in Sept. It’s a great outdoor event that includes a pet expo, carnival rides, autoshow and the beach!!! I am also looking forward to World Dog Expo in June in NJ. These pet expos this year are HUGE for me!! I have always had cats and even though I love going to them, there’s not much cat stuff. I adopted a 3 year old chihuahua from a high kill shelter in Tennessee on March 10th this year. I can’t wait to bring her and get her a bunch of stuff she won’t need!!! lol Momma loves to shop for her kids!
I am considering going to World Dog Expo this year. It’s a longish trip for me, but hopefully worth it. The Canadian Pet Expo had a lot of cat stuff too particularly because there’s a huge pure breed cat show going on during the expo. Congrats on the new chihuahua!
We actually haven’t gotten to go to any yet, hasn’t been any local or near by. Wanna go to one so bad!
They pet festivals do seem to be concentrated in bigger urban areas. Thanks for posting.
We always go to our Expo here in Detroit in November. It’s always fun!!!
I didn’t know about that one – I’ll look it up. Thanks!
Woofstock in Toronto. Also enjoy Fox and Hound day in Sarnia, and Pawlooza in London.
I haven’t been to the Fox and Hound Day in Sarnia but will look into it! Thanks for posting.
We like the Ottawa Dog Festival in Ottawa and the Thousand Islands Bark Bash in Gananoque 😉
I’m going to try and get to the Ottawa one this year – Thousand Islands sounds beautiful.
We haven’t had the chance to go to many pet expos yet but so far our favourite is Pawlooza in London. We are hoping to attend the K-W Pet Expo in a couple weeks.
I”ll be checking out the K-W one in a few weeks too. Love Pawlooza – that seems to be the most popular one so far. Thanks for posting!