THOUSANDS of dogs and their owners enjoyed a ‘pup-tacular’ weekend at a festival created especially for our four-legged friends.

On June 3 and 4, around 10,000 people and 3,000 dogs descended on Broadlands, in Romsey, for this year’s Dogstival, with plenty of fun for canines and their humans.

The aim of the event is to provide activities that dogs can have a go at with their owners, including a ‘Barkour’ playground and a smaller course for puppies to try out.

For those that didn’t want to be off the ground for too long, there were agility courses for our furry friends to show off their skills.

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As the sun shone, there were giant splash pools for dogs to launch themselves into the water to chase their much-loved toys and cool down, for others there were paddling pools to dip their paws in.

Many of the festivalgoers had a go at the scurry village where pedigree working dogs and cockapoos with boundless energy jumped hay bales and retrieved toys hidden in the foliage.

Hampshire Chronicle: Thousands of dogs and their owners enjoyed Dogstival at Broadlands over the weekend

 

Crowds were wowed by the Hampshire Harriers, a flyball team based in the New Forest, which showcased their lightning-fast dogs in the main arena, and some novices even had a go at the canine sport.

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Stalls with everything to do with owning a dog were also open at the event, alongside local and national charities providing animal advice.

One popular area of the festival was the puppacino stand, which got tails wagging, as dogs waited for their treat of a cup of whipped cream. 

Speaking after the event, Richard Nowell, co-founder and organiser of Dogstival, said: “We are beyond thrilled to have delivered yet another stellar event for the region’s four-legged friends in the gorgeous surroundings of Broadlands Park.

“Each year we give Dogstival a theme and this year’s was the Summer of Love and judging by the thousands of waggy tails, all the dogs definitely loved their time at Dogstival, enjoying our jam-packed schedule of fun displays, have a go activities, live music, delicious hound and human food, shopping and much much more. We were also blessed with beautiful sunshine both days, making the giant splash pools one of the event’s top draws for doggies to cool off with a refreshing dip. As ever, Dogstival has been a true celebration of the joy dogs bring to our lives and we are already looking forward to planning Dogstival 2024.”