"The dog lovers festival used to be the highlight of my year when it used to be held in the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, but unfortunately has gone down hill since.

Prices were more expensive than the royal Melbourne show, both for tickets and parking - yet only was a fraction of the size of the royal Melbourne show.

Exhibitors have decreased in quality, with many popular quality companies like Greenies abandoning the festival, and many of the exhibitors now having nothing to do with dogs or animals, such as royal home lotteries (and barely any breed clubs!)

and be prepared to line up for 2+ hours for a chance to win a small bag of 6 pieces of kibble (Not even guaranteed), before finding the next line to join.

It seems to be all about instagram celebrities and profits now, I hope to see the dog lovers festival return to high quality prime of 5+ years ago.. but I don’t think I’ll bother next year.

It’s difficult to think of a positive, but if I had to come up with one.. at least the building had good air circulation/air conditioning considering how jam packed it was."

Preston Henshaw

"I have been attending the dog lovers festival/show for the past 10 years, and can say confidently that since moving to the showgrounds last year, it has deteriorated. Firstly, removing the Friday. The Friday was much quieter, but it was excellent for those who get anxious with crowds and for those with disabilities. You could also actually talk to exhibitors and enjoy the show.

The parking situation is ridiculous. It took us over 30 minutes to get through to gate 7 on Saturday this year, and the weather was fine. It was much easier to park at the exhibition centre. The parking was also undercover so if a storm came through you could get to your car without being drenched.

The food trucks were also inside at the exhibition centre, which meant again, you didn't get drenched getting food.

Alot of people have already commented on people bringing huge trolleys and suitcases, taking up way too much space, just so they can get freebies, while nearly running you over.

The toilet situation this year was atrocious. The cat building had portable toilets, with only 4 female toilets to choose from, and a huge queue. 4 toilets is not enough for thousands of people. Those toilets were out of order on Sunday, so we were able to use the toilets under the Grand stand, which were outside the fencing of the Festival.

There was also hardly any seating at this year's festival. There were bean bags, but good luck getting out of them if you are less mobile. The exhibition centre had benches everywhere for you to sit if you needed a break. Also, since the food trucks were outside, the seating was also outside. Which meant you couldn't sit outside on Sunday unless you wanted a wet bottom.

Combining the cat & dog lovers festival together was a mistake. There is no possible way you can see both festivals in one day. We tried. It should be back to separate, then the parking wouldn't be as much of an issue.

Where did the kids activities go this year? There used to be a kids corner and face painting etc.

And lastly, advertising on your social media that the Australian Dog of the Year - People's Choice is one of your pat-a-pooch participants (she's been the last 3 years), but then not inviting her to attend, and blatantly ignoring any emails or messages sent on facebook (which you saw!) asking if there was a way she could be involved is disgusting. Luckily a exhibitor offered last minute to have her at their stand because they couldn't believe she wasn't coming.
If it wasn't for the rest of the problems listed above, this alone is why I won't be attending any more.

It's a shame, as I really loved going. But the last 2 years have put a dampener on the experience. I wish it was more organised and back to the way it was."

Who Let The Pups Out Groomer

"We went to the Melbourne show on Sunday 26th October 2025. Have been in the past and loved it, but unfortunately the spirit of what the show is about "the love of dogs" has been lost. We were unable to get near the stands due to the long queues of people with pull along trolleys and suitcases loading up on freebies. It has become a freebie fest and no longer about the dogs. Even if I wanted to buy from the stands, I could not get near them. There were other displays and exhibitions about dogs, which were great, but again the trolleys and suitcases made it so hard to get close and see anything. Before going in, we queued for an hour to park, but with 2 cars to go, at 11.30am, we were told the car park was full. So disappointed."

Kate McLeod