Woofstock UK is a family-friendly event like no other – a festival for all things dog.
Our first ever festival, back in 2014, was hailed as a great success for all concerned and we are expecting our fifth event in 2018 to carry on the momentum built up over this time. Spaniel Harry, the face of Woofstock UK, has over 16,000 followers on social media so we are expecting a bumper turnout again this August.
Attractions galore!
So what can visitors expect to enjoy at Woofstock UK 2018?
Here is just a taster to get your dog’s tail wagging in anticipation:
We are proud to be supporting the following charities at Woofstock UK 2018 by helping to raise awareness about the work they do. This year’s charities include those helping animals internationally, in cities and in our own corner of the south west.
Another local charity we are delighted to support is the Ash Rescue Centre for retired horses. However, the 70 acres at Ash Tree Farm provide much more than a calm and humane way for hard-working horses to enjoy their twilight years.
The farm is the home of horticulturalist and equine herbalist Jenny Rogers and horse care specialist Ian Whatley. Together with their team they have returned some of the arable farming land back to nature, creating a reserve by digging ponds; laying hedges; planting trees; planting native grasses and meadow mixes; cultivating seed mixes for birds and even building dedicated habitats for barn owls, bats, beetles, dormice and other animals.
As well as raising money through fundraising and their shop, the Ash Rescue Centre offers animal sponsorship opportunities and even the chance to get married at the farm, surrounded by the idyllic South Hams countryside.
When pets in Devon lose their home (or are rescued from an inadequate one), the lucky ones end up with Animals in Distress. Animals in Distress run a Rescue Centre in which dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs are cared for prior to being rehomed.
Animals in Distress live by a six point Mission Statement where they commit to:
Animals in Distress also run a number of shops in the Devon area.
While many homeless charities bemoan the lack of attention and understanding for people sleeping rough, the situation is even worse for their dog companions who are hardly mentioned at all!
DOTS founder Michelle Clark was the first person to start supplying homeless people with essentials for their pets, inspiring many similar grass-roots movements in the process.
For over five years, DOTS have been raising awareness, collecting donations and supplying proper dog food (wet and dry) to homeless people with dogs on the streets of Westminster, Camden, Shoreditch East and other parts of the capital. This not only ensures the dogs are given adequate nutrition, it also relieves the need for their owner to sacrifice their own food for their ‘fur-baby.’
In 2017, DOTS expanded their service to provide mobile outreach services alongside their static dog care stations. As well as food, DOTS provides leads, blankets, padded dog coats, collars, treats and more.
Woofstock will be once again helping AnimalsAsia to raise awareness of the plight of moon bears which are cruelly caged in farms in China and Vietnam in order to supply bile for use in traditional medicine.
On top of the trauma of being caged and subjected to invasive bile extraction procedures, many moon bears are dehydrated and malnourished with old or unproductive bears sometimes left to starve to death.
AnimalsAsia rescue and rehabilitate moon bears while working to reduce demand for their bile.
The charity are also involved in visiting and documenting the cruel and often illegal trade in cats and dogs for human consumption.
They also created the innovative Dr Dog animal-assisted therapy programme as one of many ways to change the relationship between humans and dogs in the region. By demonstrating that dogs feel pain and experience emotions like us, more people will stand up and protect them.
Caroline Spencer is a guru in the dog training world and has written books and even designed specialist products to help you and your dog to really understand each other.
Caroline is the author of “Why Does my Dog do That?” and also co-authored (with Lesley Harris) “Parenting your new Puppy” so if there’s anyone who can decipher your dog’s bizarre behaviours, it’s Caroline.
Caroline has also designed the Ultimate Happy at Heel Harness (made by Ancol Pet Products Ltd.) and had experience in training both pet and working dogs. Having delved deeper into doggie psychology, she discovered that us silly humans were working against a dog’s natural instincts rather than with them.
Since 2009, Caroline has been running Pure Dog Listeners where she works alongside several like-minded behaviourists to help put the word out and work with dogs in more areas.
This is the fourth year running we have been blessed with Caroline’s presence here at Woofstock. Visit www.puredoglisteners.com to find out more about what Caroline and her team do. You can also find Caroline’s books on Amazon.
Patrick Ridge (BVSc, Cert VR, Cert SAS, MRCVS, RCVS) is a veterinary surgeon and Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery. Patrick runs the Ridge Referrals team, specialists in small animal orthopaedics and arthroscopy.
We are delighted to confirm that Patrick will be attending Woofstock UK 2018 for the second time. To be honest, his attendance was never in any doubt as Harry refused to have it any other way. Patrick fixed Harry back in 2016 and needless to say, Harry fell in love with him, refusing to leave the practice and insisting Patrick carried him to the car!
This is testament to the connection Patrick has with animals. Dr Dolittle, eat your heart out!
To find out more about Ridge Referrals and the team visit www.ridgereferrals.co.uk
BVSc, BSc, MRCVS
Colin Thorpe is a Veterinary Surgeon at Castle Veterinary Group in Cornwall. He is someone who is deeply passionate about animal welfare and care. Colin qualified from Liverpool University and has worked at various practices during his career. Colin also works with Boehringer Ingelheim who are passionate about animal welfare.
We are delighted that Colin is coming to Woofstock UK 2018 for the first time this year as a judge.
Will there be…?? Well, I can tell you’ve never been to Woofstock before!!
Some of the treats you and your doggie can look forward to include agility and obedience courses; demonstrations from leading experts in the dog world; exciting shows (waggiest tail, prettiest girl – that kind of thing) and a dog chill-out zone (with drinking water, a relaxing sponge bath and seating for owners to give their feet a rest).
And there’s more…
A massage area (provided by a qualified pet therapist, no less); stalls (for dogs and humans) and live music in the food and refreshment areas. We suggest you stay in touch via social media and bookmark this website to keep abreast of the latest.
The official Woofstock opening time is 9.30am. However, we appreciate you may have had to travel some distance to the event. Therefore, we will allow people (and dogs) into the venue prior to 9.30am. You may just be restricted as to where you can go.
The day ends at 6.30pm. For up-to-date event timings, please check the website and our social media sites regularly.
Throughout the day, you will be well fed and watered. We have a wide range of quality food providers setting up stalls at Woofstock UK in 2018 to cater to all tastes. We also have a good mix of both alcoholic and soft drink providers coming too.
It goes without saying that we will also be providing water troughs for dogs – both around the site and in the chill out zone. There will also be some dog ice cream for sale (yes, I know, we’ve thought of it all).
You are free to bring your own food although we do encourage you to support our food suppliers. They have kept their prices reasonable so please consider using them.
Yes siree, there will be limited toilets with disabled access too. There are also public toilets a couple of minutes away if our onsite facilities are full.
There are no camping facilities at the site. However, the nearest fully operational camping site is www.woodlandsgrove.co.uk which is approximately 4 miles from us. You can also find details of places to stay at www.discoverdartmouth.com or www.doggydevon.co.uk or www.bythedart.co.uk
We recommend you use www.doggydevon.co.uk or www.discoverdartmouth.com or www.bythedart.co.uk to find accommodation nearby. B&B’s tend to get booked up early for the event.
Onsite parking is available for disabled persons only. There is limited parking in the public car park in Dartmouth so we advise you arrive very early to secure a space.
The nearest train station is in Totnes and is approximately 12 miles away from the venue. However, we would advise everyone to use the Park and Ride which is a 5 minute bus journey to the site. Dogs are permitted on the bus and you can find more information at www.southhams.gov.uk/article/4566/Dartmouth-Park-and-Ride The local cab firms will also be allowing dogs to travel with them on the day. You can find a list at www.bythedart.co.uk/living-in-dartmouth/getting-about/local-taxis/
You should receive your tickets by 14th July 2018. Our advance ticket cut-off date is currently 1st July 2018 but that can change.
As long as the attendee is wearing the wristband, he or she will be fine.
Yes, as long as the attendee has their wristband.
We recommend you bring your ticket in any case but if you book your place after the cut-off date (1st July 2018) you will have to bring your ticket as we won’t be able to post your wristband out in time. We will then provide you with a band on arrival.
Oooh, risky. We recommend you buy your tickets in advance as we can’t guarantee there will be any left on the day. We are pretty paw-pular you know?
Fireworks are a definite no-no and we also ask you not to bring camping stoves or any other cooking devices.
The safety of both humans and animals is paramount so any person disregarding the above will be asked to leave the festival.
In addition, all dogs must be kept on leads at all times!
Give our team a woof by clicking here!
Not really a frequently asked question but we’ve popped it on the end anyway.
Tickets are non-refundable.
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