In May 2021 we discovered the world of dog shows.. yes, before then we had no idea this whole concept existed and boy were we missing out!!
Two weeks before Dogstival, I booked us a trade space. With absolutely no previous experience at shows and no idea what we needed, we somehow managed to create our first Nuts for Pets show stand with a rental gazebo and some vintage potato crates.
We were proud as punch!
You could call it, 'The ultimutt nut stand!'
Dogstival was such a fun weekend, with approximately 8000 people showing up with their pooches in tow!
We did record sales over the weekend and treated ourselves to a nights stay in the hotel behind (very fancy!).
It set us up for a wonderful year to come at shows, we made friends with so many wonderful small businesses just like ours and even got ourselves onto the famous Pop & Bark's Puppacino toppings list!
The Puppacino Bar that travels the UK, what a treat!
Our next show was All About Dogs Blenheim Palace in July. This was their first time at Blenheim Palace, such a gorgeous venue to host a dog show! Alastair was away on a Stag Do so I asked my mum, Nikki, to come along and help at this one.
'Wild(flower) about you'
This time I camped behind the stand and was woken in the mornings by the show wolves howling away. I'm not sure that's better or worse than a Cockerel to wake up to!
We all enjoyed a lovely evening with Carolin and Dave from Milo & Pi, they make the most amazing, eco dog beds, I recommend checking them out.
Our stand was also placed next to Kirsty, who at the time ran Boop & Floof, she was such a treasure to be next door to and we supported each other over the weekend!
One very happy four legged neighbour!
The end of July and another show was set up and ready to go. This time, All About Dogs Newbury and Alastair was back!
The boy was back in town!
Another fun weekend meeting some amazing new customers and some old friends.
The rain bucketed down on the Sunday afternoon but we had a lovely weekend regardless.
The rain bucketed down on the Sunday afternoon but we had a lovely weekend regardless.
'Ruff Day!'
A few of our favourite shots from the weekend at Newbury. We met @bearthehairypug and I just couldn't get over his smart outfit, comment below what you think!
No shows for a month and we were missing it like mad, although very pleased to have some time to rest.
Our first show to kick off a crazy September was the closest to home we were going to get at a show this year. We were lucky enough to be at Scone Palace in Perth!
Peanut Butter Peanut Butter Peanut Butter Peanut Butter.. You get the idea!
A new sign, as some people weren't a fan of my 'if you lick it, you pay for it' joke! And we were set up and ready for what we thought would be a relatively calm day in Perth.
This was totally not the case. Alastair and I were absolutely swamped with loyal Scottish dogs from start to end. We had the best day ever and even met the Lady of the House!
'This Lady or that Lady?'
We also met up with our favourite Scottish Spaniel, Lady from @misslady_and_bronteboo and got to meet her very sweet new younger sister Bronte!
This was by far our most surprising show with our biggest takings on just one day. It's safe to say we can't wait to be in Perth for another show like this one hosted by Dog Friendly Perthshire.
Then the DogFest onslaught started! We had booked in to be present at the remaining shows they were putting on in 2021. This meant every weekend in September at a different spot in England plus driving to and from Edinburgh!
It's lucky we love your dogs and an adventure!
Knebworth House was the first and also the weekend I was celebrating my 25th Birthday. So balloons were blown by Alastair and attached to our first DogFest stall!
“25, sittin' on 25 mill.” - Drake, “The Motto”
"25, sittin' on grass." - Amelia, Dogfest Knebworth
It was an epic weekend, we camped in the field next door and again met some lovely pooches who came by to say 'Hi' at our stall.
The highlight of my weekend was for sure meeting TikTok famous 'Good Boy Ollie' and his equally chocolatey, gorgeous pal Hector. Just look at this insane photo of Ollie balancing a Poochbutter on his butt!
'I like Lab butts and I cannot lie'
It's definitely true that I was rather star struck when I first saw Ollie, I'm a bit of a TikTok addict! Alastair had to go over and drag them in to try our dog friendly peanut butter. It was so worth it!
The next weekend we were at DogFest Cirencester and giving away free Puppacinos to everyone that purchased one of our awesome products!
We'd also had some great new signs made for us by Baillie Signs in Edinburgh. They did the most amazing job churning these beauties out in just 2 days for us!
Get your free Puppacinos!
I took A LOT of photos this weekend, far too many to cram into this blog but there is a few posts on our Instagram if you'd like to check them out.
Busy as ever at our taste testing station!
It was another super fun weekend at DogFest, if you haven't been to one yet, you really must go! We got to meet up with notorious PugLord @puggysmalls, who we have known since we started Nuts for Pets and his crew of gorg girls @popsausage and @itspomegranate.
Onto the last but not least of the DogFest's in September, the legendary Tatton Park, where it all started.
Crate o' Crumbles!
This was a big weekend for Alastair and I as we were also doing PATs Telford, the biggest pet trade show in the UK on Sunday-Monday. Meaning we had to set up DogFest on Friday, do the show Saturday and then head to Telford to set up our other stand for the day after!
So after the first day of DogFest we both jumped in the car and headed to Telford to start setting up.
Obviously, we got back to Tatton Park pretty late and as we were camping inside the park we drove up to the main gate. Security had locked the entrance and no one was there! We were stuck outside the park at 11pm, not ideal.
Obviously, we got back to Tatton Park pretty late and as we were camping inside the park we drove up to the main gate. Security had locked the entrance and no one was there! We were stuck outside the park at 11pm, not ideal.
A heated 15min discussion ensued about what on earth we were going to do but then we had an idea. There was an adjoining farm with access to the park! We parked the car here and hopped a few fences, stealthily heading back to our wee tent. About a mile later we reached the entrance to DogFest and told the security guy our story! He was very sorry to have locked us out. Safely back inside our tent we slept like logs.
Another adventure we won't forget!
Alastair went off to PATs Sunday morning to work his magic whilst I stayed at DogFest and enlisted the help of Moira, Alastair's Mum. She's a master saleswoman and will definitely be coming back this year!
'Three's a crowd'
The last of the summer dog shows had sadly come to an end, looking back we had so so much fun and enjoyed meeting so many smiling faces and happy dogs across the UK. We plan to go to as many dog shows as we can in 2022 and hope we will see you all at at least one!
Just in case you wanted to see our PATs stand, here it is:
A 3hr Masterpiece?
But, we were not done for the year yet! There was still Discover Dogs and DogFest Christmas to come.
Discover Dogs is a London show run by The Kennel Club. As an indoor show this means that unfortunately customers can't bring their four legged friends along too. We were 1000% gutted about this.
Nevertheless it was a great show, catching up with new and old friends before the Christmas rush started. I spent some time watching the flyball competitions and was almost crying every time a team won! Anyone else, or just me?
'Fast Friends'
We were next door to the really super lovely DogG8, they have created a useful dog safe gate for your home that works anywhere. Take a look!
Last but not least from the year of newly found dog shows was DogFest Christmas. Their first ever Christmas dog show!
"
An elf-made business owner"
We dressed up as Elves and decorated our stand, really getting into the festive spirit in London. The weather had other ideas though and hit us with everything it had. We were all mud skating by early afternoon!
Nothing a Mulled Wine couldn't fix and we had a wonderful day with some old friends popping by too.
Overall, Alastair and I enjoyed the dog shows so much. We experienced all weather fronts, met over 135,000 people combined and fed SO many pooches our Poochbutter!
We're more than ready to do it all again in 2022. Click here to check out where we'll be going this year.
Overall, Alastair and I enjoyed the dog shows so much. We experienced all weather fronts, met over 135,000 people combined and fed SO many pooches our Poochbutter!
We're more than ready to do it all again in 2022. Click here to check out where we'll be going this year.
Thank you so much for reading our dog show journey, feel free to share your own experience with us in the comments!
Love and smooches, Amelia
Love and smooches, Amelia