Its all gone to the dogs: Winter Woofstock

Yesterday the boyfriend and I took Whiskey to Winter Woofstock, a big festival for dogs in Toronto. I've always wanted to go to the Summer one, but have always been out of town when it is on, so it was nice to finally go. It was a perfect way to spent a chilly November afternoon indoors.

We arrived a few hours after it started and there was still a line to get in. The place was packed with tons of people and their dogs. See all those beautiful trees that we around the whole venue? I can only image how many dogs marked those.

There were lots of displays of toys, treats, beds, food (free samples!) and leashes.

There were also rows upon rows of dog clothing, including plenty of Christmas themed pieces. Think Whiskey could pull off a miniature Santa Paws outfit?

Some of the treats looked good enough for even humans to eat, but thankfully I was able to resist.

Whiskey on the other hand was happy to "sit" for any sample he was offered. So many booth operators gave him little samples along the way. He was definitely one happy puppy!

On the main stage they also held dog trick contests, a fashion show and a Mr. & Mrs. Canine Canada contest.

We were more interested in looking at all the great booths. This little lady helps her parents make decadent Christmas doggie treats and was happy to show up some of her creations.

Don't these just look good enough to eat?

The time and creativity that went into these is great. If they didn't have peanut butter in them, I would have definitively grabbed a few for Whiskey.

My favorite part of the show was seeing all the adorable dogs. I wanted to take them all home!

Whiskey met more dogs in one day than he probably sees in a whole year. I was surprised he was so well behaved because he usually barks a lot when he sees other dogs. Maybe he was just too overwhelmed to act up.

Besides, how could he bark at something so cute?

This tough guy had to bring along his tough little pooch too...with a green mohawk and doggy sunglasses. That pooch has some serious attitude.

And this friendly little guy was just too cute to pass up giving him a scratch. Just look at all those wrinkles!

Some of the owners got a little too excited about dressing up their dogs. This is Princess and what you don't see in this picture is her "mom" behind me dressed in a matching outfit, yelling her name trying to get her to look my way. Most of the other owners were a little more laid back, but they still had some pretty fun outfits for their pooches:

Spiderdog!

A cute little Min Pin pup, all decked out for Christmas.

Then this beast came along...

To put it in perspective, here is Whiskey beside him. That is one huge dog.

Even Whiskey got pretty curious.

We also found a dog that looked just like Whiskey, but with longer hair. I'm sure that he was a little jealous of that extra layer of warmth that dog had. Poor little guy has been shivering non-stop since the temperatures dropped this Fall.

After walking around the whole place, we decided to take a break and watch the dog fashion show. I got plenty of inspiration for coats and jackets I want to make Whiskey to keep warm this winter!

I really thought some of the costumes were so fun and creative. There were lots of ideas for what to make Whiskey for Halloween next year.

There was also a section set up with fun competitions you could enter your dog into.

We stopped to watch this one that looked like musical chairs.

Basically everyone walked their dogs around in a loop,

And when the music stopped, you had to get your dog to sit in one of the hula hoops. Last dog to sit down was out.

It all came down to a little Sheltie and a really peppy little Poodle. We were placing our bets on the poodle, but sadly it lost.

Maybe Whiskey can do it next year. Ready to train, little buddy?

All in all, it was a fun afternoon and we met some really nice fellow dog owners. I'm already looking forward to going to the Summer festival next June!