If you are looking for everything pet in one place, you have to check out the Toronto Christmas Pet Show on November 19th and 20th, 2022. All three dogs, Maze, Nyx and Nala, met there for a day of fun! We wanted to beat the crowds so we got there first thing when it opened and headed to the interactive centers.
The first thing we did was the Good Neighbor Test. This program is hosted by the Canadian Kennel Club and is designed to determine whether your dog is a good neighbour; friendly, good mannered and obedient (obedience had some flexibility!). All three dogs were tested on their “sit”, “stay”, and “come” skills as well as how they did with a stranger petting them. Maze passed with flying colours but the puppies have some work to do. We should give them some leeway though as the room had hundreds of dogs and was quite the atmosphere to be tested in. They were all then tested with their walking skills and how they did being away from their owner. Again, Maze aced it and the puppies just barely passed. In the end all dogs passed and we will be getting their Good Neighbour Certificate shortly! (We got them! Click here to see them).
This test was fun but we all learned so much while doing it. The instructor was a trainer and offered lots of help on guidance on working with the puppies. The fee for the test was $25.00. Here is Karen and Nala.
Then we headed to the other side of the Expo to the interactive holiday fun zone and by far the favorite of all the dogs. Nala, Nyx and Maze all participated in the Nutram and Dog lovers days lure course and the Aqua Dogs dock diving!
The lure course was sponsor by Nutram dog food and was so much fun! They had two course running so we didn’t have to wait too long. If you have read earlier blogs, you would have seen that Nala had the opportunity to try a lure course before at The Big Apple, and was raring to go for this one! Standing in line, she was eagerly watching the lure, almost vibrating with excitement for her turn to chase it. Nyx and Maze were unsure as to what to expect but all three had a blast!
The fee for this event is $10 per dog. Each dog had about a 5 minute opportunity to chase the lure around the ring before catching it. Nala was right on it trying to catch it, it took Nyx a minute or so to catch on and Maze studied the entire surroundings for about a minute before deciding to chase it. All dogs big and small loved this activity.
There was a photographer on the site talking action pictures of each of the dogs as they chased the lure. The pictures were $20 each and we purchased a picture of each of the dogs. We will update the blog when we got them!
The next activity we tried was the dock diving at the Aqua dogs dock diving course. The staff was extremely friendly and had a toy for us to borrow for the dogs to chase into the water. While we were waiting for our turn, we could see the Aqua Dogs dock diving for their show, wow, incredible to watch!
They helped the dogs on the dock, allowing them to first enter the water off the ramp to feel comfortable before jumping off the ledge. And did they ever jump!! Nala went first and loved it so much, she was trying to get back onto the dock when Nyx and Maze had their turns.
Nala landed about 12 and 13 feet into the water on her jumps! Nala did such a great job that she was invited to jump competitively!!! So amazing! Here is her impressive jump!
Nyx wasn’t too sure but eventually did jump off the dock. Maze was having none of it and wouldn’t even go into the water.
Here is a short video of our fun!
There were so many vendors. Something for everyone. A lot of vendors had photo opportunities which was a great for owners and their furry friends. Here is some of our favorites from the dock diving center. Nyx had other ideas besides staying still for a photo!
Nala loves posing so we had to share the pictures from Ren’s Pets food and healthybuds. Both had some free samples and photo backdrops. There were also draws and Nala got a bandana from healthybuds.
Among the vendors we found a station that painted dogs (temporary – it washes off!)! This is a completely new concept to us! And, of course we had to give Maze a beautiful pink star. She was such a good girl.
Here is a picture of some pups completely done up!
At the back of the expo there was several dog shows happening and was fascinating to watch. Here are some pictures of the shows.
We had such a fantastic day and highly recommend it if you can. We spent about five hours there so even if it is a bit of drive, it was worth it!
