Castle Canines at Hever
One thing that is very important when you have a dog is to make sure that it is well socialised which means it gets to meet lots of new people, dogs and situations so it can grow up to be a well-adjusted member of the family.
Although Lexi has had plenty of socialisation since she joined our family at 8 weeks old I always like to challenge her and when I heard that Hever Castle was throwing a dog festival last weekend I decided we should definitely go along. Until we visited last weekend I didn’t realise that Hever Castle and it’s lovely Gardens welcome dogs on leads all year round and the 125-acre grounds and Lake Walk are popular doggie trails.
Castle Canines at Hever is a weekend long celebration of all things dog, with stalls, entertainments and you can enter your canine pal in competitions such as Dashing Dog, Beautiful Bitch, Super Senior, Perfect Pup or Ravishing Rescue for the chance to win prizes.
I was really keen to talk to the Pets as Therapy (PAT) representatives as I would love Lexi to become a therapy dog (once she’s gotten over her youngster’s energy), along with seeing Newfoundland Dogs in Action who put on an amazing show with the extraordinary Newfoundland dogs ‘rescuing’ people out of the lake, and the Southern Golden Retriever Display Team who offered a heartwarming heelwork to music routine.
There were an array of stalls selling everything from dog food and treats to leads, harnesses and toys. We picked up a few treats from the PAT tombola and splurged on a fancy new Julius-K9 harness for Lexi thinking that it would come in handy on our trip to the Norfolk Broads next year.
Overall the day spent at Castle Canines at Hever was a good one, we enjoyed exploring the grounds of his beautiful Castle, shopping for dog goodies and meeting a huge array of different people and their canine pals. Lexi took it all in her stride. I would certainly recommend the event to anyone who loves dogs, or is thinking of getting a dog and would like some advice. I look forward to going back next year!
