Houston’s annual dog events reflect the city’s love for dogs. From early-morning fundraising walks to indoor dog shows designed to avoid the Texas heat, these events offer a variety of fun activities for both people and their furry companions. In this blog, we will discuss some of Houston’s most popular annual dog events. But first, let’s discuss how developing socialization skills can help a dog be more confident and well-mannered.
Each event is a good socialization training opportunity for your dog
It’s important that your dog is exposed to a wide variety of stimuli, including people and pets. This will help your dog become more confident and comfortable in public settings, such as visits to the veterinarian or trips to the park. Each of the events discussed in this blog can be useful socialization opportunity because they expose your dog to stimuli, including:
- Adults and children
- Dogs of all breeds and sizes
- Cars, trucks, bicycles, and other vehicles.
For information on socialization training, you can check out our blogs on socialization training, including “How to properly socialize your puppy”, “socialization goals for puppies”, and “When it comes to puppies, what does “socializing” actually mean?”
Before taking your puppy out to dog events and public areas, we recommend that you follow your vet’s advice on taking safety precautions. Particularly if your puppy has not yet been fully vaccinated. Now that we have discussed socialization opportunities, let’s talk about Houston’s annual dog events.
Houston World Series of Dog Shows
The Houston World Series of Dog Shows is an annual event that is usually held in the third week of July. Taking place indoors at the NRG Energy Center, it’s a perfect way to escape the Texas heat while still allowing you to work on your dog’s obedience skills, manners and having fun.
This show is family friendly, you can explore the many different vendors at the McScotty Hall. This Hall offers items including custom collars, treats, jewellery, artworks, and grooming supplies. You can also enjoy the “Man’s best friend” Artshow, where Houston students display their best dog-themed artworks for the public.
You can also attend to watch or enrol in one of the huge variety of dog shows. Events and activities include:
- “My Dog Can Do That”: Where registered competitors can bring in their dog to test their skills for an agility or rally course.
- Fun activities including sniff tests, flyball, fetch, barn hunts and frisbee canine musical freestyle.
- Farm dog certification, where dogs can try their skills to see if they would make a great farm dog. Livestock are involved in this event, but dogs aren’t tested on their herding skills.
- Meet the breed events: Where you can view around 100 different dog breeds at educational showcases where experts will go over each breed’s characteristics, how to best care for them, and where you can learn what kind of dog may best fit your lifestyle. Each breed will be presented during scheduled show times.
- Police K-9 Dogs are present so you can learn about all the duties and training that they do.
- Attending or viewing the Canine Good Citizen Program and the AKC Trick Dog Program.
Conformation and Breed Judging: You can watch American Kennel Club (AKC) registered breeds compete over breed judging competitions to see how well they conform to their breed standard. Each dog is judged on breed standards including their temperament, physical characteristics and their movement during their presentations.
Barktoberfest – Houston Pets Alive
Barktoberfest is an annual event held in October that raises funds for Houston Pets Alive. It is a family-friendly event featuring an adorable dog costume contest, a variety of vendors, local beer, and activities such as pumpkin decorating. With many dogs, adults, and children attending, it can be a good place to take your dog to help with their socialization training.
K9 Fun Run and Walk
The K9 Fun Run and Walk is a family-friendly event that raises money for the Houston Humane Society. This event is not just a fun run and walk. It also has a variety of vendors, costume contests, and a parade. This is a great way to exercise with your dog while supporting a local charity.
Houston Rockets Dog Walk
The Houston Rockets Dog Walk is a great event for Basketball fans who want to have a fun morning out with their dog. This annual event gives you an event t-shirt, game tickets, a special item for your dog. As well as a celebration with a post-walk party. The post-walk party features food, drinks, and a variety of dog-related vendors and activities. This event usually occurs in November-December.
We are here to help
Would you like to explore more of Houston with your canine companion? You can check out our Houston Dog-Friendly Guide which includes blogs on:
Do you have any questions on training or behavioral issues? You can schedule a free consultation with our Pet Behavior Team. All of our personalized programs are offered through private training sessions both at your home and in your local Houston neighborhood. We also offer Board and Train Retreat programs and virtual consultation programs with our co-founder and Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Kristyn Echterling-Savage.
