The Big Dog Walk With Lots of Dogs is Back in 2018!

The Big Dog Walk With Lots of Dogs is Back in 2018!

2018 is Year of the Dog and we are here to celebrate with NZ’s largest and most epic annual dog walking event.

The Big Dog Walk With Lots of Dogs presented by Pet Connect is now in its third year and has grown from a Jack Russell to a Great Dane. What started out as a bit of a joke and created off the back of only $1000 of personal investment has snowballed into an annual dog celebration attended by thousands.

In 2016 the idea was floated on Facebook on a whim but became viral within hours turning an outlandish idea into a runaway hit garnering thousands as 'attending' within a few hours. The concept is simple - you don’t have to own a dog to come along, you just have to really like dogs! It turns out lots of people really like dogs.

In 2016 we had synchronised events in Auckland and Wellington, in 2017 we increased the number of events to four adding Hamilton and Napier to the mix, while Auckland and Wellington doubled in attendance numbers. This year we are adding Christchurch to the bill. It’s fitting that 2018 is Year of the Dog and is also the year we decided to double-down and spread our five events across April and May. It's magical. Our last events even attracted helicopters to filming the procession of hundreds of dogs and their humans.

While the aim of these events is to simply to go on a fun walk surrounded by dogs, it’s also for a good cause. The Big Dog Walk is now a bonafide charity called For Lots of Dogs.

Money from our sponsors and every dollar donated by attendees goes into the For Lots of Dogs fund. The fund goes towards distributing food for dogs in need. We aim to connect cool pet industry brands directly to charities like HUHA, the SPCA and 4UrPaws. We are redefining the role of the ‘middle man’. It really is all about the dogs, and we want to help lots and lots of them.

Our event is for anyone who likes dogs. Even people without dogs are encouraged to come along and 'dog stalk' or 'stare at other people's dogs' from a distance. There will be plenty of offerings and activities for humans too like food trucks, coffee and stalls from local cool pet industry brands and services. But most importantly, there will be dogs. Lots and lots of dogs.

“People actually travel from all over to attend the Big Dog Walk With Lots of Dogs. It’s become bigger than Ben-Hur! If Ben-Hur was a Mastiff,” says organiser Bailey McCormack.

With the larger centres pulling in 5,000 each and the smaller cities around 1,000 in 2017, this year's walks are set to attract even more, with an expected combined total in excess of 20,000 across the country.

The Big Dog Walk With Lots of Dogs - 2018

Napier | Marine Parade | 7 April | Facebook event

Hamilton | Lake Domain | 14 April | Facebook event

Wellington | Waitangi Park | 21 April | Facebook event

Auckland | Waiatarua Park | 28 April | Facebook event

Christchurch | North Hagley Park | 5 May | Facebook event

Website: http://withlotsofdogs.com/

Last year all eyes were on us, so if you want to find out more, check out the archives:

Sunday Star Times:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/91410932/thousands-of-canines-will-descend-on-four-north-island-centres

One News:

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/thousands-dogs-come-play-in-major-cities-nz

Stuff:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/cutestuff/91816617/a-doglovers-heaven-big-dog-walk-gets-thousands-of-pups-out-on-capitals-waterfront

Newshub:

http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/04/pooches-flood-parks-for-annual-big-dog-walk-with-lots-of-dogs.htm

Video form the Wellington Walk 2017: https://www.facebook.com/garageproject/videos/1336851779695926/

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