Six Brisbane Pooch Parties, Markets, Festivals and Pub Sessions to Add to Your Dog's Diary

People can sit at cafes, hit up the markets and have a stint at modelling — so of course puppers can as well. Your destination for these doggo activites: Bark Fest at Orion Springfield Central until Saturday, August 27.

There are multiple parts to these doggo festivities, all to celebrate International Dog Day — which falls on Friday, August 26. First up, here’s one that’s valid all month: free puppachinos from The Coffee Club. Or, you can your barking best friend to a canine-friendly market on Saturday, August 27, running from 9am–4pm. And, from 11am–12pm the same day, there’s a dog fashion show — which your pup can enter.

Fancy a pooch yoga session instead? They’re being held at 10am and 11am daily from Thursday, August 25–Saturday, August 27, with tickets costing $5, and all proceeds going towards Chihuahua Rescue Queensland. This is one event that isn’t for your own dog, however, as Chihuahua Rescue Queensland are bringing their own.

Cross your fingers, dog lovers — here’s hoping that your four-legged friend feels like heading to a brewery. From 1–5pm on Saturday, August 27, Ballistic Beer Co will be turning its Salisbury space into a pupper wonderland, all while people knock back a pint or several.

On the Dogs Go Ballistic agenda: craft brews (obviously), dog-centric market stalls, canine activities, an obligatory dog show, a chance to raise money for dog rescue organisations, and live music. We can’t promise that the latter will feature pooch-related tunes, but perhaps both you and Fido will be wondering who let the dogs out, asking if the dog days are over and crying all the time like a hound dog.

Entry is free, and all woofers great and small are welcome at the picnic-style event — although these very good doggos must stay on their leashes. And, your pupper can compete in a few contests like they’re in Best in Show, including vying for the best dressed and best trick titles.

What’s better than hitting the pub while your dog stays at home? Taking them with you, of course. And what’s better than simply going to one pooch-friendly bar? Hitting up not just one or two, but three in a single outing.

Forget regular old pub crawls — The Prince Consort‘s Four-Legged Pub Crawl from 11am on Sunday, August 28 takes you hopping between three Fortitude Valley bars with your cute pup. Unsurprisingly, it starts off at the 230 Wickham Street venue itself. Obviously, that’s just your first stop.

From there, it’s time to walk the dog — down to Stone & Wood’s Brisbane brewery, and then a little further over to The Triffid. Brews await at each venue, with the crawl a pay-as-you-drink affair. Entry is free, but registrations in advance are required. And, if your pooch could use a bath at the end of it, there’ll be a dog-washing station at The Triffid.

Anything a human can do, a dog can do too — at least according to every single canine that’s become someone’s best friend. If you have a pet pooch, you know the drill. Wherever you go, they want to go. Wherever you sit, they want to sit. Whatever you eat, they want to eat as well.

Sadly for your four-legged bestie, that mindset doesn’t always pay off — but throughout August at The Prince Consort in Fortitude Valley, it’s Pawgust time. The Wickham Street pub is dedicating the entire month to pairing pints with pooches. The beers are for you, obviously, not your barking companion.

On offer: cocktails named after canines, special events and fundraising for the Animal Welfare League Queensland. Indeed, $2 from each of those special tipples will go to the AWLQ, as will $2 from every Tito’s vodka sold.

For plenty of Brisbanites, the Brisbane Tramway Museum is one of those places that you know exists, but you mightn’t have ever been there. If you have a cute pooch in tow — or you just like scoping out other people’s and getting your pet fix vicariously — then here’s a reason to head to the Ferny Grove spot: the Street Paws Festival.

Anyone that’s ever been to a doggo celebration knows what’s on the agenda — adorable puppers, stalls devoted to them, canine competitions and just generally wagging your tale at humanity’s best friend. This fest will woof at all of those boxes, running from 10am–2pm on Saturday, September 3.

Accordingly, you can pick up goodies for your barking bestie from the market setup, make a beeline for a few giveaways, and see who’ll be named the cutest pooch. Entry is free and, for humans, there’ll be food trucks serving up bites to eat — to purchase.

One day, in the not-so-distant future, perhaps Brisbanites will take their pet puppers with them everywhere. For now, we’ll all just have to grab our four-legged best friends and head to another doggo market. It’s the trend that won’t go away, and we’d all be barking mad if we wanted it to. More excuses to take energetic ol’ Rufus places? More chances to go “awwwww” over other people’s pooches? Count us in.

The returning Doggo Day Markets are the latest such event, taking over Virginia’s VEND Marketplace between 8am–2pm on Saturday, September 17. The shindig’s name also acts as your instructions, so round up your woofer and take them on an outing.

There’s even a dress-up competition, as there usually is at these things. That’s how adorable pups get even cuter. Also on the agenda: doggy stalls, a dog play area, a dog wash, a dog photobooth and dachshund races, plus the northside spot’s general array of markets and greenery — and an ice cream truck (for humans), too.