First ‘Pugchella’ festival of its kind is a sell out for luxury Northampton doggy day care

The first ‘Pugchella’ festival of its kind is a sell out for the luxury Northampton doggy day care that has organised it.

Teddy’s Dog Care, in Newport Pagnell Road, was founded by Michelle Wilson in 2010 after she adopted her pug Teddy – who inspired her to expand her love and care to more dogs in the county.

The business was initially run from Michelle’s home and after going from strength to strength, it relocated to ‘The Lodge’ in Wootton.

Teddy’s hosts a number of themed events throughout the year to allow owners to get involved – as usually they drop their pets off and allow the staff to do “the best job in the world”.

All of the events encourage owners to socialise, meet other dog owners, and have tea and biscuits while their dogs have an off-lead experience in the paddock.

The attendees also get to meet the dogs they see their pet playing with on social media and the owners often become friends, which Michelle says is “heartwarming”.

Having decided that they wanted to offer longer slots at a summer event, the Teddy’s team took inspiration from Coachella festival and have planned the pug equivalent – ‘Pugchella’.

The sold out dog festival is planned for August 19, with pugs travelling from all over the country to be there for Teddy’s biggest event to date.

With a “soft spot” for the pug breed, Michelle and her team began brainstorming ideas.

“We’re so proud of it that we now want to do it for all dog breeds,” said Michelle, who mentioned Frenchies and sausage dogs in particular.

There will be three two-hour slots on the day, with the first two for pugs and the final one for all dog breeds.

Owners are travelling from as far afield as Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester and London to be at the first of its kind festival.

Michelle said: “The closer the event has gotten, the more last minute ideas we’ve had.”

Though the business owner would have loved to have secured a ferris wheel for the dogs, she has decided to save that prospect for a future festival.

When asked how it feels that the event sold out with weeks to go, Michelle said: “We had a weeping moment.”

Despite considering offering another slot or a second day this year, this is being kept in the pipeline for next year when they hope to open the event up to all dog breeds.

“We’re very proud of all our loyal customers, and for all the support we get,” said Michelle. “People share our passion and this is the first dog festival in the style we’re doing it.”

150 owner tickets have been sold, which means at least 150 dogs will attend over the course of August 19 – with a few surprise celebrity and influencer guests that are hoped to attend.

There are a number of attendees with VIP tickets, entitling them to jump the queue and enter early as you would at a real festival. They will also receive goodie bags and lanyards.

Once all the dogs and owners are in the secure paddock, the pets will be let off their leads to play and explore.

The owners will get the opportunity to socialise, with a burger van, tea wagon and ice cream van available for refreshments.

There will also be boutique stands selling harnesses, healthy dog treats and dog cupcakes.

There will be plenty of Instagrammable photo opportunities with a mini stage, kitted out with a microphone and drum kit, for the dogs to be the star of the show.

A splash pad and ball pit will be set up to keep the pugs entertained, and Michelle says there is guaranteed to be “lots of smiles”.

If you want to keep up with Teddy’s Dog Care’s ‘Pugchella’, check out their Instagram page here.