True, but not everywhere is the masses of Kentucky 
Just enduring the idiocy of the vetās waiting room is enough to drive me up a wall. No, I donāt want Cujo sniffing my injured catās carrier. BACK UP.
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She sounds like me when Iām done with bullshittery
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Well it was on a leashā¦ And everyone said ānot my dog.ā (Albeit I have taken a dog to KY). The one I have now would FREAK out with the crowds.
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Ask and you shall receive.
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Goodness, you donāt recognize sarcasm when you read it. Noted.
Just for you.
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I hate feeling queasy, so Iām going to ignore you. For reals!
I just realized the gnats are already out here. And those big slow mosquitos. How about at your place?
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There are so many emojis I donāt have the occasion to use.
The kissy face one really isnāt one that should elicit queasy feelings 
sāpose it depends on whoās sending it but, eh. I can think of worse emojis than it.
Looking through all the emojis, the ghost one is actually kinda cute. Might as well throw this into the mix if the threadās getting a bit derailed, never have a reason to use it:
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Back on topic, as for the ādogs at K3DEā (Iām frankly impressed I havenāt yet slipped and called it Rolex. 
Mustāve finally trained myself outta that.) subject - end of the day Iād say OP knows their dog best. If you know your dog, know theyāre well-trained, capable of handling it, and you, yourself, are fine having them around, on a leash, all day (or dropping them at the dog daycare area) go for it if theyāre still allowed.
Even the most reliable dog can have their moments. Itās pretty common to hear dogs barking on the XC videos from the big events. I would think most top level event horses have no problem with that but ā¦ We have all seen footage of a dog thatās gotten away from its owner and chased a horse on XC.
Do you want to be that dog owner that just ruined someoneās XC round because you āreliableā dog got loose?
My dogs are around horses all the time and are very reliable around them but I would take them to an event at any level.
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If I can chime in as a spectator, since weāre talking about dogs and the thread got derailed to āshould you bring a dog?ā (sorry OP)
Frankly? Other peopleās dogs ruin my enjoyment as a spectator. The endless yapping, the constantly having to walk out of my way to avoid a reactive dog, untangling myself from retractable leashes, avoiding congested areas where the dogs look like theyāre a keg waiting to explode, defending my food from rogue / excitable dogs, etcā¦ Just please leave them at home.
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Yeah - as a spectator I donāt remember many dog situations myself but I can remember almost stepping on a small (leashed) dog at the trade fair one year.
Iām not anti-dog, if OP or anyone else reading this thread is absolutely confident their dog is up to it, by all means, take the dog and have fun, but in general, as an animal lover, I donāt really get this whole āpet-friendly, take Snookums the Precious Poochie-woochie everywhereā culture. And I swear it used to not be so prevalent. End of the day, dogs are animals, they can be unpredictable and by all means, take advantage of pet/dog friendly places when possible but what happened to just going somewhere for X days and leaving your pet at home or putting them at a dog daycare/kennel type situation? (I can understand if you donāt have someone who can stop in to check on the dog and take them out for walks and somehow also donāt have a place to take the dog while youāre away, but just the whole āI want to take my dog EVERYWHEREā I donāt get unless youāre talking a necessary service dog. And again, I donāt dislike dogs. I like 'em, I have a cat right now because cats fit my lifestyle better but Iām not opposed to having a dog in the future. I fully admit all of my childhood dogs were basically farm dogs who spent most of their lives outdoors so maybe this is something I donāt totally get b/c of that, but.)
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As a spectator I also donāt remember any major dog encounters but it isnāt a lot of fun to navigate dog leashes so much when standing in a crowd at a fence.
I would suggest, because itās your first time OP, leave your dog home just so you can fully experience the event in all its glory and get the lay of the land for next time. 'cos it is rather addicting so Iām sure there will be a next time. 
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We did this last year and it was a nice break from the craziness (I was a volunteer). Iām going again this year and plan to do it again!
Agreed. I do take our dogs to TSC on a rotating basis, not four at once, i promise. We are pretty much homebodies post COVID and I want my dogs to be socialized and civil when out in the world. I donāt want them to associate car rides with going to the vet only. So they go on short leashes, get to sniff around and get bored while I shop, and then get a treat at checkout. I think thatās valuable time for them āin townā - itās like horses, they better have manners if things go sideways, you know?
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Okay yāknow what I havenāt had dogs since I was a kid and I hadnāt even THOUGHT of that being one of the reasons to take dogs places (sorry if thatās like really obvious. My childhood dogs were basically outdoor dogs & the one we got when I was around 9-10 did go on car rides besides the vet as a youngster b/c I did 4-H dog club and attempted to train him. Training didnāt really stick well, think he was just a bit too young and rambunctious, but we got through the county fair that summer. and I donāt remember him ever disliking car rides but he was always a very happy-go-lucky little goofball bundle of bounce of the walls energy)
I think itās ironic that Iāve somehow found myself in the position of advocate for dogs at K3DE.
I really donāt have a ādogā in the fight (pun intended).
I chimed in because I was surprised that the conversation moved so heavily in the ādonāt bring your dog to KYā direction. There are literally hundreds of dogs at KY. One of the title sponsors is a pet food company. There are multiple areas geared specifically to dogs. Every third vendor is giving away doggie products.
I absolutely agree dogs can be a liability. I absolutely agree some dog owners can be clueless. But there are also many, many capable dog owners who can bring a dog to an event like this and have it be a non-issue.
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Same.
But also this but swap child for dog:
I think thatās kind of applicable to some pet owners w/their pets and online itās not easy to tell who is in which category of āresponsible pet ownerā vs the āSchnookie-wookie-pie would NEVERā category and I think whatās been happening is most people have erred on the side of āthis person hasnāt been, there are dogs everywhere at K3DE.ā
I can kinda see both sides of ātake the dogā and ādonāt take the dog,ā and tend to lean towards ādonāt take your dog when youāve not been yourself, go dog-free this first time and enjoy and get to know the event, thereāll be times in the future to take the dog.ā
EDIT: Re. the discussion and the meme - I donāt have a dog, just a cat, and I have zero interest in having kids of my own so I donāt have an anything in the discussion, dog, cat or person. I am a little surprised the thread has skewed so strongly towards ādonāt take the dogā b/c I feel like the people of COTH arenāt your average potentially dumb dog owners but Iām thinking what happens here with that is then we have the more responsible type of pet people who are keenly aware that not everyone is like themselves/has the same high standards they do and off we go.
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