Activists want to stop the consumption of dog meat at the festival in the southern city of Yulin which is due to begin later this month.
Correspondents say animal rights is a growing concern in China.
There have been frequent calls to treat animals more humanely.
About 24 activists accompanied by their dogs handed in the petition at the representative office of Yulin city in the Chinese capital, Beijing. They unfurled banners with pictures of their pets alongside the message: "I'm not your dinner."
The annual festival - due to begin on 21 June - involves the slaughter of thousands of dogs for human consumption.
Figures cited by The Washington Post say about 30 million dogs are killed across Asia every year for their meat, with more than a third of that number killed in China.
Opponents say many dogs are either stolen or are strays rounded up for the festival. They say many are caged in cramped conditions before being killed.
Campaigning group Humane Society International has described the Yulin event as a "nightmare not a festival".
Supporters of the festival argue that dog meat is good for people and eating canines is no different from consuming any other meat.
In 2014, the Yulin government distanced itself from the festival, arguing it was organised by private business people and did not have official backing.
Celebrities including British comedian Ricky Gervais have criticised the festival along with Chinese pop star Chen Kun and actors Yang Mi and Fan Bingbing.
The tradition of eating dog meat dates back four or five hundred years in China, South Korea and other countries, as it is believed to ward off the heat of the summer months, according to state news agency Xinhua.
However, the Yulin festival only began in recent years, Xinhua reported last year.

Two hundred and sixty people have already been convicted.
The officer in charge of Operation Titan, Det Supt Sean Wright, appealed for anyone taking part in planned protests later this month to do so lawfully and peacefully.
Operation Titan was set-up to investigate public order-related incidents since 12 July.
Police released the figures at a press conference at PSNI headquarters in Belfast on Monday.
ACC Will Kerr said 2013 had been a challenging year for policing.
He said the last four years had seen a severe dissident republican threat, however recently there had been an upsurge in activity.
In relation to the loyalist paramilitary group, the UVF, ACC Kerr said that elements of the group, particularly in east Belfast, had been involved in a range of criminal activity, however the issue of respecification was a political decision.

Only 90 will be returned to Stormont - compared to 108 from previous assembly polls.
Out of the 228 candidates, 70 are women. The election will take place on 2 March.
Once again the DUP is fielding the most candidates with 38, followed by Sinn FÃ©in on 34.
The Ulster Unionist Party has 24 candidates, while the SDLP and Alliance have 21 each.
The Green Party is fielding 18 candidates, the TUV, 14, the Conservatives 13 and People Before Profit seven.
The Workers Party has five candidates in the race, the cross-community Labour Alternative four, the PUP and the Citizens Independent Social Thought Alliance three each and the UKIP one.
There are also 22 independent candidates in the field.
West Tyrone, East Londonderry and East Antrim have the largest number of candidates standing, with 15 going on the ballot paper in each.
The constituency with the fewest - nine - is Newry and Armagh.

The project has been partly funded by American Football's professional league, the NFL.
The designers at a Wrexham-based firm and in Cardiff University's School of Engineering hope it could cut brain injuries in high impact sports.
Meanwhile, scientists said they have also made a head injury breakthrough.
Experts said they have created an agent to reduce the risk of brain inflammation and infections after a head injury.
The body's natural response to injury is to see damaged tissue as "foreign" and potentially worsen the injury, yet researchers said the agent blocks this response, reducing inflammation and helping recovery.
Cardiff University said the treatment specifically targets injured tissue.
The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences after being tested on mice.
The university will now seek to translate the findings to humans, and said it could be "life-changing" for patients.
It is estimated more than a million people in the UK are admitted to hospital as a result of a head injury every year.
Animal rights campaigners in China have handed in a petition with 11 million signatures calling for an end to an annual dog-eating festival in the south-west of the country.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Police have said 560 people have been charged or reported in connection with flag protests in Northern Ireland.
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A total of 228 candidates will contest the Northern Ireland Assembly election next month - 48 fewer than last time.
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Welsh engineers and academics have received more than £160,000 ($240,000) to develop new materials for use in sports helmets.