We are rolling out the yoga mat en masse and not only that: we are doing yoga together with our puppy! What is puppy yoga and how animal friendly is it?
Trend
Puppy yoga became a trend through social media platform TikTok. Many influencers decided that this super cute form of creating peace should become the latest hype and decided to share it en masse. Within a few weeks, this form of yoga grew into a real trend.
What is puppy yoga?
Puppy yoga actually works the same as normal versions of yoga: you are welcomed into a room, roll out your mat and sit down, ready to do all kinds of exercises to relax, apply self-reflection or get a healthier body. Yet there is a twist: of course there are puppies, ready to play with you. This makes it important that the yoga teacher lets everyone know that they have to take the cute animals into account, and balance exercises are avoided to prevent accidents. After all, the dogs walk freely around the room, and we don’t want such a sweet cuddly toy to get into an accident. At the end of the lesson, everyone usually gets half an hour to cuddle the animals, but in many studios they are not allowed to be woken up once they are asleep.
Happy animals
And not only people are happy with the dogs, the dogs themselves can also enjoy them. Usually the newborn puppies go straight from the mother to the new owner, but with puppy yoga the yoga studio is a kind of stopover where the dogs can get used to social contact with different (new) people. And this is especially important for this period, after the corona period: many people bought a dog during the pandemic, but the animals received little contact from outside. Research shows that these dogs are much shyer due to a lack of contact, while this is very important for the development of young dogs. It is therefore a good idea to let the puppies get used to socialization, because their brain can then develop further.
Reverse
There is a downside: it is recommended that a puppy expert is always present with this form of yoga, because these experts can read dogs’ signals extra well. This way they can indicate when enough is enough, when the dog becomes overstimulated and when it is time to rest. An animal often gives subtle signals, but normal people are less likely to pick them up. And especially when you look at the dogs through glasses.
This form of yoga would also make people more likely to purchase a puppy. Some studios aim to sell these animals, others do it for the welfare of the dogs. However, it is important to consider whether you can care for such a dog: it requires a lot of time, space and energy.
