‘Crazy puppies’ meet downward dog in new keep-fit craze
The paw-fect craze for lovers of puppies and keeping fit is expanding across the county. You can now exercise surrounded by tiny toy poodles, dachshunds, French bulldogs and pugs.
Happy Puppy Yoga, run by Katie Tulip, launched on Saturday.
The 33-year-old from Strood has been a wedding videographer for seven years but says recently the industry has become a lot slower.
She said: “I’ve had a bit of time on my hands, and I had taken part in puppy yoga before but found it was mostly London based.
“It’s more expensive to get there at the moment with train prices and ULEZ. I started off doing a bit of research, looked into breeders and it went from there.
“The puppies do jump on people. They are a bit crazy.” Katie believes she is the first to bring the trendy new activity to Kent.
Sessions will involve a number of beginner yoga poses taught by a professional, mixed in with time to play and take pictures with the puppies.
Katie says it is a fun way to destress, relieve anxiety and improve wellbeing.
She said: “There are studies showing how animals have a calming effect. The yoga part can be a bit daunting but this is perfect for newbies.
“People can feel free to stop doing yoga at points and just have a cuddle with them. “Personally I’m a huge dog lover, but I can't have one for various reasons. So it is great for people who don’t have animals or those who have older dogs but miss puppies. “It helps the dogs with early socialisation. They get to meet new people, explore new places and get away from mum for a while.”
The first hour-long classes will be held at studios in Maidstone (May 7), Rochester (May 8) and Penshurst (May 9).
They will involve a safety briefing on how to handle the puppies, a warm up and then 40 minutes of yoga and puppy interaction.
There will even be someone on standby to clear up any unfortunate accidents, with Katie saying it will “100% happen, as they are only just starting to be potty trained”.
It costs £30 per person, with around 15 to 20 people taking part per session.
For more, visit www.happy puppyyoga.com.