Puppy Yoga

skinnydipper

skinnydipper

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WTAF?????! That's animal cruelty, pure and simple. Not setting the puppies up to succeed at life, risking injury (the handling in that video was appalling), risking illness, taking them away from their mother's too early, no water... Massively wrong on every level and should be banned. I didn't even know it was a thing!
 
I'd never even heard of puppy yoga before. I'm both amazed and un-amazed at humans capacity to exploit "cuteness" and peoples' best intentions for money (just wanting puppy cuddles is not wrong, though obviously in these kind of situations not thought out at all).
Poor puppies!
And I also feel for any future owners that will end up with these puppies, possibly unaware they were used for puppy yoga.
 
I saw a clip some time ago and I’m not sure where but they had a litter of about 5/6 puppies, really young and they were constantly trying to go to sleep, these women who i guess had paid extra for the puppy element to the yoga class were continually grabbing the poor little things back up for cuddles and to faff over. It was horrible viewing. Poor pups were knackered and literally falling over from tiredness.

It’s a bloody awful idea
 
skinnydipper said:
With video https://www.itv.com/news/2023-07-03/is-puppy-yoga-ethical-the-dark-side-of-a-growing-wellness-trend

www.telegraph.co.uk

Puppy yoga 'incredibly distressing' and may breach animal rights, Kennel Club warns

Dogs brought into warm rooms without water and not given enough rest between sessions, investigation claims
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk

Italy bans puppy yoga on animal welfare grounds

Italy bans puppy yoga on animal welfare grounds
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
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That's disgusting - glad it's being banned, my evil mind is thinking of a whole new job for XL Bullies - give the yoga class something to think about!!
 
and biosecurity - seeing as it's 'puppy' yoga - and if they really are using 6 week olds (where is their mother whilst the pups are doing sessions?) they won't be vaccinated yet.......
Also, why don't the people who attend these sessions just volunteer to dogwalk at a rescue centre, or otherwise give time there? It's free.
 
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I do think it's a bit OTT to be outraged by it, we have one local to where I am and whilst it's not something I would enccourage or financially support by attending, having puppies brought into a yoga class for an hour or so to get some attention toward the end of the class certainly doesn't equate to cruelty... They have free access to water from what I have seen on their social media, they aren't involved in yoga in any way/shape or form, and they aren't there for full days an fall asleep from exhaustion, just a class once a week in the PM that is for the puppy element and they fall asleep because they're puppies; I'd also say that the ones I have seen used look plenty old enough to be out and about. I think this is sensaltionalised reporting to some degree to create something that sounds horrendous.
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
I do think it's a bit OTT to be outraged by it, we have one local to where I am and whilst it's not something I would enccourage or financially support by attending, having puppies brought into a yoga class for an hour or so to get some attention toward the end of the class certainly doesn't equate to cruelty... They have free access to water from what I have seen on their social media, they aren't involved in yoga in any way/shape or form, and they aren't there for full days an fall asleep from exhaustion, just a class once a week in the PM that is for the puppy element and they fall asleep because they're puppies; I'd also say that the ones I have seen used look plenty old enough to be out and about. I think this is sensaltionalised reporting to some degree to create something that sounds horrendous.
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Perhaps some places do it "better" than others. But the video did show some horrendous images of people dropping puppies and puppies being woken up to be cuddled as well as staff stating that the puppies started at 6 and a half weeks old and did several hours a day.
I do not think its fair to impose this on such young animals especially when some seem to be left without supervision with clients.
You also have to wonder where they source these puppies and what happens to them when they grow up as by definition they do grow up and you then need a new batch...
 
I think cat cafes do exist where it's cats up for adoption, and they effectively have free roam of the building whilst the public do not, giving the animals somewhere to retreat to if they want.

To play devil's advocate there are definite parallels between the dog yoga and horse showing - ie., animals brought out to participate in an activity solely for human benefit, with the caveat that at least the puppy yoga animals don't have the additional stressor of being surrounded by animals that are also strangers to them as well as people. But then, showing horses are vaccinated and hopefully being handled by people with a degree of competency and the knowledge to see if the animal isn't coping and take it out of that situation, though this won't always be the case.
 
Titchy Pony said:
Perhaps some places do it "better" than others. But the video did show some horrendous images of people dropping puppies and puppies being woken up to be cuddled as well as staff stating that the puppies started at 6 and a half weeks old and did several hours a day.
I do not think its fair to impose this on such young animals especially when some seem to be left without supervision with clients.
You also have to wonder where they source these puppies and what happens to them when they grow up as by definition they do grow up and you then need a new batch...
Click to expand...

Ahh I will admit I didn't watch that video but also we must remember that they will have selected the worst material to support their point, 6.5 weeks is far too young but there are lots of other things I would direct time and resource toward stopping, before I got upset at some puppy cuddles.

I know my local one 'borrows' a litter that have been or are to be sold anyway, so they aren't purpose bred but above and beyond that I don't know any detail.
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
Ahh I will admit I didn't watch that video but also we must remember that they will have selected the worst material to support their point, 6.5 weeks is far too young but there are lots of other things I would direct time and resource toward stopping, before I got upset at some puppy cuddles.

I know my local one 'borrows' a litter that have been or are to be sold anyway, so they aren't purpose bred but above and beyond that I don't know any detail.
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Of course they will have chosen the footage that supports their claims, it would be pointless to do otherwise.
They point out that the practise is probably already in breach of current welfare laws and that the venues they visited weren't actually licensed for that kind of activity.
It may just seem like puppy cuddles, but unless very strictly controlled it is damaging the future pets we will all be complaining about on the irresponsible owners thread. I think there is also hight potential for it to add an income stream to puppy farmers. I can't imagine a responsible breeder letting their puppies be used for such an activity and if I was buying a puppy, I wouldn't touch one that had been through puppy yoga with a bargepole.
I remain highly sceptical of anything that uses baby animals as a selling point. I can't help but compare to lion walking activities in Africa where they tell tourists that the lions they walk will be released into the wild when in reality the females are used to breed more cubs to walk and the males for canned hunting before their body parts are sent off to China.
 
I imagine there's little impetus for laws to be passed against it because it's economically advantageous plus gets people moving, and it's not hugely common still, so may be seen as a waste of political time. (Because obviously politicians will think their time matters more than animal welfare.......) Also it may be quite hard to word such a law: specifically banning 'yoga' classes with animals means people can just keep the classes the same but call them something different to 'yoga' whilst keeping them practically identical, but being too broad may also mean other things are inadvertently made legally dubious too (educational animal encounters sessions for instance).

I just blatantly don't see the appeal of it.
And I do really want to know what they do if a puppy poops.
 
skinnydipper said:
It is disappointing that anyone would think puppy yoga was acceptable, either taking part or defending it.

The sooner it's banned the better
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I didn't say it was acceptable, nor am I particularly defending it, just saying that in the grand scheme of things I would rather see the proportion of finite resource this took go toward something that is a bit more serious - eg: people continuing to slice dogs' ears off for aesthetics, or importing dogs with parvo from Romania, dog fighting rings that still exist, puppy farming. All things we haven't yet tackled that I think should be higher up the priority list.
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
I didn't say it was acceptable, nor am I particularly defending it, just saying that in the grand scheme of things I would rather see the proportion of finite resource this took go toward something that is a bit more serious - eg: people continuing to slice dogs' ears off for aesthetics, or importing dogs with parvo from Romania, dog fighting rings that still exist, puppy farming. All things we haven't yet tackled that I think should be higher up the priority list.
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Well on this thread we were discussing puppy yoga.

Mostly people are aware of mutilation, importation, dog fighting and puppy farming but they may not have been aware of puppy yoga.

As far as I am concerned puppy yoga is a welfare issue which needs to be addressed.

Hopefully people will read this thread* and boycott puppy yoga classes.

* AND WATCH THE VIDEO
 
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Oh, FGS. Kitty yoga, too.
What have people got between their ears.



Quote "It is very difficult to legislate for stupidity" from here:

UK Parliament.
Pet Welfare and Abuse.
This is a House of Commons Committee report, with recommendations to government.

Puppy yoga

19. During the course of our inquiry media and stakeholder concerns arose regarding the growing trend of ‘puppy yoga’; classes in which very young puppies are placed in a studio alongside participants practicing yoga. We note that there are also ‘kitty yoga’ sessions currently being advertised, on which we hold similar concerns as to animal welfare implications. Organisers of puppy yoga claim that the dogs’ participation allows them to be socialised at a young age.48 However, these puppies are potentially unvaccinated, may be denied access to adequate food or water, and may find the situation stressful.49

20. Dr Wensley highlighted that the trend raises issues of respecting animals and of commodifying cute animals for human gain.50 Dr Gaines similarly described puppy yoga as “a really good example of puppies being used as commodities […] the extent to which those puppies were deprived of natural behaviour was truly shocking.”51 Dr Shotton, Senior Vice President, British Veterinary Association (BVA), told us of: serious concerns about the welfare of those puppies […] we would be concerned that it is a marketing tool for puppy sales, and irresponsible puppy sales […] We would be very worried about unvaccinated puppies potentially mixing with other unvaccinated pups and their potential welfare compromise, and the fact that then members of the public might be encouraged to impulse buy these pups without thinking things through.52

21. We asked Minister Benyon whether the Department is considering taking steps to address animal welfare implications of the puppy yoga trend. Marc Casale, Deputy Director for Animal Welfare, Defra, told us that puppy yoga “is definitely on the radar”.53 However, the Minister told us that: we do not have any plans to legislate against it. There must be a common-sense element here where providers of yoga classes can realise where they are doing harm […] It is very difficult to legislate for stupidity.54


 
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I must admit i thought it was much more an American thing than here, I do know there's a so-called sanctuary with a lot of "disabled" animals that does yoga sessions over there.
It does feel very much like people "accessorising" with animals for instagram likes.
 
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Copied from MRCVS online. https://mrcvs.co.uk/en/news/23556/Netherlands-considering-puppy-yoga-ban

Netherlands considering puppy yoga ban

Puppy yoga was recently banned in Italy.

Government minister wants to ban use of all young animals in yoga.

The Netherlands could become the next country to ban puppy yoga, after the country’s agriculture minister Pieter Adema spoke out about the practice.

In an interview with the Dutch newspaper Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant, the minister criticised the impact that the practice has on puppies and said that he wanted to see a ban on the use of all young animals in yoga.

Puppy yoga, in which puppies are present during a human yoga class, has become a popular trend around the world. Organisers claim that the sessions help to socialise the puppies, a claim disputed by animal welfare organisations.

In July last year, an ITV News investigation alleged that some puppies involved in yoga classes were not given access to water and had no opportunity to rest away from people.

Last month, puppy yoga was banned in Italy because of concerns over the stress that it caused for the animals involved. The Dutch government is yet to set out specific plans for a ban.

In the UK, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee raised concerns about puppy yoga in a parliamentary report on pet welfare and abuse published in April 2024. Charities including The Kennel Club, Blue Cross and the RSPCA have also publicly voiced their concerns about the practice.

Esme Wheeler, dog welfare expert at the RSPCA, said: “If the Netherlands is to ban it, especially so soon after Italy’s ban, then it sends a strong message across the continent and the wider world that puppy yoga is not an acceptable activity for the dogs.

“Sadly, puppy yoga has gained more traction as time has gone on, with people thinking that it is ‘cute’ - but the puppies - sometimes younger than eight weeks - can be overwhelmed and frightened. It can have such a detrimental effect on their welfare, and we're really worried the popularity of this trend is being fuelled by social media.

“Many puppy yoga organisers say the classes help socialise the animals, but this isn’t socialisation in any sense. Puppy socialisation needs to be carried out gradually, where exposure to various experiences, people and other animals is controlled and calm. Not doing so can have a negative effect on the puppy.”
 
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Puppy Yoga is horrendous. The puppies are too young, the studio is too warm and the floor outside a yoga mat is usually very slippery. Being handled by lots of strangers in a strange environment is not socialising, its flooding and overwhelming.

I wouldn't want to purchase a puppy that had been used for this purpose.
 
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