Puppy yoga in London = a life changing experience. Here’s where you can go to get stuck in.
London can be a stressful place to live. It’s big and noisy, busy and you never have time to stop. One solution that’s been growing in popularity in recent years is puppy yoga – the practice of trying to stretch and balance while surrounded by cute baby dogs… and then giving up the exercise and just playing with the pups.
It’s supposed to be great for your mental health. Many of the top puppy yoga studios cite the rarified endorphin and oxytocin levels you can reach from a session of doggy yoga. It’s also just great fun to hang around with dogs.
With a whole lot of love for whoever came up with this concept, here’s our guide to the best puppy yoga London has to offer…
Best Puppy Yoga in London
Puppy Yoga
Zone 1
We’ll begin our guide with the aptly named Puppy Yoga. They’re one of the leading London puppy yoga groups out there and have a great set-up for the service (they’re also the one you probably recognise from social media).
Instead of sticking to one location they run pop-up classes around London but always in Zone 1. They only run classes on the weekend but they have multiple classes per day and even list these classes by the breed of dog you’ll be doing yoga with.
Classes begin with a 15 yoga session then disintegrate into cutesy chaos as the pups are released into the room. Tickets for these classes are released every Thursday on their website for the following weekend.
Pups Yoga
Multiple Locations
Pups Yoga (not to be confused with Puppy Yoga – that’s a totally different brand) are another great group to go with.
The reason being that they do what’s probably the most accessible puppy yoga London has to offer. That’s mainly because of the wide range of locations they have all over the city (you can find them all on their website).
They lean more towards the mental health benefits of hanging out with cute baby dogs and thus their classes have a wellbeing slant to them. Each class consists of getting straight into 30 minutes of puppy yoga followed by 30 minutes of pure puppy time.
If you fancy skipping the semi-strenuous exercise and getting straight to the good stuff they also offer pure puppy play sessions.
Puppy Yoga London
Richmond
If you’re looking for puppy yoga, west London hasn’t got too many options. The one that it does have though will provide you with all that you’re looking for.
Classes at Puppy Yoga London – again, not to be confused with Puppy Yoga – rent their own space and run regular classes at a fixed location so you can always guarantee that they’ll be where they were last time you went for a bit of dog yoga.
They pick all the breeders they work with to ensure that the puppies come from good homes and like to point out that by having them around in yoga class you’re actually helping the pups learn to socialise – how wholesome is that?
Pets Yoga
Ok, we’re going to blow your world right open. You don’t have to restrict yourself to just puppy yoga. You can also take classes in kitten yoga, and wait for it – bunny yoga. This all happens at Pets Yoga – one of the original London puppy yoga studios.
Though most of their classes happen at their very nice Old Street studios they also do pop-ups around the city. Some of these even include brunch…
They’re very ethical about the animals they use, ensuring that all pets come from licensed breeders with a good track record for animal care. Because of their strong ethical code you also won’t find dachshunds, pugs or french bulldogs at their classes – all breeds that are prone to debilitating physical ailments. You can read all about their ethics here.
Bare Paws
South London
Bare Paws offers some of the best dog yoga London has. Each class is attended by about 8-10 pups which are, again, sourced from ethical breeders. Where things really take a unique turn at Bare Paws is that some of these pups get incorporated into your poses.
The classes are regular and run out of a few different South London locations: Dulwich, Peckham and Elephant and Castle, to name a few. They’re also cheap. Only £12 a pop – less than half of what most of the rest charge.
Take a Paws
Wandsworth
If you’re after yoga with puppies, London’s choices are pretty good. But one you should definitely consider is Take a Paws.
They combine the good work of wellbeing through puppy yoga with the good work of charity: a donation of 5% of all profits goes to animal welfare and shelters. They’re also working with an animal shelter in Goa, India, that looks after injured and sick dogs.
As for the classes, they emphasise that you don’t need any prior experience in yoga to join and they won’t give you any grief if you just want to lie back on your mat and play with the pups.
Puply
Finsbury Park
Puply have a huge variety of puppy yoga classes across the country. In London, they run classes out of Finsbury Park with perks like bottomless prosecco, the addition of a couple of mimosas and a few other offers that go beyond just your usual dog yoga classes.
Their classes take place at the weekend with multiple sessions per day. And they have a strong ethical code when it comes to the animals – that means all you have to worry about is not drinking so much prosecco you fall over and squash a pup!
Practical Tips for Exploring the Best Puppy Yoga in London
- You’ll probably want to choose a puppy yoga studio based on location, as most of the services have similar standards around animal treatment. They’re also roughly the same price (excluding Bare Paws which is hella cheap).
- You won’t need to be a yoga pro to get stuck in. Most of these classes just focus on the mental health benefits of hanging out with puppies – let’s face it, the yoga is an afterthought.
