So as well as travelling around the world capturing canine moments, The Dog Tales also gets to work with some wonderful people and businesses who also love all things dogs. Here you can explore their story, as we delve into their world through our photo stories feature. Enjoy!
This month’s photo story feature is like no other, aimed at yoga fans and puppy fans. I mean you’re going to like at LEAST one out of the two, right? Of course you are, so imagine this, a yoga class WITH puppies…sounds too good to be true right?! Well, it’s not, the amazing Paige Alexander, CEO and founder of Puppy Yoga London has made sure of it. Here’s an insight into one of her puppy filled classes…
A fellow Yogi enjoying some cuddles from a ridiculously cute pup!
– Okay, so Paige tell me, where did it all begin with Puppy Yoga?
I have a degree in Event Management, however, since leaving university I found myself working in film production, but always ended up going back into events as I just loved it so much! Over the years I also found a passion for organising pop-up events, this ultimately gave me the experience to start Puppy Yoga London which combined my love of dogs and yoga (I’ve been practising yoga since I was 16) and put on the first pop-up Puppy Yoga Event on the 5th January 2020 with German Shepherd Puppies. This was a very special first class for me as I actually grew up with a German Shepherd…I took it as a sign that it was meant to be!
Puppy Yoga London, has definitely become a family-oriented business with the help of my family, who have been the manpower behind each event. As a small family run business, we honestly cannot thank everyone enough who has bought tickets, thus allowing us to continue putting on events that we love. We truly love watching every attendee smile with our pups…it never gets old!
– What is a typical Puppy Yoga class like?
The class will run for approximately 1 hour with mixed intervals of yoga and playtime with the puppies. The puppies always love the amount of space they have to run around and play, our first class is definitely when they show how much energy they have! The last class of the day is normally very relaxing, the puppies tend to find someone to snuggle up too and in that case, it means that there is no chance of any yoga being done as both the puppy and the attendee are way too comfortable to move.
The only yoga class I want to do!!!
– Where do the puppies come from?
The puppies come from registered breeders who want to use our Puppy Yoga classes as a way to socialise their puppies with new people before they go off to their new homes. Our Yoga sessions allow the puppies to socialise in a safe yet fun environment, thus allowing them to gain confidence and independence before they head off to their forever homes. A well-socialised puppy is more likely to grow up to be a friendly and outgoing dog.
Puppy Yoga London’s wonderful Yoga Instructor Anton getting some love from the pups after a great morning class.
– What’s next for Puppy Yoga?
This year we are hoping to expand our Puppy Yoga classes into different areas across the UK. We find a lot of our attendees are based outside of London so it would be great to provide a class nearer to them so they don’t have to travel as far. We get a lot of attendees from Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey… so definitely watch this space!
Anton making sure the attendee’s work hard before playtime with the puppies.
Some sleepy and mischievous Shar Pei’s!
– What’s the best part about your job?
There are so many aspects of my job that I love. For myself, I love meeting new puppies and spending some quality time with them at the end of the class when all the attendees have left. But in all honesty, I think the best bit about my job is just seeing how happy all the attendees are when they are snuggled up with a puppy, it makes my day when you see every single attendee smiling away with not a care in the world.
– Finally, what’s the naughtiest breed you’ve had in a class?
The naughtiest breed we have had is surprisingly French Bulldogs…they tend to take a liking to our yoga instructor Anton and just love jumping all over him when he’s demonstrating a yoga position on the floor. They also seem to love his instruction book, they always tend to sneakily run off with it when he’s not looking.
When all the puppy excitement has gotten abit to much…just relax!
Great, thank you Paige!!!
That was really interesting, I feel extremely lucky to of been able to photograph and witness the magic that happens in your classes. One of the biggest things is seeing how important human and animal interaction really is, like it is SO SO good for the soul.
In a world where, for the past year, we haven’t been able to see loved ones and friends as regularly, or been able to work, travel, keep fit physically, as well as mentally as much we’d like too. It really can take its toll. But never fear, Puppy Yoga London is here to help transport you back to your happy place.
I would highly recommend booking a class, so head on over to @puppyyogalondon or www.puppy-yoga.co.uk for more details on how to do just that. Go on you know you want too!!!