Puppy Yoga VIC exists to support the wellbeing of both puppies and people.
We work with puppies during the important 8–12 week socialisation stage, offering gentle, positive experiences that support confidence, resilience, and healthy development.
Our classes are always puppy-led; their comfort, safety, and wellbeing come first. Puppies are never forced to interact and are free to rest, play, explore, or withdraw at any time.
We partner exclusively with ethical breeders and rescues who prioritise health, temperament, responsible socialisation, and veterinary care. Our practices are informed by veterinary guidance and current animal welfare standards.
To support puppy welfare:
sessions are time-limited to avoid fatigue or overstimulation
puppies have access to quiet rest areas
all handling is gentle, supervised, and optional
strict hygiene protocols are followed
class sizes are kept small and calm
Our goal is to create a space that feels safe, respectful, and genuinely positive for both puppies and people.
Puppy Welfare Policy
Our Animal Welfare & Ethics Commitment
At the heart of every puppy yoga class is one simple principle: the puppies always come first.
Puppy yoga combines gentle movement, mindfulness, and positive human-animal interaction in a calm and carefully managed environment. While the experience is joyful and uplifting for participants, every part of our classes is intentionally designed around puppy welfare, ethical socialisation, and respectful interaction.
Guided by modern animal welfare principles and puppy development research, we believe that when puppy yoga is done thoughtfully and responsibly, it can provide puppies with gentle, positive exposure to new people, environments, sounds, movement, and handling during an important stage of development.
For us, puppy wellbeing is never an afterthought - it shapes every decision we make.
Why Positive Early Socialisation Matters
Early socialisation plays an important role in a puppy’s emotional and behavioural development.
Research shows that gentle, positive exposure to new people, environments, sounds, movement, and handling can help puppies grow into more confident and adaptable adult dogs - when introduced carefully and at the puppy’s pace.
That is why our sessions are intentionally calm, structured, and puppy-led. Puppies are always free to explore, rest, observe, or disengage whenever they choose.
We believe positive socialisation should build confidence, never overwhelm.
How our classes are designed around welfare
Every part of our class structure has been designed around puppy welfare, safety, and development.
Puppies are still babies, which means they tire easily and can become overstimulated quickly. To support healthy socialisation, all sessions are kept short, calm, and carefully managed.
Puppies are only with us for a maximum two-hour block per day, with mandatory rest breaks between classes. Between sessions, they are taken to a quiet rest area where they can sleep, drink water, decompress, and fully disengage from interaction.
Research in puppy development supports gradual exposure, adequate recovery time, and positive association building during early socialisation. We believe shorter, calm, positive experiences are far more beneficial than prolonged or highly stimulating environments.
Our sessions are designed to prioritise quality of interaction over quantity of interaction.
A Puppy-Led Experience
Our classes are completely puppy-led, meaning the puppies guide the interaction - not the participants.
If a puppy wants to cuddle, sleep, play, explore, sniff, or simply observe quietly, they are free to do so. Puppies are never forced to interact or expected to engage with every person in the room.
All interactions are supervised by trained puppy handlers, and guests are guided on how to interact calmly, gently, and respectfully throughout the session.
Participants are asked to:
remain calm and follow all instructions
avoid overexciting or crowding puppies
respect when a puppy chooses not to engage
follow handler guidance on safe interaction
remain seated on their mat during puppy interaction periods
Our goal is to create an environment where puppies feel safe, comfortable, and free to behave naturally at all times.
Hygiene & Safety Standards
Maintaining a clean and safe environment is an essential part of our welfare standards.
Because young puppies still have developing immune systems, hygiene and environmental safety are extremely important to us. Before and after every class, the studio and equipment are thoroughly cleaned using veterinary-approved, pet-safe cleaning products, including F10 veterinary disinfectant protocols.
Our hygiene procedures have also been reviewed by veterinary professionals to help ensure they are appropriate for young puppies and shared environments.
To help minimise health risks:
guests sanitise their hands upon entry
shoes are removed before entering the studio
bags remain in the waiting area
jewellery that could scratch or catch on puppies is removed
we provide all yoga mats and equipment
the studio is deep-cleaned before and after every session
These measures help us maintain a calm, hygienic, and controlled environment that prioritises the health and wellbeing of every puppy in our care.
Where Our Puppies Come From
We are extremely selective about who we work with.
We only partner with responsible breeders and ethical rescues who demonstrate high standards of care, transparency, and welfare. We do not work with puppy farms, commercial dealers, or anyone unable to clearly show responsible breeding or care practices.
Any breeder or rescue we work with must meet strict welfare expectations, including:
clean and enriched home environments
evidence of positive early socialisation
appropriate veterinary care
age-appropriate development and handling
transparency around breeding and care practices
puppies remaining with their mother for the appropriate developmental period
Microchip and vaccination records for each pup
We believe ethical partnerships matter enormously, and we would always rather decline a collaboration than compromise on welfare standards.
Our commitment
We understand that people care deeply about animal welfare - and we believe they should.
Everything about our sessions, from breeder partnerships to class structure, hygiene protocols, rest breaks, handling guidelines, and participant education, has been intentionally designed to prioritise puppy wellbeing first.
The joy people experience during puppy yoga should never come at the expense of the puppies themselves.
Our goal is to create experiences that are calm, enriching, respectful, and genuinely positive for everyone involved - especially the animals at the centre of it.
If we ever felt we could not provide an experience that truly prioritised puppy wellbeing, we simply would not run it.
Spending time with animals can have a naturally calming and grounding effect.
Research has shown that positive human–animal interaction may help reduce stress, encourage mindfulness, and support emotional wellbeing. Quiet, gentle interaction with dogs can help people slow down, feel more present, and step away from daily pressures for a moment.
Puppies naturally encourage playful and emotionally responsive interaction, often creating moments of comfort, joy, and connection during our sessions.
While our classes are not therapy or a replacement for professional mental health support, we do believe there is genuine value in creating calm spaces where people can connect with animals in a respectful and welfare-focused environment.
Importantly, these experiences should only ever happen when they are equally positive for the puppies involved.
The Human - Animal Connection
