Puppy yoga was not on my holiday bingo card. But when you’re the mother of an eight-year-old who is obsessed with dogs — specifically golden retrievers — and you stumble across an Instagram post announcing a class with golden retriever puppies, the universe is basically telling you to get your credit card.
So we booked a session at Pups + Poses Yoga, located above Delisle Court at Yonge and St. Clair. I wish I could pretend we went for the mindful stretching or the deep breathing, but let’s be honest: we went for the puppies. Ten of them. All eight weeks old, super playful and ridiculously soft, each one armed with a set of tiny, needle-sharp teeth.
The class technically starts with yoga, though “yoga” is a generous term for what happens when a swarm of puppies is released into a room full of squealing adults and children. A few people attempted sun salutations; most of us just tried to maintain eye contact with the instructor while a puppy chewed the ends of our hair. Staff members walked around placing puppies onto mats like wiggly little bundles of love.
And yes, because they’re babies, accidents happen. We were told to shout the code word — mango — if a puppy did their business. Nothing brings a room together quite like thirty strangers yelling “MANGO!” in unison as a tiny retriever confidently relieves himself on someone’s Lululemons.
My daughter, meanwhile, was in absolute heaven. This is a kid who is counting down the years until we get a dog, and she cradled those golden pups like they were the most precious things on earth. She didn’t care that she was basically being climbed on like a jungle gym by a golden retriever pup (although the nipping scared her a bit) — to her, it was pure joy.
View this post on Instagram
The fun part is that the breeds change all the time. One week it’s dachshunds, another week corgis, another week Maremma sheepdogs or springer spaniels. So yes, you can absolutely justify coming back because “it’s research” or “it’s a totally different experience this time.”
And then there’s Milo — kind of their unofficial mascot — a golden doodle born with a cleft nose who wasn’t expected to survive. He did, and now part of the proceeds goes to shelters and rehab centres.
While I might not call it zen — unless your idea of calm includes being climbed on by tiny puppies. But it’s the perfect Christmas gift for kids, adults, or anyone who could use a serious dose of happiness.
And I say that as someone who left with scratch marks, a destroyed bun and a child who is now counting the days until we go back.
Because we are going back. Obviously.
