DOGA (Dog Yoga) Workshop
By: Victoria Regan

DOGA (Dog Yoga) was a new experience for me this weekend, as a dog trainer, I have never been to a dog yoga class myself! But I thought “let’s give it a try, and let’s see what happens”

… well, it was amazing!

After I discussed the idea of a Dog Yoga class with Jada Tam (Yogi and Owner of Barefoot Sanctuary) she said she had been to a DOGA class before, but has never taught one herself! Because Jada is also a dog lover, she agreed to teach a class for some of my VIP Clients and Past Program Clients.

Before the workshop, I researched different styles of DOGA classes (yes there are different types of DOGA classes), and I figured out what I wanted to strongly focus on in this class. Because we had so many different dogs in this class, (some are young puppies, some are reactive dogs, and some are really friendly), I wanted to focus on calmness in a group setting.

During class, we focused on how your mental health, mindset, energy, and emotions affected their dogs. I have seen firsthand how people’s emotions directly affect their dogs, but it’s usually in a negative way related to stress, I was so excited to see how being “truly relaxed” actually affected my clients and their dogs in a positive way!

I wanted my client’s goal for this class to be relaxation, calmness, and positivity. Encouraging them to guide their dog in a calm, relaxed, communicative way, and to see how different their dogs may listen when their emotions were calm and direct.

During class, we focused strongly on the “PLACE” command/getting the dog to lie on their bed, and relax while we did yoga beside them.

We started out class with our usual pack circle outside, and then we took them for a 45-minute walk through the Salmon Train in Lumby.  Once we got back to the hall we all got comfortable on our mats and got our dogs to “place” on their bed. Once everyone was seated we start a bit of doggy massage to settle out dogs and get them to relax on their beds.

After about 15 minutes into the Yoga Practice, I noticed each of my client’s dog settling, and looking more relaxed then I have ever seen them before! I noticed the people who where the most relaxed also had the most relaxed dogs. Some of the client’s dogs had a hard time settling at first, but I soon saw that the client’s simple having their hand on their dog, in turn, comforted their dog enough for them to fully relax. This DOGA workshop was a significant example of how a person’s emotions directly affect their dog. My clients where able to learn how calming touch, deep breathing and being in the moment, can completely change a dog’s energy level. I saw the bond that each dog had with their human and I literally couldn’t stop smiling during the whole hour and a half class.

By the end of the class, most of the dogs were asleep and even some of our clients fell asleep too. We were able to get a reactive dog, a dog aggressive dog, and a 6-month-old puppy to relax in a room with 10 other dogs! Myself as a trainer and our clients all learned a lot during this experience, and we are looking forward to the next DOGA Workshop with Valley Canine Training!