Is Puppy Yoga Worth It?

We would rather you booked knowing exactly what this is than booked on a whim and left disappointed. So here is the honest version, including the parts that do not flatter us.

It depends what you are comparing it to

Most of the disagreement about whether puppy yoga is worth the money comes from people comparing it to different things. Compared with a gym class it looks expensive. Compared with a night out it looks cheap. Both are fair, and which one applies depends entirely on why you are booking.

The honest framing is this: if you want an hour of exercise, this is not the most efficient way to buy one. If you want an hour that people remember and talk about afterwards, it competes very well against anything else at the price.

What you actually get for the money

What our guests actually say

Across our own booking platform we hold thousands of reviews averaging close to five stars, and the themes in them are consistent enough to be worth summarising honestly — including the criticism.

What people praise

• The puppies themselves. Universally. This is not a category where anyone criticises the animals.
• The instructors. Warmth and patience with beginners comes up constantly.
• The breed reveal. People remember which breed they got — Dalmatians, Pomskies, toy poodles — and mention it by name months later.
• Its value as a gift. Birthdays, Mother's Day and group celebrations are the most common reasons people book.
• The emotional side. A recurring theme is people between dogs, or who cannot have one where they live.

What people criticise

• Expectations about timing. Some guests expect more puppy time than the format gives. Puppy social time is a defined portion at the end, not the full hour.
• Assuming the puppies are adoptable. They are not adopted through us and they go home the same day. If that matters to you, read where our puppies come from first.
• The booking policy. We do not offer refunds. That is a genuine friction and we address it below.
• Price. For repeat visitors, single-class pricing adds up. Memberships and class packs exist for exactly that reason.

What your first class actually looks like

People arrive with wildly different expectations, so here is the honest sequence rather than the brochure version.

1. The ten minutes before. You check in, leave your things, take a mat and find a spot. The room is quiet and there are no puppies in it yet, which surprises most first-timers.
2. The first five minutes. A short introduction, the house rules for handling the puppies, and a gentle warm-up. Nobody is assessing you.
3. The middle stretch. A beginner-to-intermediate flow. This is a real class and it is where the hour actually goes.
4. The moment the puppies arrive. The mood in the room changes completely. This is the part people describe afterwards.
5. Social time. Puppies wander, climb into laps, chew sleeves and fall asleep. You can sit, take photos, and talk to people.
6. The last five minutes. Puppies go back to their handler, you gather your things and leave. Most people stay chatting longer than they planned.

If your mental image was an hour of puppies on your mat while you hold a pose, adjust it. The class is a class, and the puppies are the reward at the end of it.

Cost per hour, in context

One useful way to think about it: at $50–70 for roughly an hour, puppy yoga costs about the same as a cinema ticket and a drink, less than most guided experiences, and more than a gym class. Where it differs from all of them is that people remember it and tell other people about it, which is why it works so well as a gift and so poorly as a substitute for a workout routine.

Who tends to love it

• People buying a gift. It is the most common reason people book, and the easiest thing to give someone who has everything.
• Groups and birthdays. Nobody needs to be good at it, which makes it a rare group activity that does not quietly exclude someone.
• People who miss having a dog. This comes up in our reviews more than anything else.
• Nervous beginners. A room where everyone is distracted by puppies is a surprisingly forgiving place to try yoga for the first time.
• Teams. It works where a bar does not, because nobody has to be extroverted to enjoy it.

Who should probably skip it

• Anyone with a dog allergy. The puppies are in the room and on the mats. There is no way around that.
• Anyone wanting a hard workout. Try Puppy Pilates, which is a genuinely more demanding format.
• Anyone hoping to adopt. Puppies go home with their partner after class.
• Anyone wanting a quiet hour. It is a joyful room, not a silent one.
• Anyone uncomfortable with the format on welfare grounds. We have set out the debate in full on our ethics page. If it does not satisfy you, we would rather you did not book.

Puppy yoga or Puppy Pilates?

Making it cheaper if you plan to come back

Single-class pricing is the most expensive way to book. If you expect to come more than two or three times, a membership works out materially cheaper per class and covers formats and locations rather than being tied to one studio. Gift cards are the better option when you are buying for someone else and do not know which date suits them.

See all prices and membership options →

Frequently asked questions