1 Year of Puppy Yoga With Mikenze Pt 1

Puppy Yoga has been an absolute blessing in my life! From humble beginnings to steady, sold out classes, I am beyond grateful for each and every student who has come out and supported me along the way, while also getting an incredibly therapeutic, fun experience.

As with any new adventure in business, there will be mistakes to learn from and growth in the experience. I've definitely had both and I am thankful for it all. I have learned so much about puppies and what they need to be safe, and about ethical breeding practices as well. I have learned to screen my breeders to find the ones who truly care about their animals and who want the absolute best for them and their new owners. I've had to increase the age limit to 8 years old due to the safety of the puppies and the children, and I cap classes according to the number of puppies in the litter. Each breeder knows exactly what to expect from the experience and some have even had adoptions from my classes. I have had so much fun with these classes and I cannot wait to see where the next year brings us.

We had our first class on July 14th, 2023 with the American Bully puppies of Revved Up Bullies East. Interesting story on how the Universe works: I had just been asked to organize a Puppy Yoga class and decided I was going to do it. I had no idea what that would look like but I set my intention to find puppies. A few days later I went out to lunch with a friend wearing my 'Goat Yoga With Mikenze' t-shirt, and our waiter asked me about it. He then told me he had a litter of American Bullies that he would love to socialize. And we went from there. It was humble beginnings. 4 students in the first class and 8 in the second. But I had gotten a taste of what these classes could be and we all wanted more. I also had one private class with the American Bullies in August with a group of 12.

Around the same time I found Revved Up Bullies East, I also began planning with PEC Premier Aussiedoodles for September. It was still humble beginnings with 8 participants, but I was also getting asked about more private classes, so the word was spreading. I got some of my favourite photos for marketing from that public class. Luckily we were able to utilize the breeder's front lawn for our classes. October brought German Shepherds at Baxter Arts Centre in Bloomfield. The day of this event I decided to purchase mats for my Puppy Yoga classes to avoid my students' mats getting chewed and peed on. This was my first class that almost sold out with 18 participants. Both the Aussiedoodles and the German Shepherds were extremely rowdy and playful, chewing on hair, toes, and anything else that stuck out. One puppy even nestled into a participants bum while we stretched on our bellies.

November brought my first Bachelorette Puppy Yoga class with a breed I had never heard of before - Old English Sheepdogs. They were the absolute sweetest, most cuddly puppies I have had for a Puppy Yoga class, to date. They spent most of their time cuddling into the bride and her besties and there was only one pee the entire class! My public class at Baxter Arts Centre in November was with another breed I had never heard of - Cane Corsos. These puppies were the exact opposite of the Old English Sheepdogs and I was just thankful everyone left with all of their fingers and toes! This class had a great turn out of 15 and also brought a lot of learning on the business end of it. Moving forward, I would be much more organized with the breeder side of things.

December brought a breed of dog that not only did I have to save the name to my phone's clipboard to remember, but it was the longest name I had never heard - Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog/ American Bull Terriers. These puppies were so playful and sweet. I had to cap these classes at a lower number to fit into the space at Fearless Wellness Centre in Trenton (now Batawa), but each class sold out. And I had my first puppy adoption from these classes as well! The private breeder also had wonderful things to say about her experience working with me.

"The experience with Mikenze was beyond amazing! From the great communication and updates to helping me plan, taking away my worries and answering my questions.  The experience itself was like being in class with the students and it was amazing to see all the love they gave the puppies. I definitely would recommend Mikenze for breeders! It is excellent socialization for the puppies and there is potential to sell a puppy, as this was my experience. A student gave one of my little fur babies their furever home. I also recommend Puppy Yoga with Mikenze if you are wanting a great stretch with little fur babies giving you kisses, cuddles and of course great entertainment."

2023 rounded out with a unique way to end our year and welcome a new one: A Very Golden New Year with Golden Retrievers. This experience was Puppy Yoga plus a Circle (of sorts) to reflect on the past year and set intentions for 2024. I had reached out to Marr Golden Retrievers the month prior, but she has said no thank you. When I saw her post on Facebook about coming to cuddle her Golden Retrievers and puppies, I reached out again, but this time I offered to bring the experience to her. And then I had the idea of having something on New Years Eve for us non-drinker, non-partiers. The evening went without a hitch and I got great feedback from everyone who joined. I hope the stars align again in 2024 to redo the experience because it was a great way to release the old and embrace the new.

By the end of 2023, I had met so many people and learned so many valuable lessons. I had worked with 7 different dog breeds and breeders and taught over 120 students, some being repeat customers. With the extreme growth I had seen so far, I knew 2024 was going to be even better, and I had the perfect breed to kick the year off with a bang.