Getting DOGA Ready - Part 1

do·ga
/ˈdōɡə/
noun
noun: doga

1. A practice of yoga, where your dog can come!

Sadie is very good at DOGA

I am very excited to be partnering with Liberty Life Yoga to host Liberty Village's first outdoor DOGA on July 13, 2019 at 10:30 am at the Liberty Village Park To learn more about the event and to RSVP - click here!

This will be a fun Yoga event for humans, but you get to bring your dog. We will also guide you through a little dog massage at the end of our practice. However, bringing your dog to any event can be difficult. Your dog might want to go say hi to everyone. They might want to sniff around. They might bark the entire time (hey frankie... talking about you, son). However, we can prepare our dogs & help make this as fun and non-stressful for them as possible. I thought I would do a series of blogs leading up to the event to help get your dog DOGA ready. This is the first one. And today we will talk about what to bring for your dog.

What to bring for DOGA

• A bowl & water (optional). Liberty Village Park has water fountains for both humans and dogs - but I recommend bringing your own bowl and keeping it in your station. This way your dog has access to water the entire session. Also, water for yourself is a good idea too ;)
• A leash. This is not a designated dog off leash area (DOLA), which means you legally need to have your dog on leash. We want to respect the by-laws, as well as other dogs. It is not safe to have your dog off leash in non designated areas - for both your dog & others. Please have your dog leashed up :) 
• A pacifier. No, not a baby pacifier - but the doggo equivalent. Something to help keep them busy while us humans stretch our bodies. I would suggest a frozen kong (tips here). The frozen kong will 1) help keep your dog cool and 2) last a nice long time. Some other options are things like bully sticks/beef tendons/other fun long lasting treats you can pick up at global pet foods. 
  • IMPORTANT NOTE ON PACIFIERS: It is very important when we give our dog their pacifiers that we keep our dogs away from each other. We do not want our dogs fighting over resources. So bring your pacifiers, but only take them out and give them to your dog when we instruct you to. Also do not let your dog go up to another dog when they are enjoying their pacifier. 
    
• Treats! This is different from a pacifiers. You want to be able to give your dog little treats or jackpots for their good behaviour here and there. Oh? You're relaxing and just chilling next to me? Boom! Jackpot! I am a huge fan of ALL THE TREAT (obviously, you should know this by now haha) 
• A towel or bed or mat for your dog (optional). Some dogs settle nicely on their "place". If your dog has a bed or mat where they know to relax, bring it! I will also do a DOGA prep post on teaching your dog to go to their spot & how to teach your dog to chillax to the max. 

Alright! Can you guys think of anything else that might be useful to bring? Leave it in the comments! Stay tuned for most "getting ready" posts. 

Look forward to seeing you all on July 13th. 

​- Kelsey