By Emily Roach, Paws in Work guest blogger.

what is puppy therapy?

Firstly, we carefully evaluate all potential venues to make sure there are no health and safety risks for you and the pups, a risk assessment is needed before any events take place. This is to ensure that your establishment is as safe as possible and makes the ideal puppy playground so you can have as much playtime and cuddles with the pups as you desire, whilst knowing that you’re both in a secure space.

Before you show up for the day, we are busy making the space as safe and comfortable as possible for the pups, whilst letting them explore their new surroundings. We incorporate features such as relaxing music and scents to help the pups settle in; there will also be plenty of chew toys available so the pups can play as much or as little as they want.

Once the pups are settled, you will be invited into the room and we will go over a health and safety briefing with you and show you the best way to handle the pups safely. To maintain hygiene, you will wash your hands, take off your shoes and take a seat with a blanket over your lap; this makes things cosier for the pups, should they want to sleep, and prevents them from interacting with your clothes!

Your puppy therapy day will start at 10am and will end at 3.30 pm, with a 30-minute break in the middle of the day for lunch. Our puppy sessions are carried out in shorter bursts of 25 minutes per group, with 5 minutes at the end to refresh the room and set up for the next group; this of course can vary depending on the size of your team.

We also have your comfort in mind; we are here to speak to you and answer any questions you have regarding the pups, our events, or if you’d just like to have a chat!

what’s in it for you & what’s in it for the pups.

You can get whatever you wish from your time with us, whether you want to sit cuddling puppies for the day, catch-up with your colleagues, or calmly observe. The boundaries between the workplace are removed, everyone will sit on the floor in their socks and enjoy the session as equals! As well as being your hosts, we are Mental Health First Aiders, so if you would like to have a chat with us about anything that’s on your mind, we are here to listen and offer support if you want it.

These sessions greatly benefit the pups in more ways than you can imagine; we team up with ethical dog breeders who allow their litters of puppies to attend these events to aid their socialisation. According to the Animal Health Center for dogs & cats, puppies should meet 100 people within their first 12 weeks of life. This can easily be achieved through our puppy therapy sessions as the pups can meet up to 80 people in just one day with us!

From around 3 weeks of age, puppies will develop their sense of hearing and their vision which is when breeders will introduce everyday noises and objects into their environment; this allows the pups to explore and become accustomed to these new experiences. Most puppies will leave the breeder from 8 weeks of age, sometimes it can be from 10-12 weeks; in all circumstances, it’s extremely important that they are exposed to a variety of new sights, scents and sounds each day. This is to ensure that when the pups are older, they won’t have any negative associations which could lead to long-term anxiety, and that they are confident and happy dogs. Click here for more information on all things relating to puppy welfare.

will i / the event organiser have to do all the work?

In short, no.

The wonderful thing about our puppy therapy events is that we take care of all the technicalities from start to finish, so you don’t have to do a thing. This is achieved through our bespoke automated booking system, along with reminders that are sent out to all members of the team. We also share a live countdown leading up to the event to build up an element of excitement on returning to work and meeting our wonderful pups!

Our tickets have sold out in a record of just 90 seconds, stand aside Glastonbury! If you or a team member doesn't manage to book a space in time, you will be added to a reserve list and will be immediately contacted as soon as someone else drops out and a space becomes available. You are still able to control what time slot you’d prefer and who to add to the event; or you can leave it all to us, the choice is yours!

let’s talk about covid.

We’ve always put hygiene at the forefront of our events by making sure that everyone who attends regularly uses hand sanitiser and is seated with an appropriate distance between one another. Our events take place in secluded areas and all our equipment is thoroughly disinfected between sessions; our team is always wearing PPE to ensure maximum safety. For more information, please head to our covid FAQs page.

small offices vs large offices.

We are happy to host for companies of all sizes and visit co-working spaces, however, we will only stay at one venue per day to avoid the pups becoming unsettled. We accommodate groups of up to 80 people per day; if your company is on the smaller side, it either means you’ll have extra time to squeeze in more cuddles with the pups, or you can visit one of our pup-up events and just book one/a few slots for the day rather than all 10 sessions.

book puppy therapy with us.

If you’re looking to give your team the best time upon returning back to work, book a puppy therapy session with us today.