Health ministry rules that only adult dogs can be used for ‘animal assisted’ wellbeing activities

But because puppy yoga "improves wellbeing" it should be considered as a kind of "animal assisted therapy" - which by law can only be carried out by fully grown animals. Puppy yoga typically involves puppies roaming freely around a yoga class and sometimes being incorporated in yoga poses,

Italy’s Ministry of Health has banned the popular wellness trend of “puppy yoga” amid concerns that the puppies used in the practice could be exploited and mistreated.

The RSPCA said the trend, popularised by celebrities and social media influencers, involved puppies that were as young as six weeks old roaming around a yoga class and, in some ca