Derby gym host 'Puppy Pilates'

Motivating yourself to get to the gym and work out can be a challenge.

A gym in Derby, though, is letting people bring their dogs with them.

Melanie Emond is a crossfitter and owns Crossfit Eclectic with her husband, Michael.

"I love fitness. I love dogs. We're putting those two together for 'Puppy Pilates'," said Emond.

She teaches stretching and flexibility classes as a pilates instructor, but she felt something was missing.

"I said it jokingly and everyone got super excited about the idea of puppy pilates, so here we are! We're going to try it out," Emond said.

She and her husband hosted a Puppy Pilates class at Crossfit Eclectic on Sunday.

While their owners stretched, the dogs jumped, ran, chased each other and got in an equally good workout.

So why does Puppy Pilates work?

"It allows people to be a little more relaxed, maybe less self conscious. Some people hate the idea of stretching, even though they need to do it so having the dog there makes it a little more appealing."

A mess or two was inevitable and so were a few distractions, but future Puppy Pilates classes might be in the works.

"We'd love to raise money for a charity in the future, too, with these events."

For a list of classes at Crossfit Eclectic, click here: