Unwelcome in our parks, banned from apartment blocks and with owners who spend too much time in the office, living in Hong Kong can be a dog's life for man's best friend.

到公園去不受歡迎，公寓大廈禁止養狗，狗主人又花太多時間待在辦公室，身為人類最好的朋友，生活在香港可能很悲慘。

“Without a doubt the biggest problem facing dogs and dog owners in Hong Kong is the lack of acceptance of dogs by the Hong Kong Government, which results in many private residential complexes banning the keeping of dogs and all public housing having a strict no pet policy,” says Sally Anderson, Founder of Hong Kong Dog Rescue. “There are very few places where dogs can be walked, and many therefore spend their entire lives never leaving their homes,”

香港「救狗之家」的創辦人莎莉．安德森說：「在香港，狗和狗主人所面對的最大問題無疑是港府根本不接受狗，導致許多私人住宅大樓禁止養狗，所有公共房屋也嚴格禁止飼養寵物。只有極少數地方可以遛狗，狗狗可能因此一輩子未踏出家門一步。」

Lacking time and options, and ever more willing to jump on the latest trend, many of Hong Kong's dog owners are turning to some alternative and unusual ways to spend time with and spoil their beloved bowwows.

既沒有時間也沒有選擇，卻又要趕上最新的趨勢，香港很多狗主人正轉向一些不尋常的替代方式，希望能多花點時間和心愛的狗狗相處，多寵愛牠們一點。

“Do dogs meditate? Yes, I think they can. Animals can get into that same calm sense and state. I think your energy can transfer into them,” says Suzette Ackermann, Hong Kong's first doga （dog yoga） instructor. In her 10th-floor dance studio in Sheung Wan, the South African has been teaching the human form of yoga in Hong Kong since 2003, after previously spending nearly five years' instructing in Japan.

香港第一位狗瑜伽導師舒哲特．艾克曼在她位於上環十樓的舞蹈工作室說：「狗會靜坐冥想嗎？是的，我想應該會。動物也可以進入同樣寧靜的感覺和狀態。我想，你的能量也可以傳給愛犬。」這位南非籍教練先在日本教了將近5年瑜伽，自2003年以來一直在香港教人學瑜伽。

One day she was approached by Wendy Chan, a friend and owner of Hong Kong boutique dog salon, with a new proposition. “When Wendy asked me to teach yoga to dogs, I kinda looked at her and thought she was joking,” says Ackermann. Her own experience of practicing yoga at home with her dogs around, and her experience of doga's popularity from her time in Japan, convinced Ackermann to give it a try. She began teaching classes at her studio last November.

有一天，她在香港開寵物美容店的朋友溫蒂來找她，這位陳姓店主提出一個新建議。艾克曼說：「當溫蒂請我去教狗瑜伽時，我看著她，以為她在開玩笑。」但依她自己的經驗，在家練瑜伽時，狗狗會在身邊打轉，她在日本時也發現養狗很流行，使艾克曼相信，應該可以試試。去年11月開始，她在自己的工作室開班授課。

“People here seem to really enjoy it. Two clients who came to my class didn't have their own dogs so they borrowed some of mine. It's fascinating. They became so absorbed in the animal that they totally forgot themselves,” recounts Ackermann. “I think in Hong Kong there are not a lot of places you can take your pet -- not even the park -- so part of it is bonding and just getting to be with your pet.”

艾克曼說：「這裡的人似乎很喜歡狗瑜伽。我們班有兩個客人自己沒養狗，為此借我的狗狗。這種感覺很棒。他們根本渾然忘我，全部心力都放在動物身上。我想香港沒有太多地方，可以帶寵物去散步，遑論公園了，所以一部分人來上課是為了和寵物親密互動。」

According to Ackermann, the idea of dog yoga is really not as outlandish as people might think. “A lot of dogs are used in therapy,” she points out. “We have organizations in Hong Kong like Dr. Dog and Professor Paws. If you can have the opportunity to stroke or hold an animal you feel calm and de-stress. Some regular clients and their dogs have changed; they feel more serene [after practicing doga].”

艾克曼表示，狗瑜伽這個構想，其實不像一般人想像中那麼怪異。她指出，「很多狗在治療時派上用場，我們在香港已經有『狗醫生』和『狗教授』等組織。如果有機會摸摸狗或抱抱寵物，你就會感到平靜和減壓。有些常客和他們的狗狗練狗瑜伽後都改變了，他們覺得身心更平靜。」

Many of the poses found in yoga are derived and named after animal movements. Ackermann mentions the downward-facing dog and up-dog poses as common movements in the discipline.

許多瑜伽姿勢及命名源自動物的動作。艾克曼舉出下犬式和上犬式兩種瑜伽常見動作為例。

As if on cue, Snowball the seven-year-old Pekingese who is watching us talk puts her front paws on either side of her head and tilts her upper body up in a stretch -- a literally perfect up-dog. Snowball has been around the world of yoga since she was just a puppy. As Ackermann demonstrates the different stretches, poses and massages that comprise doga, Snowball is at all times a willing and compliant participant.

好像約好了似的，正看著我們交談的7歲北京狗「雪球」把前腳放在頭兩側，並傾斜上半身做伸展動作，擺出名副其實的完美「上犬式」姿勢。雪球從小耳濡目染，受瑜伽薰陶。當艾克曼示範構成狗瑜伽的各種伸展動作、姿勢和按摩時，雪球自願加入，全程乖乖配合。

After a hard day guarding the house and generally being kept on a tight leash, a dog deserves some relaxation. And now it can, thanks to the latest canine craze... dog yoga. It is the latest trend from the Far East, which now has a cult following in the U.S.

在辛苦看守房子一整天，而且通常被皮帶牢牢拴住後，狗應該稍微放鬆身心。現在牠可以辦到了，這要歸功於狗狗最新熱潮：狗瑜伽。這股源自遠東的最新趨勢，如今在美國也蔚為風潮。

The doga sessions are believed to help improve dog's heart and digestion. It is a combination of relaxation, breathing techniques and exercises which help to combat stress, help circulation and the movement of joints.

狗瑜伽課據信有助於改善狗的心臟和消化。結合放鬆、呼吸技巧和練習，也可以幫助抗壓、血液循環及關節運動。

Photo shows instructor Suzette Ackermann taking part in a yoga session with Snowball, a Pekingese, during a “doya” or dog yoga lesson in Hong Kong.

圖為舒哲特．艾克曼老師正和北京狗「雪球」一起參加香港一堂狗瑜伽課。