Raising a Dog in China is Hot
There was definitely an uptick in the number of dogs in Shenzhen over the past two years.
In China, more and more people are falling in love with man’s best friend. Those that do have dogs are of course much more likely to cry out against eating them, this is only natural.
I recently erased a comment about the suffering of dogs in China, not because I wanted to cover this up, but because the commenter was pretty much filled with hate against China and Chinese people, which is not cool.
You can dislike or even hate what large numbers of certain groups of people do, but to take that further and attack an entire race is pure ignorance. Not to mention the growing numbers of Chinese people who do, in fact, love dogs and look down upon anyone who eat them (including their fellow compatriots).
The following article, translated out of Modern Weekly , talks about the growing popularity of dogs in China:
Raising a Dog is Becoming More Popular in China
If you walk a dog in the middle of the night in most cities in China, people will either think you are blind or a weirdo. But in Beijing, walking a dog is now normal. If you don’t want to have your dog taken away from you in China, you have to be fairly low key about having it in the first place. Not too long ago in China, dogs were seen as the parasites of capitalists. Now dogs are turning into the pets of the ever growing Chinese middle class, and a mark of an upper class person in China.
Registered dogs in Beijing increased 16% this year, reaching 530,000 dogs. But the actual number of dogs in Beijing are actually much higher. One of the reasons is that people don’t want to pay the US$75-125 registration fee. Another reason is that dogs taller than 35 centimeters are not allowed as pets. If you want to raise a Labrador or Rottweiler, you risk having an illegal dog. Yet some dog owners in China run this risk anyway.
In July, the illegal dog situation in Beijing started to change. Along with the increasing numbers of people dying from rabies, the appropriate bureau began rounding up and killing stray dogs in Beijing. This is why walking dogs at night has become the new norm in Beijing.
A man named Mr. Fan, returning from Wall Street, saw the huge market for pets in China, and opened a pet hospital in Beijing. He told a reporter “Humans are humans, they need animal pets.”
As opposed to human pets? 
So, I’ve lived in Taiwan for many, many years, and there is now a remote possibility that in the next year and a half I may relocate to Shanghai.
I’ve been to China many times over the years, but only to Beijing, Shanghai, Hanzhou, Suzhou, Guilin, and Guangzhou, and I know people have dogs (as pets) in China.
My question: How easy is it to have a dog (medium-sized)in Shanghai? In Taiwan, it seems every other family has a dog or two or three and many of them are very well cared for. Any special concerns I should be aware of… or about which I should be… concerned?
Thanks in advance very much for any replies!
Hi Sandskingo,
Having a dog in Shanghai should not be a problem – lots of people here have medium to large sized dogs. Of course, there will be relatively few places for you to take your dog to run – but if you don’t mind walking him / her on the streets than it’s no problem.
I bet others can give better advice though.
Hi Jeremy,
The reason I became one of your site’s reader and ended posting on the Darkie Toothpaste thread was that I was researching about Dog Training in China and the prospect of a dog training business there. Would you have some info and contacts?
Hi Frankie,
I have no idea on where you could start, Frankie – but one piece of obvious advice: people in Shanghai probably have more dogs (and more money to spend on them) than pretty much anywhere in China – I see more here than I did living in Shenzhen.
Thanks, Jeremy. I aware that Shanghai is more developed and probably with better economic condition, people are more able to own pet dogs. My research on the internet seems to indicate Beijing and Nanjing too have growing doggy ownership.
Frankie,
I was raised in shanghai when I was little, but moved to Los Angeles after junior high. I have been back to shanghai many times, I personally think it is very promising biz to start related to pet care coz there is very very little high quality vets, grooming boutiques in shanghai and the pet owners have no resources to learn how to build a long lasting healthy relationship with their pets. one more thing, there is no dog park in shanghai, “none”, so sad for these fidos. living arrangement in china is different, families don’t have big suburb houses with a big yard. good luck, be the ceasar millan in china….ahahhaha
Hi Mac,
Thank you for your information. “Cesar Millan” of China I won’t try to be but be myself. Dog Trainers all have knowledge of training techniques & canine psychology but one thing that sets each one apart is ‘personality & training philosophy’.
I think I’ll need to tie up with someone who is in the Pet business there.
Frankie:
My wife & I live in Shanghai and we have a small Palmeranian.
There’s a pet grooming business around the block from my house. It seems to do pretty well. They charge 50 yuan to wash & dry our dog and offer hair-cutting & dying.
I suggest that you team up with a vet’s office. This salon is right next to a vet’s office and I bet that’s where they get 90% of their business.
Also, look for areas where people walk there dogs. There’s a small park-like area near my house where many dog-owners gather with there dogs in the evenings.
Hi,
I went to see the Great Wall of China today. On the way over, I saw a small dog just limping across the main road. I am so disgusted with myself that I did not ask the taxi driver stop and to help this poor thing. I will never forget this dog’s face and his helpless limp. I just pray that there is atleast one good soul in that neighborhood who might help him get better. It was a really sad sight.
Asit, i am sorry to tell you this but that dog probably got run over by a truck.