SHANGHAI \u2013 A new kind of preschool in China is offering games, nibbles, treadmills and music for puppies, clawing out a fast-growing niche in a booming industry as youthful owners spend more \u200bon pets increasingly regarded as family.<\/p>\n
Pets arrive by 9 a.m. each day at Paw3, \u200cwhich \u200cbills itself as a kindergarten for dogs in the commercial hub \u200bof Shanghai, providing tightly scheduled activities for the canines, rather than strict training or age limits.<\/p>\n
They follow a routine of interactive games and obstacle courses, interspersed with freshly made snacks \u2060and naps as a pianist plays classical music, and can stroll on a special doggie treadmill before \u2060their owners pick them up around 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe raise our dog like a child,\u201d said Qian Yi, whose 1-year-old border collie, Harry, visits \u200bevery weekday.<\/p>\n
As declining birth rates alter \u2060lifestyles, pets are increasingly treated as members of the family, driving growth in higher-value services such as daycare, grooming and training.<\/p>\n
Their \u2060popularity stems from broader \u200bstructural shifts in China\u2019s consumer economy. Younger, urban consumers prioritize spending \u200bon experiences and emotional fulfillment, despite a softening in overall demand.<\/p>\n
Qian estimated \u200bthat she \u200cspends about 4,000 yuan ($560) each month on her dog for daycare, meals, grooming, swimming and visits to dog parks.<\/p>\n
Pet Data, a China-based industry research firm, estimates the market for urban pet consumption reached 312.6 billion yuan in 2025, and \u200cwas on track to exceed 405 billion by 2028.<\/p>\n
Paw3 founder Jann Zhang said the idea came to him after a struggle to find help for his 6-year-old golden retriever, Fuzai, who developed anxiety-related behavioral problems.<\/p>\n
His search led him to discover dog daycare equivalents in the United States \u200band \u200bhe came to believe the main issue was a lack of \u200bsocialization.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hoping to give my own dog more space to be social, so I \u2060could distract his attention,\u201d Zhang said. \u201cThat\u2019s how the idea of opening the kindergarten came about.\u201d<\/p>\n
His clientele has grown to 200 since it started with fewer than 20, and owners pay daily sums ranging from 98 yuan to 138 yuan, according \u200bto the size of the dog.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat attracts me most about the place is that it gives dogs a space of their own,\u201d said William Tang, whose 1-year-old border collie, Cinderella, has attended the kindergarten since it opened in May 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SHANGHAI \u2013 A new kind of preschool in China is offering games, nibbles, treadmills and music for puppies,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12,4032,8,2174],"class_list":["post-42461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-china","tag-dogs","tag-japan","tag-pets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}