00:01In this Shanghai preschool, teacher's pet takes on a new meaning.
00:05The animals arrive by 9 a.m. each day at Paw Cubed,
00:09a self-described kindergarten for dogs which provides full care for its puppy pupils.
00:14On the pooch's daily schedule, there's a routine of interactive games and obstacle courses
00:19with snack times in between.
00:21Pets can even stroll on a special dog treadmill and enjoy a nap as a pianist plays classical music,
00:26all before their owners pick them up at around 7 p.m.
00:30Paw Cubed founder Jan Jung said the concept of doggy preschool came to him
00:34after struggling to find help for a pet who had developed anxiety-related behavioral problems,
00:40which he linked to a lack of socialization.
00:42But Jung did not expect his idea would grow to the scale it has today.
00:47When we first started, I never imagined that so many people, so many dog parents would come.
00:53I also never imagined we would have so many teachers.
00:55Our original service area of 2 to 3 miles was no longer enough to contain demand.
01:00We had more and more dogs coming from other districts to attend school here.
01:03Now we have 200 dogs.
01:05At Paw Cubed, owners pay daily sums ranging up to about $20 depending on the size of the dog.
01:12China-based industry research firm Pet Data estimated the country's total spending on urban pet care
01:18hit around $46 billion in 2025 and could approach $60 billion by 2028.
01:26Broader structural shifts in China's consumer economy have driven profitability in the pet market,
01:31as younger urban consumers prioritize spending on experiences and emotional fulfillment.
01:36Declining birth rates have also altered lifestyles, with pets increasingly treated as members of the family,
01:42leading owners to invest in higher-value services like daycare, grooming, and training.
01:48Dog owner William Tang shares a paw parent's perspective.
01:52I think the most important thing is that my dog can have a school or a place that's specifically her
01:58own.
01:58She doesn't need people accompanying her all the time.
02:04Dogs can come here, socialize fully, and live their own dog lives.
02:08That's what appeals to me to boast.
02:10Because my idea is to raise Cinderella as my own child.
02:14A dog's life is relatively short, maybe only around 10 years or even less.
02:18So I hope that within her limited lifetime, she can live a fulfilling and wonderful life of her own.
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