Spa to therapy, how Indian pet parents are pampering their furry friends

Groom machaa leItrsquos a luxe life Nutty enjoys the jacuzzi at the pet grooming salon named after him PicAnurag AhireA regular bath and trim not good enough for your little or big fur baby You can give them a fullon spa treatment complete with aromatherapy a jacuzzi a nice massagehellipA carrier such as this one costs up to Rs 4000 Representational piciStockSharan Sharma who has been running grooming salon Nuttyrsquos Den at Colaba with her partner Kapil Sharma since 2019 says standard grooming services are today the bare essentialsmdashbathing blow drying deshedding and hair trims ldquoThese are priced basis the size of the breed typical cooperation and aggression level of these breeds and the skill levels required to provide the right outputrdquo she saysThe owners of Genius a St Bernard in Mumbai say they spend close to R10000 on electricity bills due to the house being airconditioned for the dog Representational piciStockldquoSpa treatments include therapeutic and rejuvenating services with longterm benefits These include services like our signature Jacuzzi experience and organic oil massages with a variety of oils such as cold pressed hemp seed oil and other organic oils These can be availed as addon services at prices starting at R500 going up to Rs 1500rdquo Sharma addsKapil and Sharan Sharma owners of Nuttyrsquos Den PicAnurag AhireIncluding both cats and dogs Nuttyrsquos Den grooms approximately 350400 pets in a monthWhat Luxe groomingCost Rs 2500 to Rs 4000Purrfectly pamperedTej Malkani and her cat MimiCat parents are no different from dads and mums of human kids Nothing is too good for the little one Generally however cats are lowermaintenance than dogsCat parent Tej Malkani says that in the case of breeds such as the Persian veterinary care may be high depending on conditions that such cats are prone to but otherwise cat expenses would not be as high as for dogsTej says ldquoI firmly hold that cats should not be given treats because cats are different from dogs They crave special attention itrsquos the way you call their name or the way you spend time with them and how you treat them specificallymdashthatrsquos the real treat Most of the time my cat just wants me to scratch her face and say her namerdquoldquoThe real treat for a cat is not food but oneonone timemdashwhen they are ready for it Cats love and respond at their time unlike dogs who are ever readyrdquo she addsMimirsquos monthly expenses Food Rs 2000 Litter Rs 800 Grooming Rs 500 Vet Rs 800Total Rs 4100Snoop on dogRepresentational piciStockItrsquos not only detective dogs who are equipped with the latest in technology pampered pooches too get gizmos to orderWhen you are away and want to keep an eye on your furry housemates and a regular nanny cam is just not enough there are hitech options such as the Skymee Petalk AI This is a pet camera with a builtin treat dispenser allowing owners to remotely interact with their pets dispense treats and monitor them via a mobile app It has features like twoway audio and 180degree rotation so you can check on your pet at all times It is not yet available in India and on its website it costs around Rs 15000 plus shippingAt the Mobile World Congress 2025 GlocalMe showcased their PetPhone a smartphone designed for pets which clips onto the collar and apparently allows for twoway communication between pets and humans using features like action recognition and sound such as barking It also includes GPS WiFi Bluetooth tracking and activity monitoring Itrsquos not on the GlocalMe website yet but they make a key tracker which costs around Rs 5000 not counting shipping What GadgetsCost Rs 5000 to Rs 15000Om nom nom indeedRepresentational piciStockThe days when pet owners cooked in their homes or bought commercial food for their furry companions are long gone Now options include not just highend branded food but also customcooked food for dogs and cats that saves you trouble and gives you the satisfaction of feeding them the bestAmong options we checked out are Lizzyrsquos which has a wide range of cooked food and yoghurts that you can order online Prices range from R399 for the 900gm eggandpaneer meal to Rs 799 for the 900gm threemeat meal These are in sealed packs and can be refrigerated or frozenAnother similar pet meal provider is PetChef which has meals starting from Chicken Chow at Rs 100 for 100 gms and also superfoods like bone broth at Rs 125 for 100 ml What Customcooked mealsCost Rs 100 to Rs 799Treat them rightThe average veterinarian is what in human terms would be a GPmdasha general practitioner the first line of defence against ailments Those who have read James Herriotrsquos veterinary stories may recall the brilliant surgeon Granville Bennett to whom Dr Herriot takes serious patients The equivalent of Dr Bennett are now the specialists that your pet may be referred to by your regular veterinarianDr Chandrashekhar Bapat a veterinary surgeon at Dr Bapatrsquos Pet Hospital says that specialisation started around 10 or 15 years ago and has taken off especially in cities as owners have become more aware about their petsrsquo healthldquoWhen my father started his practice 35 years ago there was no such thing as specialisation Now in Mumbai there are specific cancer ophthalmic and orthopaedic vetsrdquo he says ldquoIn our hospital which functions 365 days 10am to 10pm we have specialists on the staff I handle surgeries Dr Avril Walters handles cardiac cases and Dr Archana Bapat is a specialist in exotic animals and birdsrdquoA basic consultation at the hospital costs Rs 350500 while consultations with a specialist cost Rs 15002500What Medical specialitiesCost Rs 350 to Rs 2500How do you feelAva WadiaOK so maybe the dog or cat wonrsquot lie on the couch and tell the therapist their feelings but there is no denying that animal psychologists have an important role in pet life today From puppy training to ldquodifficult dogsrdquo animal therapists deal with it allDog behaviourist Ava Wadia explains that common issues dogs face are reactions with other dogs Some are also scared of going outside or are afraid of new peopleThere was a time when such issues were brushed under the dog bed but owners are now realising that their petsrsquo mental wellbeing is as important as their food and exercise And they donrsquot mind factoring that into their budgets tooPuppy training is R3000 for a consultation and the package including 10 training sessions is Rs 28000 For older dogs with behaviour issues the first consultation is Rs 4000 and followup sessions are Rs 2500 Oh and the humans need to attend with the dogWadia says she gets two to three new clients a month on average which is encouraging for the mental health of our furry populationWhat TherapyCost Rs 3000 to Rs 28000Pawcations for the entire familyKannagi Shanbag right A room with a view at WagABond resort in KarjatWe know about city hotels that welcome guests with pets but the latter canrsquot be more than 15 or 20 kg in weight they say nothing about the human guests so that rules out bigger dogs Thatrsquos when itrsquos time to head out of the cityWe came across WagABond in Karjat which describes itself as a ldquopetfirst retreatrdquo Therersquos no size limit here and owner Kannagi Shanbag says theyrsquove hosted pooches from toysized Maltese all the way to Cane CorsosSome guests bring their dogs ldquoreligiouslyrdquo once a month for carefree leashfree time says Shanbag and the staff now know what to make for their meals too Guests can bring their own food for their pets or opt for the resortrsquos own housemade food With food a dayrsquos dog stay is priced at Rs 800 while the room charges start at Rs 5000 for double occupancy On average a guest spends about R8500 at minimum for a stay at WagABond and wersquore sure the dogs think itrsquos worth itWhat HolidaysCost Rs 6000 to Rs 8500Wow to the bowPart of the family celebrations Ollie with Vivek Rai File picSayyed Sameer AbediDog parents are no different from dads and mums of human kids Nothing is too good for the little one Scenes of dogs wearing hoodies are now cutely common and when monsoon arrives itrsquos time for raincoats and boots tooIn fact the overly smooth flooring that new buildings generally have can over time lead to or exacerbate arthritic issues and conditions such as dysplasia in dogs as they canrsquot get a good grip on the floormdashso even daily shoes for dogs make senseGolden Retriever Ollie may not wear shoes daily but he does get a shower of pampering in a myriad other ways Olliersquos human Vivek Rai says this is well worth it as Ollie is no different from their human childldquoIf we go on holiday itrsquos only natural to take Ollie with us unless itrsquos just not possible in which case someone from the family stays back to be with himrdquo says Rai ldquoTherersquos practically nothing we wouldnrsquot do for OllierdquoRai is matteroffact about the lifestyle that Ollie is treated to ldquoWhen we are good to him itrsquos a form of positive reinforcement plus when he feels good we feel good Itrsquos a winwinrdquoSome dog trainers advocate against pampering your pooch too much as it can lead to aggression issues and also makes training more difficult The answer is to arrive at a judicious mix of love and disciplinemdashjust like for a child of any speciesOlliersquos monthly expenses Spa R2800 Chicken R3200 Treats R1400 Eggs R2000 Other basics rice chapati coconut oil R1500Total Rs 9900Rs 27 lakh crEstimated value of global pet care industrySource Bloomberg IntelligenceRs 30000 crEstimated value of Indiarsquos pet care industry 35 billion R30000 croreSource Redseer Strategy ConsultantsRs 6 lakhCost of a total hip replacement possibly the most expensive veterinary procedure which may be recommended if a dog suffers from severe hip dysplasiaSource MetLife InsuranceRs 900Starting monthly premium for pet insurance in IndiaSource 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