It would be an understatement to say that the pet industry in India is booming. As more and more urban Indians adopt pets, the numbers of the ancillary services that anxious pet parents want for their babies is on a meteoric rise. In fact, the pet care market is estimated to be approximately an 800-crore business and is expected to grow at a rate of 10-15% in the coming years. But despite this boom, there are still a host of services, from basic medicinal care to tech innovations, which are still missing in India. Here’s a look at how the market is doing right now and where there is scope of growth.

Medicinal Care

Take for instance, the most basic of needs: quality medicinal care. While there are private set-ups in India that can rival any veterinary hospital abroad, there are only a handful of them, only in metros and usually prohibitively expensive. Services like pet emergency wards or pet ambulances – both lifesavers when your pet is in need of immediate medical assistance – are missing in India and are an absolute must according to most pet parents. Says Dr Kunal Dev of MaxVets, “There is no minimum standard of practice in India and too few pet hospitals. Pets and their parents have limited access to quality services...” He also believes the only way to improve veterinary medicine in India is to give better education to students. “Veterinary universities in India need to scale up their research and development so as to provide better standards of education for budding vets.”

Leisure Time with Pets

Now who doesn’t want to spend quality time with their pets? It’s hard to find such places in India where you can go and enjoy with your furry friend. Anubhav Saxena, founder of the Facebook group Dogs Day Out, says that there are very few pet-friendly spaces and vacation spots, where you can take your pooch on a holiday. Although Dogs Day Out maintains a register of pet-friendly resorts and hotels, the number is still woefully small in India. Another area of concern is the dearth of day-care centres for pets, which have become increasingly popular abroad with working pet parents. According to Anubhav Saxena, that is the single most requested service with dog parents in India. “They’re looking for something that are personally run, have a home environment and good reviews,” he says.

Getting Tech-savvy

Technology-wise, India has seen a recent shift from pet stores to online websites like Heads Up for Tails and Dogspot.in. But in terms of app-based services (such as UK-based Rover, which helps you find a dog sitter), GPS tracking technology or pet monitoring devices (like US-based PetChatz), India still has a long way to go. Rana Atheya, founder of Dogspot.in, feels this is “the right time” to introduce these innovations to the Indian market. “People have access to more variety and brands. Earlier pet owners were dependent on the choice of pet shop owners, now they can make their own decisions.”

Positive Approach towards Behavioural Training

But the area that pet experts feel needs the most work is pre and post adoption behavioural/psychological training, both for pets and their human parents. “We come across so many examples of parents confessing to us that they can’t cope up with the energy or the aggression of their pets and then they resort to abandoning them…” says Anubhav. “Every time a family plans to adopt a pup, there should be proper counselling and training sessions for family members to acquaint them on the various issues of raising a pet.” Only then can the Indian pet market move towards greater innovation and come up to par with international standards.