Brazil | “Dog life” dreamed of with the boom in pet spas

(Brasilia) Yoga, reiki, ozone baths… In Brazil, a country with four times more pets than children, the expression “dog life” can take on a completely different meaning.

“All the treatments available for humans exist today for doggies,” Eliane Rodrigues, owner of the “Starpet Dog Spa” in a middle-class neighborhood of Brasilia, told AFP.

In this wellness center, dogs can undergo “chromotherapy”, a treatment based on light beams, or complete coat care, hydrated and shampooed with special “detox” products.

And for more anxious dogs, the spa provides a “low stress” space.

“Before, people didn’t really take care of their dogs. We gave them leftover food and washed them with anything, sometimes even dishwashing liquid,” recalls Eliane Rodrigues.

“Today, we are much more careful,” she insists, while one of her employees examines a dog’s coat using a digital microscope.

“Family Members”

Brazil has 160 million pets, including 62 million dogs and 30 million cats, according to the Pet Brasil Institute, which represents several companies in the sector. A total far greater than the Brazilian population under 14 years old (40 million).

Brazil (212 million inhabitants) has seen its birth rate fall over the last 20 years, due in particular to the growth of its middle class, and “animals have become members of the family”, estimates Eliane Rodrigues.

“It’s more than just children, because children, when they grow up, they leave. The animals stay,” says one of her clients, Silvana Matos, who is holding two Pomeranian dogs with silky white coats.

She first came to the dog spa three years ago to treat one of them, Bento, who was suffering from alopecia, a disease that causes hair loss.

The other, Fénix, is the “favorite” of the employees, who love pampering him during coat hydration sessions.

Flourishing market

Between feeding and monthly baths, the cost of pampering Bento and Fénix is ​​between 500 and 800 reais monthly ($124 to $199), estimates Eliane Rodrigues.

But “when you love, you don’t count,” says Silvana Matos, mathematics professor and real estate agent.

The pet market generated revenue of 68.7 million reais ($17.05 million) in Brazil in 2023, an increase of 14% from the previous year, according to the Institute Pet Brasil.

Kibbles and veterinary consultations represent the bulk of this turnover, but this market now also includes treatments such as chiropractic or acupuncture.

“I have never cared so much for a person,” says Marco Barroso, a 54-year-old musician who pays for acupuncture sessions every week for his dog Lino, who has cancer in one leg.

“I never wanted children, because I thought it would be too demanding, but ultimately this is where I arrived,” he admits.

“Energy well-being”

“The world of pets has changed a lot in recent years, there is new knowledge, new studies,” explains Fernanda Rizzon, owner of the “Banho dos Gatos” (The Cat Bath) establishment.

After a good grooming, felines can follow a reiki session.

This method of Japanese origin consists of placing the hand on the body of a person (or an animal) to transmit “vital energy” and relieve stress and other ailments.

“Beyond good physical health, we want to provide them with energetic well-being,” describes M.^me Rizzon, while stroking one of his “cat-patients”.