The Indian Dog Parenting Report 2025, India's first survey of Dog Parents

India has a census for everything. Cattle. Tigers. Humans. Not pet dogs.

We at thePack.in have spent six years educating dog parents and built a community of 16,000 dog parents and a library of over 1,000 articles written by certified canine experts. We spend most of our days answering the questions of 1000s of dog parents from all over the country.

Which is why, we knew that if anyone can solve the problem of a dog census, it had to be us.

Between December 2024 and February 2025, we surveyed 1,463 dog parents who told us what raising a dog in India is actually like. The survey was built by Namratha R, certified canine behaviourist, the data was analysed by Dr. Priyanka P, PhD in population studies, and the report was written by certified canine behaviourist Shivani K and illustrated by UX researcher Jahnavi K.

The Indian Dog Parenting Report is the culmination of this monumental task. It consists of 12 hard hitting chapters that cover everything from how dogs are brought home, how they are raised, the behaviour/nutrition/health issues they face and the societal friction/infrastructure issues that are holding dog parents back from raising their dogs well.

The overarching finding of this report is troubling - the relationship that dog parents share with their dogs has grown and matured faster than the ecosystem around them. Most of the report goes into proving this disconnect and then enumerating the gaps.

The Indian Dog Parenting Report 2025 consists of 12 hard-hitting chapters that cover everything from how dogs are brought home, how they are raised, the behaviour, nutrition and health issues they face, and the societal friction and infrastructure gaps holding dog parents back from raising their dogs well.

Chapter 1: This Is Not a Pet Market Story. It Is a Social Transition Story.
Chapter 2: India's First-Generation Caregivers: Learning Without a Playbook
Chapter 3: Dogs Enter Through an Uneven System: The First Crack
Chapter 4: The Dog at the Heart of the Home: From Ownership to Belonging
Chapter 5: Understanding Behaviour: From Training to Coexistence
Chapter 6: When Health Becomes a Concern: From Care to Constant Vigilance
Chapter 7: Dog Parent Spending Is Not "Premiumising", It's Maturing
Chapter 8: Feeding in India: Where Culture, Belief, and Practicality Meet
Chapter 9: Knowledge Is Everywhere. Trust Is Not.
Chapter 10: When Dog Parenting Meets the Indian City: The Infrastructure Gap
Chapter 11: Registration & Regulation: The Paper Trail Nobody's Keeping
Chapter 12: The Duties of Dog Parenting: What We Owe Our Dogs and Our Cities

The report also includes a detailed explainer on the methodology, how to read the report, The Dog Parenting Checklist, Looking Ahead: The Questions That Remain, and a full appendix with the complete survey instrument.

Shivani Kuthe - Primary Author
Dog behaviourist and Content & Community Lead at thePack.in, with over a decade spent working with dogs. As primary author, she brought together the data, research and lived experience to tell the story of India's urban dog parents.

Namratha Rao - Survey Architect
Internationally certified canine behaviourist and researcher working across public health, gender and community. She shaped the survey questions and led the inquiry behind the report.

Jahnavi Koganti - Designer & Illustrator
User researcher, designer and illustrator. She helped illustrate the report and give its visual identity. Her work helped make the report understandable to one and all.

Shobhit Mohanty - Organiser
Founder of thePack.in. He organised the survey and brought insights from years of conversations with dog parents across India.

With inputs from Dr Priyanka Patel (PhD, Population Studies, IIPS)
She helped clean, codify and analyse all the responses.

With inputs from Saloni Kapoor (Product Researcher)
She brought the urban dog parent's lens to the research.

Dog parents
If you have ever wondered whether what you are dealing with is normal, this is the first place you can check.

Vets, trainers, behaviourists and nutritionists
Evidence of what your clients are actually facing, and of demand your professions are not yet sized for.

Policy makers, municipal bodies and journalists
The first dataset on dog ownership, registration and civic conflict in urban India.

Brands, retailers and investors
Spending patterns that do not behave the way the category assumes. Chapter 7 is the one to read.

This is not a market report. It does not size the industry or forecast it.

LOOK INSIDE: Download the contents and a sample chapter: [LINK]

SPECIFICATIONS
Pages: 76
Size: A4
Binding: Section stitching with perfect bound
Edition: First edition, limited to 500 copies
ISBN: [to confirm]
Language: English, illustrated throughout

Printed by Print Craft Solutions, Rajajinagar, Bengaluru
Published by thePack.in, Interspecies Caretech Private Limited

METHODOLOGY
1,463 responses collected between December 2024 and February 2025, plus 16 follow-up conversations. Respondents came from thePack's verified dog parent community and the Heads Up For Tails community, and all of them volunteered. The sample is urban, digitally connected and skews female. This is the largest survey of urban Indian dog parents to date. It is not nationally representative, and all figures are self-reported. The complete survey instrument is published in the appendix.

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER
All rights reserved. The findings of this Report may be shared or quoted for informational, editorial, or educational purposes, provided the source is clearly and accurately credited. Reproduction, distribution, or republication of substantial portions of the Report requires prior written permission from the copyright holder.

CITATION
The Indian Dog Parenting Report 2025. Published by thePack.in, September 2026.

thePack has been helping Indian dog parents raise happier, healthier dogs since 2020, through a community platform, a library of expert-written articles, and a store of products hand-picked by experts.

With over 16k+ pet parents in their community, thePack helps over 25k+ Indian pet parents everyday with regular pet parenting questions. Over 600+ educational workshops have been conducted for pet parents by 15+ certified pet experts from all over India. You can know more here - https://thePack.in