An Interview with Canine Expert Zhang Song

By Xu Kuang

Translation by Zhu Yaguang

An Interview with Canine Expert Zhang Song

By Xu Kuang

Translation by Zhu Yaguang

When I visited Zhang Song at Peer Kennel,a pet store at Han Street, a bustling, modern cultural zone in Wuhan, China, he was shaving a poodle and trimming its nails…

Zhang Song’s career in the pet industry can be traced back to a dog game in the late 1990s.

One day, Zhang Song and his wife, Fan Dan, both of whom were dog lovers, watched the dog game.From the huge enthusiasm of the audience, Zhang Song perceived a great potential in the pet grooming industry. “The industry was unbelievably primitive at that time,” sighed Zhang Song,now Vice President of the Wuhan Kennel Union, when he was ref l ecting on the past.

After the game, Zhang Song and his wife made up their minds in developing a career in pet dog industry. They opened a kennel,and, day by day, their business was thriving. Gradually, Zhang Song realized that he needed to do more than just raising and trading dogs in order to meet the needs of dog lovers all over the city. At that time, supermarkets didn’t even sell dog food, and Baota Lozenges were the only worm medication for dogs.

Zhang Song decided to open a pet store to expand his services and provide convenience for his customers. Unexpectedly, he found another excellent business opportunity—that is, to run a training school, as talents were really scarce in the industry. He then founded a training school for pet groomers.

Although he didn’t win much applause from his friends, Zhang Song himself believed that there would be stronger market demand when the industry grew.

In 2014, his wife Fan Dan became the first professional pet groomer accredited by China Kennel Union (CKU) in Hubei Province. “I still remember the first time I touched a dog’s paws and the fi rst time I shaved a dog…Too many first times!” Fan Dan couldn’t help shedding tears while recalling the past.

Nowadays, a lot more customers have specific needs depending on the dog’s breed and lineage,and they’re willing to pay more to get a good dog. In 2008, a friend of Zhang Song bought a Golden Retriever named Cooler from the United States, which cost him 150,000 dollars.

In the 21st century, the pet industry in China has enjoyed rapid development. China was qualified to host the 2017 FCI Asia Section Dog Show. Two years after that, China will host the 2019 World Cup Dog Show, which will be the fi rst time for China to host an international top-level competition for dogs. Although the industry is developing with sound momentum, Zhang Song has great concerns for its future in China.

“My biggest concern for the industry is its lack of sustainable development. Persistence,patience, and devotion are the key factors for people to thrive in it.It seems easy for new businesses to entry, but it’s even easier for them to be eliminated when the industry gets upgraded.”?

金毛酷樂 Golden Retriever - Cooler

貴族寵物漢街店里，張松正給一只貴賓犬剪毛、修指甲……

張松執著于寵物犬行業，要從上世紀90年代末的那場寵物犬比賽說起。

一天，出于喜歡，張松和太太范丹去觀看一場寵物犬比賽。現場眾多觀眾的熱情使張松覺得，市場有潛在寵物犬需求。“那時，這個行業只能用‘原始’兩個字來形容?！被貞洰斈辏咽俏錆h犬業協會副會長的張松感慨萬千。從那以后，他們建犬舍，決心發展寵物犬事業，生意越來越紅火。慢慢的，張松覺得光養狗賣狗還不能滿足養狗愛好者。超市沒狗糧賣，家庭給寵物的驅蟲藥也只有寶塔糖。張松決定開家寵物店，拓寬寵物服務。原本是想方便顧客，卻發現這個行業又一大商機——這個行業人才奇缺，得辦校興業。于是他辦起了寵物學校。

朋友都不理解，但張松認為，這個行業要良性發展，以后的需求會越來越多。

2014年，范丹考取中愛聯合純種犬文化發展中心（CKU，China Kennel Union）導師級美容師資格，成了當時湖北省唯一CKU導師級美容師。“第一次摸狗爪，第一次給狗剪毛，……”回憶往昔，范丹眼眶濕潤了。

越來越多客戶對寵物犬品種、血統產生個性化要求，投入也越來越大。2008年，一個朋友從美國購回一條金毛酷樂，一擲就是15萬美元。

新世紀以來，中國寵物犬業發展勢頭迅猛，已經取得2017年亞洲杯犬展和2019年世界杯犬展的舉辦國資格，這是中國首次取得國際最高級別犬類比賽的承辦權。行業不斷發展，張松卻對中國寵物犬業的未來充滿憂慮：

“我對行業最大的擔憂是后繼乏力，這個行業需要堅持和耐心，需要付出更多才有收獲，看上去門檻不高，實際上更新換代的幾率非常高?！?

2017年FCI亞洲杯犬展（中國·上海） 2017 CKU Groomer Team Competition

訪寵物犬專家張松

文/許曠 譯/朱亞光