Panda-monium: These chow dogs look just like pandas (Picture: CEN)

No, these aren’t pandas, they’re actually dogs that have been made to look like them.

The animals have become the latest ‘must have’ in China, with pet shops selling out of them quickly.

Hsin Ch’en, who owns an animal store in Chengdu city in southwest China’s Sichuan province, said he was struggling to meet demand.

The pets are popular in China (Picture: CEN)

‘Ten years ago the natural instinct of a Chinese person was to eat a dog,’ he said.


‘Now we are like westerners and want one as a companion.

‘The cute breeds like French bulldogs and Labradors were the favourites, but now it is the panda dog.’

They’re actually chow dogs that have been made to look like pandas (Picture: CEN)

Hsin admitted he used a bit of trickery to make the chow dogs appear like pandas.



He added: ‘With a bit of careful grooming and colouring it is easy to turn a chow into a panda dog in about two hours.

The animals are ‘not hurt’ when made to look like pandas (Picture: CEN)

‘Then the look will stay with the dog for around six weeks and the owners bring them back for some touching up.’

He added the animals were not subjected to any chemical treatments during the process and were not harmed in any other way.