In recent years, as pets have become increasingly integrated into the lives of family members, preventative healthcare concepts have taken root in the pet medical industry. From simply knowing to vaccinate their pets to proactively taking them for checkups, pet owners’ health awareness is changing. Pet preventative medicine uses scientific methods such as vaccines, checkups, and daily care to reduce the risk of disease in pets in advance. The focus of the pet medical industry is also shifting from traditional disease treatment to a comprehensive health management system encompassing prevention, diagnosis, and rehabilitation throughout the entire lifecycle.
Upgraded Pet Ownership Concepts Make Preventative Healthcare a Necessity
In early 2026, the “2026 China Pet Industry White Paper,” released by the Paidu Pet Industry Big Data Platform under the guidance of the National Companion Animal (Pet) Standardization Technical Committee, the Pet Industry Branch of the China Animal Husbandry Association, and the China Veterinary Medical Association, showed that the urban pet (dog and cat) consumer market in my country reached 312.6 billion yuan in 2025, with the medical market accounting for 27.6% of the consumption structure. This trend is in line with the global market.
“Ten years ago, pet owners brought their pets to the vet mainly because they were sick. Now, 60-70% of them are proactively inquiring about checkups and preventative care,” said Gong Yunpeng, a licensed veterinarian and head of the medical department at Mengyuejia Pet Hospital, who has witnessed this change. He recalled to the People’s Daily Health Client’s Pet Channel that when he first entered the profession, pet owners only knew about vaccinations to prevent infectious diseases. Later, they gradually began to value deworming, and in recent years, their needs have expanded to include annual checkups, genetic disease screening, zoonotic disease testing, and pet pregnancy checks. Many new pet-owning families now conduct comprehensive checkups as the first thing they do after bringing their pets home, and many families planning pregnancy specifically bring their pets for zoonotic disease screening.
Lai Xiaoyun, founder of the East-West Veterinary Medicine Association, president of the Pet Medicine Branch of the China Veterinary Drug Association, and a veterinary doctor, has a deeper understanding of this. He stated that in the past, pet owners mostly treated their pets passively, only taking them to the vet when they stopped eating and drinking or couldn’t stand, by which time the condition was usually already quite serious. “Pets can’t speak, so they can hide their discomfort. By the time obvious symptoms appear, the difficulty and cost of treatment increase significantly.” Behind this shift is the increased status of pets in the family and pet owners’ expectations for more companionship. Meanwhile, my country’s pet industry has developed for thirty years, and a large number of pets are entering their senior years, leading to a high incidence of age-related diseases such as heart disease and kidney disease, which has also driven the growth in demand for preventative care.
Industry awareness is also upgrading in tandem. Lai Xiaoyun mentioned that at this year’s East-West Veterinary Conference, attendance at preventative medicine-related courses increased significantly, and the number of pet health product exhibitors increased by 40%, exceeding all other categories. “In the past, people thought that only doctors who could perform surgery were good doctors; now, doctors who can help prevent pet diseases are equally recognized.” Responding to market demand, domestic companies are upgrading preventative services. The strong demand from pet owners for preventative healthcare is reshaping the development landscape of the domestic animal health industry. Domestic animal health companies are rapidly rising with their full-industry-chain advantages, becoming a core force driving the industrialization of pet preventative medicine.
As a representative of domestic animal health companies, Haizheng Animal Health regards preventative medicine as its strategic core. “Prevention is the most scientific, economical, and compassionate pet health solution,” said Ji Wei, General Manager of Haizheng Animal Health. He added that in the past two years, the domestic pet drug market has developed rapidly, and Haizheng has built a full life-cycle solution based on this. For example, for skin diseases, instead of just providing a single ointment, a complete service including prevention, nutrition, treatment, and repair is offered. During special periods like the Spring Festival, scenario-based health solutions are launched to address pet stress and improper diet during the holidays.
Meanwhile, Haizheng is deeply involved in the formulation of national industry standards and collaborates with veterinarians and distribution channels to conduct comprehensive science popularization to help pet owners establish scientific prevention concepts. “Currently, many pet owners still have the misconception of ’emphasizing treatment and neglecting prevention’,” said Ji Wei. Through simple and easy-to-understand scientific popularization, basic preventative behaviors such as regular deworming, timely vaccination, annual checkups, and senior screening can be transformed into simple and implementable daily pet care practices.
Exporting Experience and Quality: International Companies Contribute to Standardized Treatment
International animal health companies have cultivated deep expertise in pet preventative medicine for many years, accumulating mature experience in full life-cycle management. After entering the Chinese market, they have combined local clinical needs with the introduction of advanced concepts and standardized systems, providing important references for industry development.
Zhang Xuan, Marketing Director of Elantraveneer Pet Health, explained to the People’s Daily Health Client’s Pet Channel that mature international markets have long since shifted from “passive medical care” to “proactive management.” This involves three key aspects: first, integrating prevention throughout the entire lifespan, controlling risks through regular screenings; second, providing personalized health plans tailored to the needs of pets of different breeds and ages; and third, utilizing digital tools to achieve seamless connections between homes and hospitals.
For the Chinese market, Elantraveneer not only introduces innovative drugs but also dedicates itself to promoting standardized diagnosis and treatment. For example, regarding osteoarthritis, a common condition in older dogs, they collaborated with industry experts to publish the “Expert Consensus on Diagnosis, Staging, and Treatment of Canine Osteoarthritis,” introducing the Liverpool Dog Osteoarthritis Questionnaire and a canine osteoarthritis staging tool, forming an integrated solution of “medication + tools + training + public education.” “We hope to help veterinarians achieve precise diagnosis and treatment through the ‘tools + consensus’ approach, while also guiding pet owners to pay attention and intervene early,” Zhang Xuan stated.
Veterinarians are becoming “health consultants,” providing full-life-cycle health guidance. The popularization of preventive medicine has also changed the service model in frontline pet clinics. Veterinarians, who previously only treated patients and prescribed medications, are now becoming “health consultants” for pets, providing full-life-cycle health guidance. Gong Yunpeng explained that many pet hospitals now create personalized health records for each pet, developing individualized plans based on age and breed. For young pets, the focus is on growth and development, vaccinations, deworming, and regular screening for breed-specific genetic diseases. For young pets, the emphasis is on weight management to prevent obesity after spaying/neutering, which can lead to heart disease, liver disease, and other problems. Senior pets over 8 years old have their checkups increased to every six months, with a focus on screening for diseases of the heart, liver, kidneys, and joints.
Many pet owners often overlook details that are crucial for disease prevention. Gong Yunpeng specifically mentioned that chronic oral inflammation can lead to heart and kidney diseases, and he recommends training pets to brush their teeth from a young age. In addition, grooming to prevent hairballs, regular and measured feeding to help control weight, and appropriate exercise to maintain vitality are all routine care practices that veterinarians will emphasize.
Regarding how to effectively manage a pet’s health throughout its entire life cycle, Lai Xiaoyun offered three suggestions: First, recognize that pets and humans are different species, and you shouldn’t judge a pet’s needs based on your own preferences and logic; second, online information can be used as a reference, but it cannot replace a professional veterinarian’s diagnosis, and you should consult a veterinarian promptly if you encounter health problems; finally, follow scientific care procedures and do a good job of daily preventative healthcare.
Despite rapid development, my country’s pet preventative medicine system still has many areas for improvement. Lai Xiaoyun stated that currently, only rabies immunization is mandatory at the national level, and other preventative measures mainly rely on pet owners’ self-discipline. Industry standards for preventative services are also still being established.
At the same time, the concept of “pet health as a whole” is constantly expanding, extending beyond the pet itself. Lai Xiaoyun pointed out that in addition to the health of the pets themselves and the health of pet owners, the health of non-pet owners is also a direction that the industry needs to explore in the future.
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