Business warmed up for the capital's pet beauticians with the arrival of the summer sun as owners rushed to sign up for treatments to make their furry friends look their best during the hot season.

Liu Yi was among those who stampeded for the animal spas, paying 1,000 yuan to have the ears of his two-year-old teddy dog dyed pink.

The 20-something businessman said the attention it brought him was well worth the effort.

"I want to make my dog pretty. Whenever I walk her on the street, passers-by stop and say wow when they see her, especially children," he said.

In Hong Kong, dog wigs are popular, but what's trendy here in the capital this year is hair dying, according to Zhang Lei, who has worked as a pet beautician for almost three years at the TomDog hairdressing Center, a major chain store in Beijing.

Zhang said a style called "panda dye" is becoming more and more popular in Beijing. For dogs with milky white fur, a black dye around the eyes and a black band around the body can easily make them panda-like.

Zhang said the dye job is a lot of fun but joked that it can get some owners into trouble.

"One owner had his poodle dyed with a 'panda-do' and one day his car was pulled over by police while the dog was sitting inside," Zhang said. "The police officer thought it was a real panda from a distance."

While it was not pleasant to be stopped by the police, Zhang said the owner still felt proud of his eye-catching pet's 1,000-yuan hairstyle and the unexpected incident.

Proud pet owners sometimes spend a lot more.

Cui Xu, owner of the pet center, said the expensive indulgences are mainly demanded by the city's wealthy younger generation.

"Most customers are in their 20s," Cui said. "They seem to have a lot of free time. Most of them either own a business or have wealthy parents."

Zhang said any dog can be a candidate for a dye job but those with long hair usually look better when wearing unnatural colors.

Breeds most likely to sport a dye job on the capital's streets this summer are teddies, poodles and bichons.

Most dogs can be made to look good, but Zhang advised owners against doing it too often.

"The chemical used to dye dogs is milder than that used on humans but it can still cause cancer if you use it frequently," Zhang warned. "A dog's skin is sensitive to these chemicals."

Zhang said owners should probably only get their pets dyed twice in the dogs' lifetime.

In addition to dye jobs, owners are also shelling out for pedicures and grooming.

"For the teddy breed, their hair must be combed from time to time or it will stick together and cause skin diseases," said Cui.

"We also do pedicures for dogs because they love digging in the earth."

Cui charges 15 yuan per claw for a pedicure and 50 yuan for hair grooming.

"The number of customers we have can double in the summer," Cui said, adding that when business is good he can earn 8 million yuan a year.