Although these cuties look like pandas, they are actually common Chow dogs dyed black-and-white to resemble China’s fluffy, bamboo-eating bear.

Since they are as adorable as it gets, the entire country wants to have one of these unusual dogs who have to undergo two hours of careful grooming and coloring to become small pandas.

In Chengdu city in southwest China’s Sichuan province, pet shop owner Hsin Ch’en says Chow pandas have become a huge hit with the middle class as more and more people want to adopt them as companions.

“Ten years ago the natural instinct of a Chinese person was to eat a dog. Now we are like westerners and want one as a companion. The cute breeds like French bulldogs and Labradors were the favorites, but now it is the panda dog.”

He adds that he is the one who perfected the technique of transforming a Chow into a panda lookalike pet.

“It is easy to turn a chow into a panda dog in about two hours. Then the look will stay with the dog for around six weeks and the owners bring them back for some touching up. There are no chemicals or cruelty involved. But the price of the dog does rise significantly because of the amount of grooming that goes into it. People don’t mind paying the extra though – they like the fact that heads turn in the street and they can tell their friends: ‘I have a panda dog’.”