diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2da193d..ee32252 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -36,6 +36,12 @@ conda activate fmpose_3d
 pip install fmpose3d
 ```
 
+For the animal pipeline, install the optional DeepLabCut dependency:
+
+```bash
+pip install "fmpose3d[animals]"
+```
+
 ## Demos
 
 ### Testing on in-the-wild images (humans)
diff --git a/animals/demo/vis_animals.py b/animals/demo/vis_animals.py
index 459c2bc..5772060 100644
--- a/animals/demo/vis_animals.py
+++ b/animals/demo/vis_animals.py
@@ -46,7 +46,15 @@
     from fmpose3d.models import get_model
     CFM = get_model(args.model_type)
 
-from deeplabcut.pose_estimation_pytorch.apis import superanimal_analyze_images
+try:
+    from deeplabcut.pose_estimation_pytorch.apis import (  # pyright: ignore[reportMissingImports]
+        superanimal_analyze_images,
+    )
+except ImportError:
+    raise ImportError(
+        "DeepLabCut is required for the animal demo. "
+        "Install it with: pip install \"fmpose3d[animals]\""
+    ) from None
 
 superanimal_name = "superanimal_quadruped"
 model_name = "hrnet_w32"
diff --git a/fmpose3d/inference_api/README.md b/fmpose3d/inference_api/README.md
index 87f6e58..5a15900 100644
--- a/fmpose3d/inference_api/README.md
+++ b/fmpose3d/inference_api/README.md
@@ -48,6 +48,12 @@ result = api.predict("dog.jpg")
 print(result.poses_3d.shape)  # (1, 26, 3)
 ```
 
+Before using the animal pipeline, install the optional DeepLabCut dependency:
+
+```bash
+pip install "fmpose3d[animals]"
+```
+
 
 ## API Documentation
 
@@ -221,6 +227,9 @@ Default 2D estimator for the human pipeline. Wraps HRNet + YOLO with a COCO →
 
 2D estimator for the animal pipeline. Uses DeepLabCut SuperAnimal and maps quadruped80K keypoints to the 26-joint Animal3D layout.
 
+If DeepLabCut is not installed, calling this estimator raises a clear `ImportError`
+with the recommended install command: `pip install "fmpose3d[animals]"`.
+
 - `setup_runtime()` — No-op (DLC loads lazily).
 - `predict(frames: ndarray)` → `(keypoints, scores, valid_frames_mask)` — Returns Animal3D-format 2D keypoints plus a frame-level validity mask.
 
diff --git a/fmpose3d/inference_api/fmpose3d.py b/fmpose3d/inference_api/fmpose3d.py
index 77d88ef..07a3417 100644
--- a/fmpose3d/inference_api/fmpose3d.py
+++ b/fmpose3d/inference_api/fmpose3d.py
@@ -189,6 +189,20 @@ def _compute_valid_frames_mask(
 }
 
 
+def _require_superanimal_analyze_images() -> Callable[..., object]:
+    """Return DeepLabCut's SuperAnimal API or raise a clear ImportError."""
+    try:
+        from deeplabcut.pose_estimation_pytorch.apis import (  # pyright: ignore[reportMissingImports]
+            superanimal_analyze_images,
+        )
+    except ImportError:
+        raise ImportError(
+            "DeepLabCut is required for the animal 2D estimator. "
+            "Install it with: pip install \"fmpose3d[animals]\""
+        ) from None
+    return superanimal_analyze_images
+
+
 class SuperAnimalEstimator:
     """2D pose estimator for animals: DeepLabCut SuperAnimal.
 
@@ -236,9 +250,7 @@ def predict(
         """
         import cv2
         import tempfile
-        from deeplabcut.pose_estimation_pytorch.apis import (
-            superanimal_analyze_images,
-        )
+        superanimal_analyze_images = _require_superanimal_analyze_images()
 
         cfg = self.cfg
         num_frames = frames.shape[0]
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 3e7c8b3..b40c122 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ dependencies = [
     "scikit-image>=0.19.0",
     "filterpy>=1.4.5",
     "pandas>=1.0.1",
-    "deeplabcut==3.0.0rc13",
     "huggingface_hub>=0.20.0",
 ]
 
@@ -45,6 +44,7 @@ dependencies = [
 dev = ["pytest>=7.0.0", "black>=22.0.0", "flake8>=4.0.0", "isort>=5.10.0"]
 wandb = ["wandb>=0.12.0"]
 viz = ["matplotlib>=3.5.0", "opencv-python>=4.5.0"]
+animals = ["deeplabcut>=3.0.0rc13"]
 
 [tool.setuptools]
 include-package-data = true
diff --git a/tests/fmpose3d_api/conftest.py b/tests/fmpose3d_api/conftest.py
index 9f824f1..872509a 100644
--- a/tests/fmpose3d_api/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/fmpose3d_api/conftest.py
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 
 import os
 import socket
+from importlib.util import find_spec
 
 import pytest
 
@@ -72,12 +73,7 @@ def weights_ready(filename: str) -> bool:
 HUMAN_WEIGHTS_READY: bool = weights_ready(HUMAN_WEIGHTS_FILENAME)
 ANIMAL_WEIGHTS_READY: bool = weights_ready(ANIMAL_WEIGHTS_FILENAME)
 
-try:
-    import deeplabcut  # noqa: F401
-
-    DLC_AVAILABLE: bool = True
-except ImportError:
-    DLC_AVAILABLE = False
+DLC_AVAILABLE: bool = find_spec("deeplabcut") is not None
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Reusable skip markers
diff --git a/tests/fmpose3d_api/test_fmpose3d.py b/tests/fmpose3d_api/test_fmpose3d.py
index 1877baa..1e0b29e 100644
--- a/tests/fmpose3d_api/test_fmpose3d.py
+++ b/tests/fmpose3d_api/test_fmpose3d.py
@@ -741,6 +741,18 @@ def test_pose3d_result(self):
 
 
 class TestSuperAnimalPrediction:
+    def test_predict_raises_clear_error_without_deeplabcut(self):
+        """Missing DLC should raise a clear installation hint."""
+        estimator = SuperAnimalEstimator()
+        frames = np.random.randint(0, 255, (1, 64, 64, 3), dtype=np.uint8)
+
+        with patch(
+            "fmpose3d.inference_api.fmpose3d.importlib.util.find_spec",
+            return_value=None,
+        ):
+            with pytest.raises(ImportError, match=r"fmpose3d\[animals\]"):
+                estimator.predict(frames)
+
     def test_predict_returns_zeros_when_no_bodyparts(self):
         """When DLC detects nothing, keypoints are zero-filled."""
         pytest.importorskip("deeplabcut")