Determinants of Success of Dog Breeding Firms in Kenya a Case of Dog Breeding Firms in Kajiado North Constituency, Kenya

Abstract

Productivity in livestock farming rose dramatically throughout the developed world during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of efficient breeding programmes, improved understanding of animal nutrition and disease control, and better designed housing systems. In Kenya dog breeding firms is an upcoming industry due to the growing middle class. The reality of today‟s dog breeding firms is horrific. Despite the economic importance of dog breeding firms in Kenya, there is dearth empirical evidence of the determinants of the success of dog breeding firms in Kenya. Thus this study envisioned filling this research gap. Thus the general objective of the study was to analyze the determinants of the success of dog breeding firms in Kenya; a case study of dog breeding firms in Kajiado North Constituency. The findings of this study would be of great benefit to dog breeding farm managers because it will provide an insight into the determinants of the success of dog breeding firms in Kenya. The findings from this research will also be valuable to the government of Kenya, as information resulting from this research will form a basis of formation of government policies that govern dog breeding firms. The main limitation of the study was respondents‟ honesty, time and resources. The researcher overcame the challenge of respondents honest by explaining to the respondents the importance of the research, thus the need of giving honest opinion. The researcher took work leave so as to overcome time constrains and also mobilized resources from friends and family to overcome challenges of limited resources. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The researcher conducted a survey of dog breeding firms in Kajiado north Constituency. According to the ministry of livestock 2010 there are about 120 pet raring firms in Kajiado north Constituency in Kenya. Thus the target population was 120 pet raring firms in Kajiado Constituency in Kenya. The sampling design was stratified random sampling and the sample size was 30% of the target population which will be 40 pet firms in kajiado Constituency Kenya and spread equitably and equally a across the constituency. Both qualitative and quantitative primary and secondary data was used for the study. The primary data was collected by use of a structured questionnaire. The study collected both quantitative and qualitative data. The descriptive data was analyzed using Statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS version 22) while the qualitative data was analyzed by content analysis. The study concluded that breeding resources, breeding knowledge, technology and breeding management affects the success of dog breeding firms in Kenya. The study recommends that dog breeders should mobilize enough breeding resources through credit or equity and government should also subsidize veterinary services and dogs feed. The study also recommends that government should invest on current breeding technology and pass the knowledge of breeding technology to dog breeders for adoption. The study finally recommends that dog breeders should seek for knowledge through further training, workshops and fairs in order to improve their knowledge and skills on dog breeding and breeding management skills and competence.