Francis Kagoko with one of the Rottweilers he breeds at his home. Correspondent
It’s Monday afternoon and Dr Steven Ndurumo is playing out in the garden with over 10 puppies that are clamouring for his attention.
The resident KK Canine Centre veterinarian has always loved dogs and spends almost all his time with them, including at his home where he has his own. As a dog doctor and trainer, he ensures that the security company has a good breed of security dogs, which are trained to international standards and that they are healthy.
When we visited the centre last week, he showed us two of the sniffer dogs that he’s been training, one a Labrador and another a BoerBoer, which are ideal for sniffing explosives, he says.
These dogs do not come on cheap; both their worth and to hire them out. The centre has over 400 dogs, each valued at about Sh100,000 and, says Ndurumo.
“The cost of hiring a sniffer dog ranges from Sh5, 000 to Sh6, 000 per hour depending on the task at hand. We keep BoerBoer, Rottweiler, German Shepherds, Malinois, Labrador, Great Dane, wire-haired German pointer and their cross breeds,” explains Ndurumo.
The KK centre has several sections; for socialisation of the dogs, kennels for working dogs and a breeding camp.
However, dogs are no longer only used for security only. They have become housemates living in the house and sometimes jumping into bed with the owners.
The demand for these dogs has seen an increase in the number of people breeding them in the country, especially the foreign breeds.
A change in lifestyle and social influence has seen more and more indigenous Kenyans buying pet dogs to keep them company or for the children to play with.
Many are emulating celebrity trends in the West where these famous individuals take their pet dogs wherever they go, even on holiday abroad. And this trend is slowly picking up in Kenya where a walk around the malls on the weekend will show many young women or couples walking or driving around with their poodles.
Part of the family
One such lover of dogs is Sue Taylor, chief executive of the East African Kennel Club, who acquired her first dog in 1963. Today, she lives with 19 of them in her house.
“I live with my dogs in the house, they live peacefully with everyone in the house,” says Taylor.”
Four (dogs) sleep in bedroom with me, two sleep in kitchen and others have their bedroom which they share,” she said.
Taylor says most pet dogs in Kenya are cross breeds because it’s difficult to get pure breeds. She has a Labrador, Rottweiler and a few other breeds, but none of them is pure breed.
It is, however, not cheap having all the dogs in her house.
She estimates that it costs more than Sh100 to feed each dog, daily, excluding other expenses which include visits to the vet.
“Keeping a dog is a luxury, and therefore not cheap at all,” says Dr Imbugi Luvai, a veterinarian surgeon.
“You need to make sure it’s vaccinated on time and trained…you need a basket for the dog to sleep in, need to deworm it whenever necessary, and spray against ticks among other expenses. You also need to have a good kennel built for them if they stay outside the house”
Dr Ndurumo says dogs are the most expensive pets to keep due to the vet charges and food.
“Here we feed them on commercial feeds. Caring for them costs from Sh5, 000 to Sh10, 000 a month per dog,” he says.
A sturdy dog basket retails for about Sh3,000, while dog food in the supermarket can range from Sh5,000 upward while tick spray costs about Sh4,000/.
This is for three dogs for three months.
Luvai says people’s lifestyles are changing and they are realising that a dog is good pet to have in the home. He adds that as a pet, a dog will help teach a child responsibility because they have to feed, clean and exercise it.
However, for some, breeding dogs is a major source of income. Francis Kagoko, from Njoro, is one breeder who saw an opportunity and started breeding dogs for sale two years ago.
He started with a German Shepherd and today keeps different breeds including Maltese and Rottweilers.
In addition, he imports other breeds on customers’ requests.
Since the beginning of the year, Kagoko and his brother, Solomon Kinuthia, have sold three Maltese, five Rottweilers, and 12 German Shepherds.
A three-month old Maltese fetches Sh20, 000, a German Shepherd of similar age goes for Sh30,000 while Rottweiler puppies cost Sh20, 000.
Kagoko sells dogs of between 3 months and one year.
“There is increasing demand for dogs, especially for pets,” he explains. He has about 16 dogs for sale currently.
According to Dr Ndurumo, any dog can be a pet or working dog.
The difference comes in the way it is socialised and trained from the time it’s born.
The best breed for an in-house pet is the terrier group, he says, adding that the small dog varieties have overgrown egos and sometimes it gets difficult to handle them.
Proper training
“You start socialising the dog from the time it’s born to adapt to what you want it to become,” he says.
He says, however, that there are those individuals who keep these expensive dogs simply as a status thing and not necessarily because they love dogs. “I have seen people who never touch their dogs…it’s all left to the workers who handle them,” he laments.
He says some keep them in enclosed in a kennel the whole day.
“They are kept in the dark the whole day and end up getting frustrated, angry and aggressive and yet dogs are supposed to be friendly.”
Taylor says before someone can live with dogs in the same house, they should train them, take them for necessary vaccinations and get a dog licence. “Puppies are like babies, when you get a baby, you nurture them to grow responsibly in the family,” says Taylor.
There are city by-laws that dog owners should adhere to including getting a licence, vaccination and permission to ferry the dog across the country.
The best training is done by the dog owner because then the dog understands what is expected of it and the body language of those who handle it. With proper training the two are able to bond and find their own rhythm.
“Don’t make them inferior or shout at them unnecessarily and don’t give a dog anything that you yourself can’t eat to, like rotten food,” says Dr Ndurumo.
