Kenyans cashing in on dogs

By Kenfrey Kiberenge

Have you ever been a victim of armed robbery? May be you lost your car, household valuables or the life of one of your loved ones.

Ms Ann Murithi’s story — like many others — shows how unprepared most people are when cruel hoodlums strike.

Joseph Shikoli, a caretaker at Shelly’s. Agnes Rube/Standard

She recalls vividly a traumatising experience in 2007 when armed robbers broke into her house in the dead of the night, in the leafy suburbs of Karen Estate in Nairobi.

Murithi says it took "God’s intervention coupled with a lot of sweet talking" for the robbers to spare her life and that of her children.

But in the end, they took off with her Toyota RAV 4, which has not been found to date.

From that day, Murithi decided to beef up security at her residence.

"I had to get a security dog to feel protected," she offers.

In her quest for enhanced security, Murithi bought two female German Shepherds.

Today, she earns a living by selling puppies through her business, Shelly’s.

Kilometres away, Ms Jane Maina completed her residential house in Nakuru town five years ago.

And since her husband is always travelling, they decided to get a security dog.

"We went to the police and they said they do not sell dogs. However, they offered to show us someone who could sell us a similar dog which we bought," recalls Maina.

Increasingly, the couple developed an interest in breeding dogs.

Three years ago, they were introduced to the East African Kennel Club, an association that brings together dog lovers.

The club’s rules demand that one must be recommended and seconded by two existing members.

Beginners pay an entrance fee of Sh3,500 and Sh2,500 subscription fee a year. This is paid for three years after which they qualify to apply for a kennel name to attach to their business.

Early this year, Maina applied for the Kennel name to affix to her business and was awarded.

She now operates the business in Kiamunyi area in Nakuru under the name Blueline-Kennels.

Martin Otieno also says he ventured into the dog breeding business by default as he sought to boost security at his home.

When Otieno bought a piece of land off Thika Road in 2008, he was among the first people to complete his house.

"When I moved in I realised we were few so the area was sparsely populated. My colleague advised me to buy a guard dog and after scouting around, I secured a female Rottweiler," he says.

Months later, he bought a male Rottweiler and in 2009, started breeding dogs for commercial purposes through McRottweiler Breeders.

Murithi says the business of breeding dogs is profitable if done well. Her puppies are a cross breed of German Shepherd and Spaniel.

Real cost

A month-old puppy at Shelly’s will cost you Sh18,000, a two-month old goes for between Sh24,000 and Sh30,000 and an eight-month old for Sh40,000.

"I have seen that people love security dogs. I get orders from all over the country," offers Murithi.

On her part, Maina’s Blueline-Kennels has specialised in breeding pure German shepherd, the breed that is preferred by police and security guard companies.

She says a two-month old puppy will cost you Sh35,000.

"Our breeding dogs are well selected from known working bloodlines with excellent top-lines and superb temperaments. We do not take chances with our breeding dogs," offers Maina.

She adds that it takes time, effort and money to get good breeding dogs.

"We breed German Shepherd Dogs with a known generational history. All our breeding dogs are x-rayed by University of Nairobi (Kabete Campus) and hip-scored by Kenya veterinary board," she adds.

The hip x-ray costs Sh4,000 per dog after which a panel of veterinary doctors study the x-ray report at a cost of Sh1,500 per dog in an exercise known as hip scoring.

"East African Kennel Club recommends dogs with a certain hip score. But so many breeders are not going for standards," said Maina.

Hip scoring is used to detect hip dysplasia, a disease of the hip joints that is particularly common in large breed dogs.

It affects the normal range of movement of the hip joints and eventually causes Arthritis to the dog. It is usually a very painful condition and there is no known cure for this condition.

"It is too risky to buy a German shepherd puppy whose parents’ hip condition is not known. If you are investing your money to keep a German shepherd dog or you want to improve your breeding stock either as an individual or a security company, you are wasting your money and training time if the dog has hip Dysplasia," notes Maina.

According to Murithi, people interested in venturing in the dog breeding business must be lovers of dogs and not just have the interest on making money.

love for dogs

"It is a very good business if you love dogs. The operational cost is also minimal," she explained.

With two mothers which are cross breeds of German shepherd and Spaniel, Murithi says her dogs normally give birth to between nine and 11 puppies at a go.

"When you sell each at Sh18,000 then you can recoup the money you invested in buying food, paying the caretaker among other costs," she said.

But according to Maina, the business of breeding dogs is costly and time consuming, if standards are to be maintained.

"In December last year, I used to buy the 70-kg dog meal at between Sh1,000 to Sh1,500. Today that same amount of food is going for Sh3,000," said Maina.

The dogs also have to be fed with meat, milk and other supplements daily.

"My dog eats meat daily but I don’t," she noted.

Joseph Shikoli, the caretaker of the Shelly’s dog business, adds that puppies love soft ugali and rice mixed with minced meat.

"They also love milk, raw eggs and soup. They clear their plates within minutes and also add weight easily," he says.

Training a security dog is also a costly affair. This would cost Sh30,000 per month for every dog. But equally costly is buying a mature trained German shepherd dog, which Maina says costs between Sh200,000 and Sh300,000.

She recommends that people wishing to breed dogs should go the Kennel Club way as the association helps to maintain standards.

The club rules are that one needs a ‘proposer’ and a ‘seconder’ to become an associate member of the Kennel Club. You will then qualify to apply for full membership after three years as an associate member.

Only full members qualify for kennel name application and must have a ‘proposer’ and a ‘seconder’ who should be fully paid up full members.

The club further promises an opportunity to breed dogs following expected breed standards and set good standards for those who are in the association.

Save for German shepherd, other guard and watchdogs include miniature schnauzer, West Highland white terrier, Scottish terrier, Doberman pinscher and Rottweiler.

The guard dogs are known for their courage and skill to take down even a robber wielding a gun.

In addition, both guard and watchdogs bark loudly to alert their owners of an intruder’s presence and possibly scare away the intruder.

However, the watchdog’s function ends here; a guard dog is capable of attacking or restraining the intruder.