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Breeding Management Practices of Pet Dogs in Urban Bangalore, Karnataka

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 Vol 7 (8) Aug’17
International Journal of Livestock Research eISSN : 2277-1964 NAAS Score -5.36

Original Research

Breeding Management Practices of Pet Dogs in Urban Bangalore, Karnataka

Sakshi, S. , Satyanarayan, K. , Jagadeeswary, V. and Shilpa Shree, J.*

Department of Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Extension Education, Veterinary College,

Bengaluru, Karnataka, INDIA

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Rec. Date: Mar 03, 2017 08:32

Accept Date: May 20, 2017 15:40
Published Online: July 24, 2017
DOI 10.5455/ijlr.20170520034005

Abstract
A retrospective research design was adopted to identify the breeding management practices of pet dogs
and the constraints faced by pet owners in breeding management of pet dogs. The study was conducted
purposively in Bengaluru district of Karnataka with the total sample size of 240 pet dog owners selected
randomly. The results revealed that, majority (54.16%) of the owners neutered their dogs whereas 45.84
per cent kept their dogs intact for breeding. Among the respondents who owned breeding dogs, cent per
cent preferred natural method of breeding by taking female dogs to male dogs place (99.00%), bred for
one time (42.73%) and did not notice any breeding problems in their dogs (97.27%). Among the
respondents who possessed female breeding dogs, cent per cent had awareness on heat/oestrous
symptoms in their dogs. Pertaining to taking dogs for pregnancy diagnosis, majority (73.85%) of the
owners took their dogs for pregnancy diagnosis and preferred both physical examination by the
veterinarian and ultrasound scanning (58.46%) for pregnancy diagnosis. Majority (58.46%) of the
owners weaned puppies at less than 4 weeks of age. Majority (63.08%) of the owners expressed lack of
information on high quality pedigree males for natural service as the major breeding constraint.
Therefore, there is urgent need to enhance the knowledge of the dog owners regarding scientific breeding
practices of pet dogs by effective dissemination of the information based on the prioritization of the
information needs of the dog owners.

Key words: Breeding, Management, Dogs, Pet Owners, Constraints

How to cite: Srinivas, S., Kamardi, S., Vankayala, J., & Shilpa, J. (2017). Breeding Management
Practices of Pet Dogs in Urban Karnataka. International Journal of Livestock Research, 7(8), 92-97.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5455/ijlr.20170520034005

Introduction
India is the fastest growing economic country in the world and adopting western life style leading to more
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of nuclear families, which eventually increases the adoption of companion animals. This change in socio-
cultural values of humans resulted in change of attitudes towards companion animal ownership, with
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higher expectations and demands for greater and timely information for management of these companion
animals (Basarajappa, 2013). Indian household dog population is increasing by 26 per cent every year and
about 17 per cent of the households own a pet dog (Sudarshan et al., 2006). Presently, India’s dog
population is 11.672 million. Out of them, 9.494 million and 2.177 million are present in rural and urban
areas, respectively. Among all states in India, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka stand first (11,
13,031), second (10, 77,856) and third (10, 28,869) in dog population respectively (Basic Animal
Husbandry Statistics, 2012). Innovation in veterinary care and a better understanding of canine nutrition
management through each phase of dog’s life cycle such as growth, maintenance, reproduction, lactation
and senility have helped in contributing to welfare and a longer life expectancy for dogs (Vijayakumar et
al., 2004). Pet owners are becoming increasingly more knowledgeable when it comes to pet care. As a
result, they have number of enquiries towards veterinarians than ever before and are expecting a greater
personal involvement in the care and treatment of their pets. Most of the pet dog owners resort to
unscientific management practices, because of convenience. In this background, it was felt that in the
present scenario there is a need for understanding the breeding management practices adopted by the dog
owners which are necessary to identify the strength and weaknesses of the dog rearing system and to
formulate suitable intervention policies. Hence, the present study was designed to identify the breeding
management practices adopted by pet dog owners and also the constraints faced by them towards
breeding management.

Materials and Methods

Adopting ex-post facto research design, the present study was conducted on breeding management
practices of pet dogs in Bengaluru district of Karnataka purposively because of considerably high density
of pet dog population and pet practitioners. Two hundred and forty pet dog owners were selected
randomly from Bengaluru district of which 110 dog owners were involved in breeding activities. Among
110 dog owners, 65 respondents possessed female breeding dogs and 45 respondents possessed male
breeding dogs. The interview schedule was developed in consultation with the experts’ suggestions to
find out the breeding management practices adopted by pet dog owners and also constraints faced by
them in breeding management. The data collected were statistically analysed for frequency and
percentage and finally, the rankings were given based on it.

Results and Discussion

Breeding Management Practices of Pet Dogs

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The distribution of pet dog owners on different breeding management practices was depicted in the Table
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1. The results revealed that, 45.84 per cent of the respondents were breeding their dogs out of which 44.17

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International Journal of Livestock Research eISSN : 2277-1964 NAAS Score -5.36

per cent were purposively bred and 1.67 per cent was accidently bred. Not paying enough attention
towards dogs could be possible reason for the dogs to get accidently bred. The results are not line with the
findings of Slater et al. (2008), who disclosed that, majority of the dogs were accidently bred. Among the
240 members under study, 54.16 per cent of the respondents neutered their dogs to avoid risk of
pregnancy, fighting and to minimize susceptibility of dogs and prevention of reproductive organ diseases
whereas 45.84 per cent kept their dogs intact for breeding to get economic returns from the sale of
puppies. The findings are in accordance with the findings of Rohlf et al. (2010) who reported that
majority of the dogs were neutered followed by intact. However number of neutered dogs are not in
conformity with the findings of Hsu et al. (2003) who opined that, majority of the dogs were intact
followed by neutered.

Table 1: Breeding management practices of pet dogs

S. No. Breeding Management Practices Category Respondents, n=240
F %
i) Bred 110 45.84
1 Breeding status of dogs a) Accidental 4 1.67
b) Purposeful 106 44.17
ii) Not bred 130 54.16
2 Neutered status of dogs a) Neutered 130 54.16
b) Intact 110 45.84

Cent per cent of the respondents preferred natural method of breeding (Table 2) as they perceived natural
service as more successful than artificial insemination, availability of pedigreed male dogs for natural
service, lack of knowledge regarding artificial insemination and non-availability of artificial insemination
service facilities. It was evident from the Table 2 that, 99 per cent of the respondents preferred taking
female dogs to male dog’s place to provide advantageous environment to male dog who is the performer.
About 42.73 per cent of the respondents bred one time followed by two times (25.45%), three times
(14.55%), four times (7.27%), five times (5.45%), six times (2.73%) and eight times (1.82%). Age of the
dog (young and middle age) could be the possible reason for these findings. The present study
observations are in partial accordance with the findings of Slater et al. (2008) who revealed that most of
the owners bred one time followed by two to three times and more than three times. Majority (97.27%) of
the respondents did not notice any breeding problems in their dogs and 2.73 per cent of the respondents
did notice breeding problems in their dogs as they were unaware of the diseases/condition from which
their dogs suffered.
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Table 2: Breeding management practices in breeding dogs

Breeding
S. No. management in Category Respondents, n=110
breeding dogs
F %
i) Natural method 110 100
Method preferred for ii) Artificial insemination 0 0
1
breeding
iii) Both 0 0
i) Male dog to female dog’s
0 0
place
ii) Female dog to male
Preferred place of 109 99
2 dog’s place
taking dogs for mating
iii) Assisted mating 0 0
iv) Taking both to
1 1
veterinary centre
i) One time 47 42.73
ii) Two times 28 25.45
iii) Three times 16 14.55
3 Number of times bred iv) Four times 8 7.27
v) Five times 6 5.45
vi) Six times 3 2.73
vii) Eight times 2 1.82
i) Yes 3 2.73
a) Disease/condition
4 Breeding problems 3 2.73
Unknown
ii) No 107 97.27

The data furnished in Table 3 revealed that, cent per cent of the respondents were aware of heat/oestrous
symptoms in their dogs as they availed frequent advices from pet practitioners for breeding management
and some also had previous experience in breeding of dogs. These results are similar with the earlier
findings of Weng et al. (2006), Basarajappa (2013) and Bhadesiya and Raval (2014). Majority (73.85%)
of the owners took dogs for pregnancy diagnosis to confirm the pregnancy, to know approximate number
of puppies, to detect any abnormalities in puppies and to confirm date of parturition so that they can make
the required preparation at the right time. The results revealed that, majority (58.46%) of the respondents
preferred both physical examination by the veterinarian and ultrasound scanning as they considered the
veterinarian as the most reliable source along with ultrasound scanning which would provide accurate
diagnosis and confirmation of pregnancy.
On perusal of Table 3, it showed that, majority (58.46%) of the owner’s weaned puppies at the age less
95

than 4 weeks followed by 4 to 6 weeks (40.00%) and 6 to 8 weeks (1.54%). Pet owners weaned puppies
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at less than 4 weeks of age for the sale of puppies as puppies less than 2 months are in demand as they are

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easy to train.

Table 3: Breeding management practices in breeding female dogs

Breeding Management in Female
Category Respondents, n= 65
Breeding Dogs
F %
i) Yes 65 100
Awareness on heat /oestrous
ii) No 0 0
symptoms
i) Yes 48 73.85
a) Time of pregnancy diagnosis
· At 30 days after mating 27 41.54
· At 45 days after mating 4 6.15
· At 55 days after mating 17 26.16
b) Method preferred for pregnancy
Pregnancy diagnosis diagnosis
Physical examination by veterinarian
2 3.08
only
Ultrasound scanning only 8 12.31
Both 38 58.46
ii) No 17 26.15
i) Less than 4 weeks 38 58.46
Age at Weaning ii) 4 to 6 weeks 26 40
iii) 6-8 weeks 1 1.54

Constraints in Breeding Management of Female Pet Dogs

The information presented in Table 4 revealed that, none of the owners expressed inadequate information
about signs of heat detection in dogs as constraints whereas 63.08 per cent of the owners expressed lack
of information on high quality pedigree males for natural service as major constraint followed by
insufficient information about timing of AI/natural service (35.38%) and lack of artificial insemination
facility (1.54%). The results are partially in agreement with the findings of Vijayakumar et al. (2006).

Table 4: Breeding constraints of female pet dogs

S. No. Breeding Constraints Respondents, n=65 Ranking
F %
1 Inadequate information about signs of heat detection in dogs 0 0 -
2 Insufficient information about timing of AI/natural service 23 35.38 II
3 Lack of artificial insemination facility 1 1.54 III
Lack of Information on high quality pedigree males for
4 41 63.08 I
natural service

Conclusion
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Majority of the respondents neutered their dogs. Among the respondents who owned breeding dogs, cent
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per cent preferred natural method of breeding by taking female dogs to male dogs place and did not notice

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 Vol 7 (8) Aug’17
International Journal of Livestock Research eISSN : 2277-1964 NAAS Score -5.36

any breeding problems in their dogs. Among the respondents who possessed female breeding dogs, cent
per cent had awareness on heat/oestrous symptoms in their dogs. Majority of the owners expressed lack of
information on high quality pedigree males for natural service as the major breeding constraint. In general
there is a need to improve communication skills communication aids in disseminating better information
dissemination to dog owners for dog rearing. Therefore, there is urgent need to enhance the knowledge of
the dog owners regarding scientific breeding management by effective dissemination of the information
based on prioritization of the information needs of the dog owners. Development of need based
information and expert system using more interactive Information and Communication Technologies
(ICT) tools for pet owners is the need of the hour.

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Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture. Government of India.
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