KNOWLEDGE OF DOG BREEDERS ON INFERTILITY IN BITCHES WITHIN JOS METROPOLIS

Abstract

Infertility has the potential to negatively affect dog breeding business which can be explored in order to reduce unemployment especially among youths. This study attempted to evaluate the knowledge of dog breeders on infertility in bitches. Descriptive statistics analysis was done to determine the distribution of knowledge of dog breeders on infertility in bitches. Majority of the dog breeders in Jos are males 89 (64.5%), the modal age group was 20-30 years 80 (58.0%) and majority of the dog breeders are self-employed 56 (40.6%). The most predominant breed of dog is the Russian shepherd 49 (41.8%). The mean knowledge score was 13.10 and standard deviation (SD) was 7.20, most dog breeders show to have a good knowledge score of brucellosis 121 (87.7%), transmissible venereal tumor 102 (73.9%), canine distemper 128 (92.8%) and leptospirosis 123 (89.1%) as common causes of infertility, foetal and neonatal death. 91 (65.9%) of dog breeders identified when to mate a bitch through vaginal cytology test. In conclusion, most of the dog breeders had good knowledge of infertility on the Plateau but failed to consult veterinarians which might have lead to increase in the number of cases of infertility in bitches presented at University of Jos, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Polo.