Botswana: Dog breeding is gaining momentum

Serowe – Dog breeding is slowly gaining momentum in Botswana and it’s all thanks to the growing market demand for certain breeds.

Demand has seen more breeders mate selected dogs with the intention of maintaining or producing specific qualities and characteristics.

The sudden resurgence of dog breeding is rooted in the age-old understanding that dogs are loyal to their owners and that some people are so passionate about dogs that they are willing to part with money just to own a breed. well trained.

“There are always people looking to buy a dog on any given day and if you love dogs you can make money as a dog breeder and trainer,” said dog breeder, M Ealotse Reikeletseng.

Mr. Reikeletseng is the owner of RIMA Boerboels, a South African Boerbel Breeder’s Society (SABBS) registered boerboel farm, which began full operation in September 2018 on Tshimoyapula land.

Speaking in an interview, Mr Reikeletseng from Serowe and well known as Ricky opined that relying on government initiatives breeds laziness as evidenced by the fact that most businesses that have received government grants have failed.

While he does not disapprove of the government helping citizens, he said most of the recipients lacked motivation, determination and passion to carry out their projects and ended up abandoning them due to lack of commitment.

Mr Reikeletseng said his love for dogs motivated him to start the business and it was not a bed of roses as many people might think.

“As you start working on your resolutions, it’s wise to think about companies that can easily guarantee a return on investment,” he said.

RIMA Boerboels Kennel has a number of dogs, breeding females and males and senior males and puppies available for sale.

“We sell our puppies for P5,000 at 8-10 weeks and to date we have sold almost 22 dogs to different breeders. The old ones are sold for around P15,000.” He said.

He noted that although the Boerboel has become a popular breed internationally, the center of breed-specific knowledge remains in South Africa.

Mr Reikeletseng said the breed is manageable, reliable, obedient, trainable, intelligent, self-confident and fearless, further stating that it is a dog with strong protective instincts and loyal to the family members.

He said he shows courage when threatened, steadfast and calm, with a balanced and confident nature when approached and males are distinctly masculine, taller and more heavily built with stronger bones , while the females are distinctly feminine, but without weakness of substance or structure.

The dog breeder said that the ideal height of a male is 66cm but not less than 60cm while the ideal height of a female is 61cm but not less than 55cm and the shape and head size are a typical characteristic of the breed. .

Source: BOPA