Consumers' Behavior in Acquiring a Dog

The diploma thesis deals with the consumers’ behavior in acquiring a dog. The main goals of this thesis are to determine the factors affecting the decision-making of dog owners, identify the motivation for acquiring a dog, and find out which sources consumers prefer. The secondary goal of the work is to expand the knowledge of consumers’ behavior during the dog acquisition in our territory. This work could help to understand the process of acquiring a dog. To achieve the goals of the work, mixed method research was chosen. The quantitative part of the study includes Conjoint analysis and a questionnaire survey. The qualitative part of the research consists of semi-structured interviews with dog owners. The main factors affecting the choice of a dog include the source of acquisition, the behavioral characteristics of the dog, and the dog's health condition. These factors are always considered complexly. Additionally, the research shows that the choice of a dog is affected by emotions. The overriding motivations for acquiring a dog are positive relationships with animals and previous experience with dogs. The preferred sources of dog acquisition are breeding stations. The author prepared a model of the decision-making process according to the results achieved from the research.