OT ANYONE OWN Rhodesian Ridgeback

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by 1doggie2 on 20 August 2010 - 15:08

Just curious, has anyone owned a Rhodesian Ridgeback, ever seen one doing sch? I saw a special on the breed and it was made very clear they never will back down from a fight, almost as if they were missing the flight gene. I have only met one and he was a really nice dog. I checked the "switch breed" nothing really there.

by Sock Puppet on 20 August 2010 - 15:08

1doggie2

I do not own a RR but just want to let you know it is not OT as we are in the general breed section.

Hopefully someone can answer your question.

SP

by LadyFrost on 20 August 2010 - 15:08

1 doggie...my sister owns one her name is Frankie and she is 5 years old..good dog overall, BIG dog too.... very protective of the family not a barker..she usually does the head down stare in your face slow walk toward you to intimidate and believe me it works...had me stop in my tracks...I think they are also called "lion dogs" because they use them in Africa to keep lions at bay...and now that you mentioned it I had never seen her back down, once in a while i bring all 3 of my dogs over to her house to play and Frankie always stood her ground and never seen her running away she always ended up being the one doing the chasing in all their games...however per my sister she is a stubborn dog, if she is determined she gets what she wants, she would wait it out and then repeat what she was told not to do...but thats an individual dog thing...just like people... i think. :)

by Kaffirdog on 20 August 2010 - 16:08

I've had Ridgebacks for years, still got one old one. They are inclined to bite, run and bite again rather than engage, sensible when you consider their prey, engaging a lion is not a good idea! Brilliant tracking dogs.

Margaret N-J

by xbitetab on 20 August 2010 - 17:08

Never owned one but a friend close here has one and he barks all the time...he sees deer and evidentually things in the woods outside the fencing he is in...he is very protective and healthy but he has a strange bark and never ending either....they tried all kinds of things a trainer locally did..but nothing works if the prey in the woods comes close enough to smell or hear for this big dog....he is lean and a different breed indeed.

TP

by wrestleman on 20 August 2010 - 19:08

I Boar hunt with a Guy in Tenn who has a small female that is a GREAT dog. She is very friendly and very open, but she is hell on hogs. Has no fear and will go in on a hog that weighs 300 - 400 lbs and its amazing to watch her. Last Spring we killed 5 boar over her one day and she was tireless. She ran beside the vehicle from the time we got off the main road until we got to where we hunted a good 4 miles and she was fresh as can be when we got there , hunted all day and that night it was if she had never been away from home she was always fresh and ready to go. She reminded me of a Malinois she just wouldn't quit and would fight till death it seemed

by VonIsengard on 22 August 2010 - 02:08

I've trained a number of them, not my kind of dog. I've seen some flightiness, and they seem to shut down very easily. While they were, of course, "lion dogs", like most other purebreds in the US the original correct temperament is often terribly watered down and distorted. I would love to meet one with the backbone the written standard claims they should have. I haven't had the pleasure yet.

by 1doggie2 on 22 August 2010 - 05:08

I would think that they might not be to "watered down" very few breeders and not all that many around. I sure would love to hear if anyone has ever had one on the field? Interesting that they "hit" and run".

wrestleman, I think this is what caught my eye, was the open and friendly part of the dog, yet not willing to run from a fight. That was how the breed was shown on the special I saw. However, they need tons, and some more, excerise or like any breed, you will not like what they find to "entertain" themselves with.

KCzaja, do you think it was more enviromental and how they were raised "handled", that made them shut down or flightly?

by VonIsengard on 22 August 2010 - 13:08

The flightiness is usually a combination of handling and genetics, although a nice confident dog with an imperfect upbringing is rarely a spook. I suspect the shutting down could be both, although I did see a very well bred one behave in that fashion as well. I imagine raised from 8 weeks by someone experienced it would be different, as all the ones I have seen have been owned by average pet owners.

I was actually in love with this rhodesians (and goldens, go figure) before I got into GSDs, always really wanted one until I worked with a few and changed my mind. I just prefer a dog who really wants to work and bounces back from pressure. I don't have the desire to tiptoe around dogs who pout when the wind blows.

And while your point on the small number of breeders makes sense, there are still many poor exampes out there. I have the same issue with Irish Wolfhounds. I adore them and I'm bound and determined to have one someday. However, very few of them have the nerve to be the wolf hunters they were created to be. Whiny, jumpy, neurotic. I have seen one irish wolfhound whose demeanor blew me away, at a dog show several years ago. I met the dog that thought, "YES! This is what they're supposed to be!". So I don't know if smaller gene pool necessarily equates higher quality gene pool.

by Feather on 23 August 2010 - 05:08

Nobody answered my thread about Dogo Argentinos. Anyone??

anywho, did you see the BBC documentary about Pedigree dogs, they had Ridgebacks, and how the breeders put down ones born wihout the ridge of hair and the ridge is related to a spine deformity

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