I have recently purchased my first Ridgeback. She is 4 months old and a beautiful pup. Very shy, and somewhat strong-willed. Learns pretty well, but what I think I am missing is some good solid information on the breed. Anyone know of a good book or two?

Many thanks in advance,

TC

Hey thanks that is helpful. Anyone else?

The Mastiffs The Big Game Hunters Their History, Development and Future by Colonel David Hancock is an excellent book with some references to RR's.

I haven't read these two, but if I had a RR I'd probably buy them: Rhodesian Ridgebacks a Complete Pet Owners Manual by Sue Fox and The Complete Rhodesian Ridgeback by Peter Nicholson and Janet Parker.

Go to online bookstores, do a search on Rhodesian Ridgebacks, then read the customers reviews when deciding which books to buy.

Tim,
I lived in Rhodesia for 18 months and had a lot of contact with them back then ( although they were *nothing* like the Rhodie's that I see in the States now )
We also have a few forum members from RSA here - if you can't find what you need from reading, drop one of us a PM and we'll try to answer your questions. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Will, if you don't mind me asking, what were the RR's like over in Rhodesia and what were the main differences you noticed between them and the ones here in the US?

Size and aggression, for starters.
Most of the ones that I saw were on farms, and without exaggerating, the males were the sign of a Great Dane bitch. I was literally startled to see how small the American version was when I noticed them after my return to the States.

The ranchers and farmers used them for various tasks ( which I didn't pay any attention to, sorry <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> ) but what really caught my eye was the use of them for night defense against CT's ( CT was the term commonly used for the terrorists, i.e., "Communist Terrorist" ) . The dogs when released would readily engage a man ( covered in lion fat even - which was used to repel dogs, I never found out if that was a myth or not ) and made excellent guard dogs there.

Of course I'm remembering back almost 30 years here, but I'd love to hear if Reinier has experience with them.

Will thanks for your response! I wonder if they were cross breeding the RR's that you saw for certain traits they were looking for, and I also wonder if the Boerboel was ever mixed in. I'd love to hear Reiner's thoughts as well. South African dogs in general are interesting. Speaking of interesting, it must have been interesting for you being over there! (scary I'm sure, but interesting nevertheless <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I saw a male RR here in Spain a few weeks ago, only just over a year old, but HUGE.
He rather scared my Mal bitch when he wanted to play, she was used to being the biggest dog in the class!
Fortunately, he had a very sweet temperament.

I, too, lived in Rhodesia, for 9 years, but saw very few purebred Ridgebacks. They seemed to be quite uncommon then (in the 60s).
When were you there, Will?

Hello to everyone (my first post). This website & forum have been unbelievably informative and instructive to me.

Tim - congrats on your new Ridgeback puppy. I just had to reply because I have an 8 month old female puppy that I just adore. She's 25" tall at the withers and 61 lbs now, confident, social, likes tennis balls and her ball-on-a-string. Her temperament is very 'soft', somewhat sensitive, sort of a big lap-dog type. They do get big - the breeder has a male that weighs 137 lbs! - though the standard is 70 - 85 lbs for females, and 80-100 lbs for males. I chose a RR because my girlfriend has a 5 year old female that is simply the best dog I have ever known. I think the books listed are a good start for information on Ridgeback history and characteristics. They are a very unique breed, indeed. Ridgebacks are sometimes described as '35 mph couch potatos', which I think is just about right. They have a unique mellow/reserved temperament well suited to being a house dog, and, yet, have a high prey drive to chase anything that moves. As such, I think that Ridgebacks respond well to any training technique that nutures and channels the prey drive into a close bond with their master. In addition to the training methods found here with Leerburg's videos and articles, I would like to plug Kevin Behan's book, 'Natural Dog Training', a method not unlike those you will find here, but with perhaps a different outlook on dog behavior and motivation for cooperation with their human handlers and how to develop that spirit.

While being the most protective of all Hounds, Ridgebacks are generally not known for aggression, probably because breeders don't select stock based on 'working ability', even though I think some members of the breed have that potential. They're just not a traditional breed used for protection. Still, many RR's have been known to protect their family from danger, especially those that were used as guard dogs in Africa. Last year, my girlfriend's dog went ballistic one night, reacting to something she heard in the yard. Evidently, someone had come into the yard and was on the deck. Rhodie flew out the doggie door and chased him out of the yard - I only caught a glimpse of this guy hurling himself over the fence. Good Dog!

To Mr. Rambeau - I don't have any intention of trying to train my pup Schutzhund-style or as a 'protection dog' but I am curious to know if you have heard of Ridgebacks trained this way? Again, they're not selectively bred for working ability in this country, but some do seem to possess the natural ability.

Sorry for the long post, but, obviously, Rhodie's are my favorite breed. Again, congratulations on your pup. I'm sure she will be a fine dog (if you do your part!).