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"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." ~ Unknown
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Ridgeback History
The Rhodesian Ridgeback's origins are from African hunting dogs which were used to track big game animals such as Lions and Cheetahs. From early in its origins the Ridgeback has been renowned for its loyalty, mild temperament, yet bravery when bailing up ferocious predators.
The origins of the foundation dogs are believed to trace back to Ethiopia or the Southern Sudan.
There is a drawing in an Egyptian tomb that shows a Hound with drooped ears and what appears to be a ridge on its back. It seems that this was most likely the ancestor of the dog that was domesticated by the Hottentot tribe of Africa.
The foundation stock of the Rhodesian Ridgeback was developed by the first white settlers in South Africa. They needed a serviceable hunting dog in the wild. The Dutch, German, and Huguenots who migrated to South Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries brought with them Danes, Mastiffs, Greyhounds, Salukis, Bloodhounds, and other breeds.
For more than 100 years after 1707, European immigration was closed. Consequently, the importation of additional dogs of these or other breeds became hard to come by and their value was high.
The settlers needed a dog that could flush a few partridge, pull down a wounded stag, or guard the farm from marauding animals and prowlers at night.
They also needed a dog that could withstand the rigors of the African bush, hold up under drastic changes in temperature, from the heat of the day to nights below freezing, and go a full 24 hours or more without water if need be.
They required a short-haired dog that would not be eaten alive by ticks.
In addition, the settler needed a companion that would stay by him while he slept in the bush and that would be devoted to his wife and children.
Out of necessity, therefore, these settlers developed by selective breeding between dogs which they had brought with them from home countries and the half-wild dog of the Hottentot tribes, a distinct breed of the South African veldt.
The dog the created by this selective process has come to be known as the Rhodesian Ridgeback.
The results were brown dogs that were good companions, had the stamina necessary for the long hunt and could bring a lion to bay without getting killed.
These hard working dogs were sometimes called "African Lion Hounds".
The breed standard was originally created in Rhodesia, a British Colony in central South Africa comprising present day Zambia & Zimbabwe, in 1850 and approved by the American Kennel Club in 1956.
The wild dogs of the Hottentots are extinct today but the Rhodesian Ridgeback, and the characteristic ridge, thrives.
Rhodesian Ridgeback Breed Standard
The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a strapping great dog which was used by the native warriors of Southern Africa to hunt lions.
By necessity, the Rhodesian Ridgeback had to be extremely versatile. He needed to be fast enough to chase and cut off escaping game, strong enough to pull down wounded bucks, courageous enough to hold lions at bay, and tough enough to withstand extremes in temperature, including going without water for up to twenty-four hours at a time.
Added to that, he needed to be a superlative watchdog to keep guard over the farmers, their families and livestock.
Today's Rhodesian Ridgeback embodies all the strength, fearlessness, agility and endurance of his forebears.
He can be aloof with strangers, however providing he is socialised and trained from an early age, he is quiet and well behaved, very attached to his family and reliable with children. He is easy to care for, co-operative and responsive to training.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback has a short, sleek coat the colour of a lion, with a clearly defined ridge of hair down the back growing in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat.
Ideal height: Dogs 63 - 67 cm
Bitches 61 -66cm
Weight 29 -36 kg
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