Family-friendly: | 5/5 |
Exercise needs: | 5/5 |
Easy to train: | 2/5 |
Tolerates being alone: | 2/5 |
Likes other pets: | 4/5 |
Energy level: | 4/5 |
Grooming needs: | 4/5 |
Shedding: | 4/5 |
- Dogs suitable for experienced owners
- Extra training required
- Generally healthy breed
- Enjoys vigorous walks
- Enjoys more than two hours of walking a day
- Large dog
- Minimum drool
- Requires grooming once a week
- Quiet dog
- Barks, alerts and may be physically protective/suspicious of visitors
- Could have issues with unknown dogs but gets along with known dogs
- May need additional training to live with other pets
- May need additional supervision to live with children
- Needs a large garden
- Can live in semi-rural areas
- Can be left occasionally with training
The Rhodesian Ridgeback is predisposed to:
- Hip dysplasia
- Elbow dysplasia
- Gastric dilatation volvulus
- Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy occurs in young dogs and is a specific form of epilepsy- a condition where abnormal brain function can lead to seizures which damage the brain.
- Hypothyroidism¹ where the thyroid gland is underactive and does not product enough thyroid hormone. This can result in low energy levels, weight gain and skin problems.
- Dermoid sinus which is a condition where the skin is either attached to the spinal cord or the tissue overlying it.
Priority Kennel Club health schemes and testing:
- Hip dysplasia screening scheme
¹L. J. Kennedy, 'Association of canine hypothyroidism with a common major histocompatibility complex DLA class II allele', 2006, Tissue Antigens
Personality
The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a strong, powerful dog that can be determined and stubborn. Although quite friendly and confident at home, they are very wary of strangers - human and canine. Not the ideal breed for the novice owner, they need experienced handling and training, together with early, thorough and ongoing socialisation.
Did You Know?
- The anatomical feature that gives the breed its name is the ridge of hair that grows down its back - and makes it instantly recognisable. This ridge is formed by the hair growing in a totally different direction to the rest of the coat and is capped at the top with two ‘crowns’ (whorls) that are directly opposite each other. This is shared by only one other (far less common) breed, the Thai Ridgeback.
- This may however be more than just an interesting coat pattern. Some researchers have found a correlation between the ridge and a congenital skin condition known as ‘dermoid sinus’ – although this is fairly rare. Some more romantic breeders however say the ridge is “where God sewed them up after stuffing them”!
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