Rhodesian Ridgeback Bushing

[Accip74 7,112]

I'm a fan! The little contact I've had with the breed has impressed me, they certainly have a presence.

 

They would be at the top of my list if I wanted something large & watchful here as well as being an active companion. I think they are more than convincing enough as a watchdog, in my experience anyway. If like me, you're not a fan of most of the usual traditional guard breeds, then I think a ridgeback is a great option ;-)

 

How many have you had Walshie? 25 years ago they were would have been still quite unusual in the uk, did your family have them?

[bird 9,897]

 

 

Every person ive met thats got one either thinks there a crank of a dog that will rip your throat out as soon as look at you or thinks they actually used to take lions on Anyway mate if you like the breed thats fair enough but to me there like a bull arab type of crossbred hound not a gaurd.

 

 

 

 

TBH, I wouldn't want to take one on. They're fearless and 100% muscle. Plus there's the stamina. They may not have actually killed the lion, but cornering a lion or bear is not something you're going to do unless you have something to offer.

 

The one I knew was massive, almost great dane sized, just like in this photo (this isn't the one I knew - from google):

 

 

..and this is a good example of the muscle tone - one of the few breeds with a 6 pack:

 

 

 

All I can say is if you're a burglar, good luck taking that on.

 

 

cracking looking dog in 2nd pic , i like the ridgebacks , ive heard from many people over the years , that had to got visit farms , or small holdings etc that had ridgebacks there as guards , and they deff not dog to mess about with there are up there with the other good guard breeds , One thing i have read many times is it norm the males of these dominate breeds, pits, rotties, boerboel, bullmastiff etc that have had ago at people and kids, the bitches were of better temps more trust worthy , not saying all males and all bitches, but on average the bitches had the better temps. my mate boerboel bitch that i put pics on , on here on my post , she just switched on , but feck me she hell of a guard dog i wouldn't want her at 10 st locking on to me, you dont need the big males that hit 13 st , they wouldnt be as agile fit as her , the bitch fits the bill in this breed for guarding deff and alot better temp than the males i was told , there very domineering breed .

[shaaark 10,751]

 

 

Oh got you now. My bad. The ridge was inherited from some of the earlier African dogs they have in their mix. It has as much to do with SB as your hair parting does with myxomatosis.

Laughing my nads off at this reply walshie! Lol .

I don't know much at all about ridgebacks, but they don't look like your typical african type of dog. Were they developed by european settlers from the dogs they took with them?

 

 

The short answer is yes. There's allsorts in their blood. It was Dutch settlers who took their bloodhounds, great danes, greyhounds and other breeds with them to South Africa. The locals had a partly domesticated hunting dog that happened to have a ridge. A mixture of these became the early ridgeback. Later on it was tweaked with other breeds to produce the ridgeback we know today.

 

[Aussie Whip 4,097]

I don't know about ridgebacks but the optimum weight for a working American bulldog is 90 to 100lb anything bigger isn't athletic enough for guard work or hunting.I know two people who both have a few ridgebacks and both have had incidents with kids getting bitten.

[keepdiggin 9,561]

Not sure about that for guard work some of these cacasian shephers and kangals reach 90kg

[toolebox 1,545]

Seems we have traveled off subject now but the most common breed of dog thats involved in dog bites in Nz is the ......lab .....simply because they are by far the most common breed found here .IIs dangerous to make a call based on a couple of examples ,not every staff or pitbull born will want to kill the neighbours pom on sight without a reason IF it has a good owner, one that has taken the time to place leadership into its training and keeps it under control.To be truthful I can't understand why the working /hunting dog world is never far from the BS,people judging and commenting with statements based on .....nothing or shithouse pub talk ...heard it off a mate whose second cousins mate five removed, heard it from his mate who may or may not of owned one .

I have a huge number of mixes of breeds of dogs ,some are just average in the field,some damn good and others are top dogs ,all have had the same amount of hunting time yet some are just .......better period .My two pure springers have had the one vet visit,my two JR x springers the one as well ,all my dogs are worked 5/6/7 hours a day bushing in some tight shit ground ,the bitch has scars around the eyes where the hair no longer grows from the blackberry,yet she can't wait to enter ,size doesn't seem to matter either ,some of my best hunters are medium sized dogs who don't let the cover stop them .They are a highly trained unit ,one that does NOT target the landowners pet cat ,lamb ,duck ,hen or anything else that moves into their path.A Lot of these dogs are unwanted problem dogs ....the problem they all shared was ...a poor owner... one that couldnt or wouldnt commit to the required time to meet their needs and some training ,yet they all pointed the finger at the .......dog!

A breed doesn't make a top working dog alone ,not without a huge amount of time and effort spent on training in the field.

This ridgeback bitch given some time & training will become a valued member of this chaps pack,a valued member of his family...... what more would a owner require?

[Aussie Whip 4,097]

Only talking the top weight for am bulldogs before their performance suffers for schutzhund,attack work.I only know two people with ridgebacks and both have had temp problems with them.I know prob 30 to 40 people with bull breeds and none of their dogs have bitten kids.

[stevemac 434]

Only talking the top weight for am bulldogs before their performance suffers for schutzhund,attack work.I only know two people with ridgebacks and both have had temp problems with them.I know prob 30 to 40 people with bull breeds and none of their dogs have bitten kids.

And yet I have had ridgebacks for 37 yrs I've hunted with them raced them shown them and never had a problem with anyone of them with biting the optimum weight is usually about 10lb less them most pet people keep them at. As with any large breed it is more about the owners being capable dog managers than it is about the dogs themselves.

[walshie 2,804]

Not disrespecting the guy who knows of a few "incidents" involving kids, but to everyone else these stories are from a guy on a forum who knows someone else who ....etc etc.

 

I'm not saying it isn't true. i'm saying I've not heard of it first hand.

[Aussie Whip 4,097]

I've seen the kids face.

[bird 9,897]

I've seen the kids face.

was the dogs involved in the attacks male ridgebacks ? as ive said on here most dog attacks have come from males and not bitches, the bitch gives the odd growl when they had enough rough handling kids /people, but males of most breeds have norm the ones that have bitten people/kids , these are findings i read about in the dog attacks in USA and in England , most apbt's were males as well . just a thought .?

[Guest Navek]

Mate mine got s half cross ridge x grey , single handed on everything he asks of it , however every time I've seen it it's like it's always eyeing me up, only seen it couple times I still would r like walk in his garden if he wasn't there . It's soft as shit with him and his kids

[toolebox 1,545]

I've owned two ridgebacks a number of years ago without problem ,don't know if that statements MEANS any more than stated ,I think is dangerous to base the whole breed on examples of a VERY low % of unwanted behaviour or attacks ,any dog is capable of attacking a person,big or small .Over the last number of years there have been reports involving pit bulls or pit mixes that have badly damaged a child in attacks but I've owned a number ,with any problems ,Im sure there are plenty of other breeds that have done so yet its never attracts the attention of main stream media .I bet I could find, given time reports of dog attacks involving just about every known breed. ATM I own a first cross greyhound x wire haired pointer /lab that roars his head off at any strangers if they come to the kennels ,so is the lab breed at fault ,the wire hair pointer or do I blame the greyhound ?

Edited October 25, 2017 by toolebox

[Aussie Whip 4,097]

 

I've seen the kids face.

was the dogs involved in the attacks male ridgebacks ? as ive said on here most dog attacks have come from males and not bitches, the bitch gives the odd growl when they had enough rough handling kids /people, but males of most breeds have norm the ones that have bitten people/kids , these are findings i read about in the dog attacks in USA and in England , most apbt's were males as well . just a thought .?

 

Both times the offending dogs were owned by what I call non dog people,the bad biting of the girls face was by a bitch,the women owner used to ride her horse around town with 7 ridgebacks running loose going into peoples yards and generally not controlled.The other a male owned by dubious neighbours.I'm sure they are alright dogs in experienced hands,as said the same as any powerfull breed.they need careful handling.

[matt1979 766]

I've owned two ridgebacks a number of years ago without problem ,don't know if that statements MEANS any more than stated ,I think is dangerous to base the whole breed on examples of a VERY low % of unwanted behaviour or attacks ,any dog is capable of attacking a person,big or small .Over the last number of years there have been reports involving pit bulls or pit mixes that have badly damaged a child in attacks but I've owned a number ,with any problems ,Im sure there are plenty of other breeds that have done so yet its never attracts the attention of main stream media .I bet I could find, given time reports of dog attacks involving just about every known breed. ATM I own a first cross greyhound x wire haired pointer /lab that roars his head off at any strangers if they come to the kennels ,so is the lab breed at fault ,the wire hair pointer or do I blame the greyhound ?

The wire haired pointers are generally known to be decent guarders tbf