Rhodesian ridgeback

[Yeahsurewhatever]

Does anyone have any experience?
Would be interested to hear about your dogs. I'm really keen to get one but would love to know a bit more about the realities of its care.

I just lost my Ridgy, she was the most loving dog I have ever owned, But that said she was a Ridgeback and they grow big and are very strong needing tons of loose running.

Without sounding harsh, if you need to ask about the breed on this forum you really need a different dog.

We have an almost 3 year old. He's large and strong; reasonably well trained though if he sniffs a rabbit or hare on a walk, not even his favourite treat of sausages will distract him.

He's not aggressive but he's protective and territorial so will bark at anyone approaching the house, and give them a bit of a scare. Once introduced to visitors he reverts to his calm self and generally just goes back to his closest bed (he has several around the house as he likes to be within about 2 metres of me all times ). He's great with my children and our childminder's toddler, but I'm very cautious with him when there are lots of kids around as he likes to join in when they run past and he's too big and boisterous for that.

I hadn't had a dog since childhood but DH had had a RR before I met him. So a mixture of experience between us.

I would say that you need to think carefully about the practicalities of a big dog; they need space, they are heavy (not easy to get in the bath, hard to lift into a car, can't just plonk them on a vet's table etc), it's difficult to find people willing to look after them if you don't want to use kennels, and they're too strong to let a child or young teen walk them.

I couldn't imagine having any other breed.

Your husband is very much mistaken if he thinks they are low shedding; I own two and am NEVER without little orange accessories (ie moulted Ridgeback hair) on all my clothing. As it’s short it’s a real pain to get out! They are amazing dogs. But certainly not for inexperienced owners.

I have a ridgeback crossed with a mastiff, he's a very big, very strong but absolutely gentle and loving dog. He was rescued from a farm, but he's the sweetest nature, very loyal.

He does need a lot of running, we run every morning for an hour (5am!) and then he has another hour at a dog park off lead, or bush walk. We're in Australia so have plenty space. Weekends he normally gets a 10 to 15k off lead walk / run. As long as he gets that he's happy to snooze on couch or by the pool.

There's a lot of them here, always see some at the dog beach, and they're really not regarded as dogs to be wary of. Not heard of any issues with them.

My boys 60KG, but here he is playing with a dachshund, he really is a gentle giant.

I grew up with a Ridgeback, and now have a 3yo male. Both beautiful dogs, great with kids, gentle but energetic. I have a nearly 2 year old son and my RR is wonderful with him.

I have a ridgeback. He is 2.5 and currently asleep with his head on my lap. He is an absolute softie and so handsome. The breed seems to have a bad reputation but if you get one from a good breeder ( our breeder is known for raising dogs with excellent tempraments) and put the effort in to train them properly- we took ours to school for over a year - they are brilliant. Happy to give you the name of our breeder - she does open days where you can go and meet her dogs which is what we did before getting one.

This is only anecdotal but....I have a friend whose dad is a retired police dog handler. As a family, they usually have about 3 big dogs and have had Rhodesian ridgebacks, Belgian malinois etc. His dad says that when buying these type of larger dogs, he's always v careful about where they are from as they can be bred to be aggressive as there is a significant market for personal protection etc

Photo didnt work! Trying again.

Aw. Lovely picture.

I have had springer spaniels for over 20 years in total and couldn’t recommend them as a family dog highly enough esp females. Source from a reputable breeder etc they are so eager to train ie do what you want. Loving and loyal, easy to handle, brilliant with kids. Do shed a little but not bad

@wolfiefan I don't think I am picking a dog based on how it looks, and I've said a few times 1 hour is the min I could offer but it would usually be more and asked if there were more suitable breed suggestions. Equally I've talked about training and grooming requirements, ensuring I don't select from the wrong places like puppy farms or poor breeders and my op asked about realistic care so I didn't walk into something that wasn't good for me or the dog.

I think what I've learned here is that maybe a RR Isn't right for us. They seem like amazing animals, and when it goes right it sounds perfect, but when it goes wrong, that's my worst nightmare.
Especially in a house with children.

We are going to look more at viszladors and spaniels after those suggestions and any other suggestions are very welcome

Thanks everyone

Oh and the pointers, which I don't know an awful lot about.

If u want to know about German pointers feel free to message me 👍

You love that it looks like a “proper dog”. Does suggest you’re going on appearance.
I wouldn’t have a spaniel either. Not on that amount of stimulation.
Perhaps you would do better to wait and go to Crufts perhaps. Discover Dogs is great.
You need to avoid most crosses unless rescuing. They will be not be from good breeders. Go through the breed club.
Have you tried a breed selector? Also look at the worst of each breed and see if you can live with it.

I have never seen one in real life but I have heard two things about the breed which I are quite disturbing to me:

1. Apparently prone to epilepsy and brain tumours which can cause unprovoked

1. There is apparently a popular RR show dog that has fathered quite a few litters who has shown unprovoked aggression to people in the ring.

Temperament is largely inherited. I’m sure I read about him on mumsnet in fact.

@fucksandflowers that’s interesting. I work in a veterinary setting mainly dealing with aggression cases and I would never trust a ridgeback.
I had dealings with a show male not so long ago and he was savage without warning. The handler had no concerns about this at all
I also know a breeder and all of hers are similar and give no signals out so it’s very hard to read them.

Not for me.

I always recommend setters. Sunny disposition, not a mean molecule in their bodies. There was a long thread on here before on Irish (red) setters.

I like setters too.
Although I am very sad that the working types are nowhere to be seen anymore.
There is an English one near me and he is so regal and placid and calm and gentle.

@Wolfiefan There are other factors too that I've discussed. It's ok to have a preference, I'm still here, researching and learning what can work/won't work for us and the dog we bring into our family.
Again the 'amount of stimulation' that you are mentioning is literally the minimum, maybe max one day a week. Other days could be hours if the dog is up for it, plus we will ensure there is a lot of mental stimulation too. But if I got a dog and it needed more, I'm not going to leave it to be miserable, but I'm trying to learn now, in advance, from talking to real owners..
Interesting point on crosses - this is my concern with them really. Happy to rescue and also looking at rescue centres, but then the breed characteristics are a little less predictable, which isn't impossible to deal with, but of course can add complications that need to be considered.

I have tried a few breed selectors, and looking at breed characteristics according to various websites - honestly it seems to vary huge amounts source to source, which is why it's good to speak to people here or on dedicated breed pages and get a real feel for owning that breed.

Will be sure to add setters to the research list! Thank you!

We wanted a breed that looked like a 'proper dog' because we didn't think the morphological extremes were healthy. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with preferring the appearance of one breed over another provided that a) that appearance is not harmful to the dogs and b) you can properly handle the dog you end up with.

OP, springers can be excellent family dogs. They are split into show and working lines. The working line ones can be bonkers, but nicely so - jolly and enthusiastic. They do need direction and socialisation: we have one locally that hasn't had much of either and it's a nippy little sod.

Springer X Lab is another popular gamekeeper's cross. They can be great dogs too.

Just bear in mind that with a field-bred dog you'll almost certainly get an animal with a lot of brains, energy and drive.

I'm officially ruling out RR I'll be too nervous with them around children after these horror stories and that's no good for me or the dog.

I hope you don't mind my new adapted question then -
My basic criteria is a loving dog that will be happy to be around us and noisy kids (supervised), but will be ok home alone for a bit (not for first 6 months) and won't be too stressed.
I would in an ideal world like something that will make me feel a bit safer when I'm alone with a pram and needing to take it for a walk - so a Pomeranian may not be the best option for example.
If I were being really particular my DH is desperate for a dog that doesn't smell too much!

We can provide a minimum of 1 hour a day exercise, plus more other days, classes and training and mental stimulation which I will take seriously! A good diet and a loving home with lots of fun things and activities planned for the dog. We can groom as much as needed.

I'm going to meet with some breeders over the next few weeks, I'm talking to everyone I know with dogs and I'm also meeting with some rescue centres, but any suggestions would be welcome!

OP, you sound as if you will make a fantastic owner - anyone who goes into dog ownership prepared (at least in theory - cold winter dawns are another matter) for the training and the time is off to a good start.

Washing the dog at intervals will keep the smell down - ours get a sluicing off with whatever shampoo was last on offer in Poundland every couple of weeks.

All dogs are different, so breed does not completely predict personality, but it is a start. If you like the RR 'look' (short coat and general shape), maybe think about Pointers, German Shorthaired Pointers, Vizslas and Weimaraners (the last three fall into the HPR category). Generally they're good-tempered dogs BUT they will all need a decent amount of training. Look carefully into the lines if you go for one: if you don't want to work the dog, you might want to avoid ending up with a hard-hunting loon with a pedigree full of FTChs. Some of them do suffer from separation anxiety - this could be something to talk to breeders about - but plenty don't.

Springers are also lovely dogs. The work and show lines are almost different breeds. I do know a working bred springer who was the least work-orientated of the litter and she's made a fantastic pet, very sweet-natured and biddable. Springers have more fur to shed than the short-coated breeds, though.

Labradors also shed LOADS, but there are some very nice lab crosses out there.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

This probably won’t be popular because they seem to be a fairly controversial and misunderstood breed but here goes.

I have a ‘proper’ farm bred working border collie.
Not a show line as I don’t agree with show versions of working dogs.
Not an agility/flyball or trial line because I find them neurotic and hyper.

She is loving and likes children.
Soft and gentle with them.
She doesn’t exactly relish shouting screaming kids, what dog does? but she copes well in a family of kids.
I made sure that when looking for a puppy it was reared in a home with children so she’d been well socialised with kids before I got her.

No separation anxiety whatsoever.
I know because I have filmed her before.
I don’t typically leave her alone much as I am a SAHM but I am confident I could leave her hours without issue.

I think she is beautiful and not at all scary but some people do find her intimidating.
She is a decent size and I have had a child scream wolf! Wolf before and people run away from her!

She has emitted a very low, threatening growl at the takeaway man arriving late at night though she doesn’t anymore as she understands now that late night callers bring food.
She has also emitted the same threatening growl at two young drunk men but I don’t actually think she would follow through and protect in a real life situation.

She doesn’t smell but she does shed a lot.

Exercise, she will take as much as I give her.
She is happy to run literally all day but equally she won’t go crazy without a walk.
I only walk her 5 days a week as I don’t want to walk her and deal with 3 kids in tow on the weekends.
She is happy.

I have taught her lots of things but I deliberately keep ‘mental stimulation’ and anything that gets her wound up, even in a good way, ball throwing for example, to a minimum.
Ball throwing is kept as an occasional treat not an everyday walk thing.

I personally believe that if you offer a dog large amounts of exercise plus large amounts of brain work they get overstimulated and anxious and unpleasant. My dog definitely does.

People underestimate the importance of sleep and calmness for dogs I think.

My dogs only big fault is she does not like other dogs and will try to avoid them.
Due to being attacked not a breed thing.

The potential bad things about the breed I would say are:

• high prey drive/very movement reactive/want to herd stuff so you need to take care to teach them to be calm and reliable around cars, children, cyclists, cats etc
• all herding breeds are prone to nervousness so take care to pick from confident parents
• all herding breeds tend to be very sensitive, they can react badly to too stern voices etc

I have a greyhound, she’s lovely!
We can leave her for a couple of hours no bother or even more if someone pops in to let her out for a wee, but we don’t really do that very often.
She sheds sometimes when there is a change in temperature. She’s not very smelly and has a very short soft coat.
She was brought up in kennels so she didn’t know how to be a pet, but she quickly became really good at it. She’s surprisingly barky, but only to tell us she wants something, not at other dogs or visitors.
She was housetrained on the first day we had her and i estimate spends 18.5 hours asleep.
She only really wants two walks a day and is tired after thirty minutes or so. I can let her off the lead in secure places and she is really good with other dogs and even our small cat. She’s very very fast.
She’s sometimes a bit nervous when all three of my kids are around her, but she just takes herself off to her bed. It’s been more training them to respect her really.
I love her more than words describe, she’s definitely ‘my’ dog and follows me like a shadow. She goes into a bit of a decline when I go to work.