Rhodesian ridgeback

[Booboobedooo]

Hello! I’ve been asked to dogsit a RR. I don’t have experience of this breed. It’s a mix apparently (mix unknown – not met them yet). I did previously turn down a pure RR that lived with a small dog as I wasn’t sure, particularly with two dogs in the mix adding an extra variable.

Concerns would be strength and protective temperament + aloofness towards strangers.

Wondering if anyone has any more knowledge / experience of this type of dog and may be able to share insights?

The only Rhodesians I know were massive soppy buggers who just wanted attention and a cuddle 😂

But the key is that I never met them without their owners so I have no idea what they'd be like with a stranger coming in and out of their home and property.

Thanks!

My SIL has one who is old now but even in his prime he was always calm and friendly, walked nicely, could be taken out and about. Whenever we have visited their home he has been no trouble even around kids and our dog. They did put a lot of effort into training him.

He seems much less territorial and bothered about strangers than our dog or indeed MILs dachshund but obviously each dog is an individual

His only issue is that he steals food and can be destructive if left alone and a dog that size can destroy some pretty amazing stuff if he wants to. He has destroyed entire sofas and chairs and broken into cupboards to get to food so that has to be managed carefully

That’s really helpful, thanks!

Have you met the dog yet? You need to do that, in their home (if that's where you're going to be) and outside of the home, to gauge their behaviour/temperament.
It's going to depend a lot on the individual dog and how they've been raised.
I've only known two. One was perfect, friendly, easy going, easy walking, a generally lovely dog. The other was an absolute nightmare. Aggressive (which might have been fear or just no socialisation), badly controlled, frankly scary. The difference was the second one had been bought by someone who had never had a dog before, and despite being warned a RR probably wasn't an entry level dog, got him anyway. Didn't/couldn't do any training whatsoever and because of issues with controlling such a big dog, gradually had no socialisation with people or dogs, which in turn made al the issues worse. You get the picture.

Lovely dogs, with a great temperament. Possibly the greediest breed I have ever met though, so forget about snacking while the dog is nearby.

Thanks, that’s helpful.

And yes, of course, always meet a dog and owner first before agreeing to a sit.

haha, good to know!