From: bill@c3177208.ssr.hp.com (Bill Chidester)
Subject: Re: Rhodesian Ridgebacks
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 02:28:34 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Orlando Fl.
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1scd1 PL4

N51LS801@ncsuvm.cc.ncsu.edu writes:
: What is the temperament of the Rhodesian Ridgeback? Would one be likely
: to make a good pet for a family with older children? with another dog and
: a cat? Are there any health problems that are especially common in the
: breed?
:  
: Thanks.
:  
: David Austin, NCSU

  I have a 14 week old puppy nestled at my feet as I write -- he's a great
  dog with the kids and the cats and gets along well with all the dogs he's
  met.  He was the dominant pup, and the biggest of his litter (did I mention
  that I went looking for the runt bitch?).  He is very conformant to the 
  standard, 'cept he's probably going to be too big (40 lbs at 14 wks?) and  
  one paw is completely white.  Of course his name is Jackson; which means
  "Light brown African with one white glove".  When we neuter him, the name
  will be 100% accurate.

  We previously had a Bouvier and this IS a different dog.  He's every bit as
  smart as the Bouvier (believe me, that's a compliment) but he's as headstrong
  a dog as I've ever met.  I've raised many an Irish Setter (which combines 
  stubborn with stupid:  Never had to deal with stubborn and smart), so it's
  no big deal for me to get the upper hand.  I'm happy as hell he doesn't go
  100 lbs instead of 40.  My kids are 12 and 16 and have no trouble making
  Jackson tow the line.  My wife is, ah, well, older than that; and she can
  whip the hell out of me.  I have a hunch if you had a patsy in the family,
  the Ridgeback would be able to cultivate the wimp for all he/she's worth. 

  The dog housebroke immediately, we got him at 9 weeks and crate trained 
  him.  Except for a couple of liquid indiscretions (he was whining, my 
  wife wasn't paying any attention to him -- it's always your wife's fault),
  we've had no real messes.  Minor problems with chewing things that the 
  cat drags into his room, but he hasn't eaten any furniture.  He does like
  to carry the cats around by picking them up by their backs.  The cats let
  him.  Nobody ever said cats were smart.
  
  He's a very tough dog -- he'll go four six hours without a drink and seems
  to enjoy sitting on fire ant mounds.  He's currently sporting a rash of 
  lumps on his back and belly from last weekend's outing.

  When we bought the dog our vet said to watch for "dermoid sinuses", which
  are cysts that form along the ridge, probably related to whatever causes
  the hair to grow forwards.  When they occur in a puppy they are invariably
  crippling or fatal.  They are very rare but very serious.  He had us put
  a clause in our contract for full refund if the cysts were detected in 
  the puppy  (He also said he's only seen them once but had to put the puppy
  down).  Not a likely defect, just one to watch for.  

  If you've raised other dogs, especially the smarter, dominant breeds (like
  GSDs) you'll have no trouble with a Ridgeback.  If your dogs have raised
  you instead, stay away from the Ridgebacks; they're too big and too smart
  to have to try and "fix" later.

-----------------------------
  Bill Chidester
  bill@c3177208.ssr.hp.com
  HP Orlando