Rhodesian Ridgeback Intro

Who is BANTUU?

BANTUU is the Rhodesian Ridgeback you see on this website - he is an adopted, 4-years old, roughly 90 pound, 27-inch shoulder-height, male Ridgeback.

When meeting people on the streets and other dog owners we usually find a perfect misperception of the breed. Dog owners change the sidewalk or pick up their smaller four-legged friends. I am explaining a million times that BANTUU is not dangerous and that he just looks impressive but it rarely helps. Fact is that he loves to play with other dogs and when chasing around with some of his 'mini, under-10-pounds-friends' he is as careful as one can be.

Having said this I would like to give you, the reader, an introduction about Rhodesian Ridgebacks and what to expect. On the other pages of this website you can learn about the breed including health issues, and about rescue organizations.

The essentials about a Rhodesian Ridgeback

Personality: Rhodesian Ridgebacks are friendly, loyal, strong-minded, and intelligent dogs. Although their appearance can be impressive they naturally avoid trouble of any kind and make excellent family dogs. They can be athletes and very energetic and powerful, however, only by their conditions and if there is a chance to be just lazy, then they will be lazy and not move more than necessary. Rhodesian Ridgebacks are laid-back.
We mentioned strong-minded: yes, they can be as stubborn as one can be. You, the owner, will need lots of patience, and strong nerves - at least sometimes.

If you want a dog which does always and immediately what you want then a Ridgeback is most likely not your best bet. They require a strong pack-leader who tells them what is ok and what is not - all without using force! They will 'test' you and your nerves again and again and if you become weak (sometimes because you think it is so cute what they do) ... they will eventually try more and more. Their inner setting is to find out if there is a pack leader or not and if they come to the conclusion the latter is the fact then they 'take over'. It's instinct - in a real world pack an incapable leader will be replaced by a stronger pack member.
Adopting the pack leader role is difficult for many people because it requires more knowledge about dogs. A Ridgeback will - even if he already learned what is 'ok' and what is 'not ok - test the boundaries again and again: the owner (=the leader) must be very consistent and disciplined in his role otherwise he is loosing ground again. Therefore Ridgebacks are not the best choice if you don't have experience with stuff like that.

Socializing: Socializing with humans and other dogs is for a Ridgeback as important as it is for any other dog. Since they have a tendency to protect their pack you must make sure that your Ridgeback gets social skills, can play with other dogs and meets nice and friendly people. That makes sure that he later can distinguish between 'good and bad people' and that he doesn't get frustrated and aggressive.
Have you seen these dog owners who walk their dog but never want them to socialize with other dogs when they meet one? They pull their dog away and are most happy when they don't meet other dogs. Don't be such a dog owner! Let your dog sniff, play, and socialize with others - a happy dog is a good dog.

Cats, Deer & Co.: Some Rhodesian Ridgebacks go along well with cats but others want to chase them. Bantuu can easily distinguish between a small dog running and a cat even if they are half a mile away. If it is a dog then he does nothing but if it is a cat he gets immediately in chasing mode. Same with deer, squirrels, rabbits, marmots, raccoons, and foxes - - they list is probably longer but he hasn't met other folks yet. It's may be about the smell and the type of movement - this said, as a responsible owner you must also be aware that if you are hiking with your Ridgeback there's always a chance that he takes off ... and you sit there and wait until he returns!
A Rhodesian Ridgeback is a hound dog and is only the right breed for you if you know that you can deal with such moments.

Training: Food seems to mean anything to them and so, if you want to train them it should be done by rewarding good behavior - any forceful action will not bring any training success. The owner must apply a persistent training methodology and be very patient. Often your dog knows exactly what you mean but has other ideas about what to do, especially Ridgebacks with their often stubborn behavior. You must create an exciting training for them and let it appear as playing. Countless repetitions of one and the same training task do not work - your Ridgeback gets bored and from there on you lose. If you try to force him ...you lose as well. Treats do the magic, mostly, and once your dog knows he gets rewarded for doing the right thing you will become a happy, proud owner.
Our opinion is that Ridgebacks will anyway never be as trainable like a German Shepherd or any of the Herding Dogs who can bring it to a 100%. A Rhodesian Ridgeback is a hunter by nature and we would be surprised if anybody tells me that he has the dog 100% under control if e.g. deer is close-by - I guess the Ridgeback goes for it and you'll wait until he's back.

Food in the kitchen or elsewhere: The typical Ridgeback can eat, and eat, and eat, and stops not before he can barely move anymore. You ask "how do you know"? BANTUU seems to fit the typical behavior description for the breed and there was a day, shortly after his adoption, when I was unaware of measures they take to get food. On the kitchen counter top were two closed cookie jars and I had to leave the house for an hour not knowing what that would mean to the cookie jars. Read more: Dog Cookie Store - Cookie stealing from the kitchen

Excercise Ridgeback are capable of taking endless naps but will appreciate any activity with their owner. Don’t try to play ‘fetch’ with them, they will never bring back whatever you had thrown - they seem to think "if you throw stuff away it is most likely not worth to get it". However, if you accustom them to long walks and take them with for hiking, running activities they will eventually show you that they can 'go forever'. Every Ridgeback is different and BANTUU for example has no problem to go for many miles, however, he 100% fulfills what is said about the breed. HE conserves energy wherever he can and does not run if he can walk. He will not jump over a ditch if he still can walk through it! He does not more than needed to achieve the result - some call him the lazy, so what. On the other hand, if HE likes then he can run blazing fast and has big fun playing and running with other dogs.