Are these dogs used in any African hunting capacity or is that in the past? My son has a 4 mo. old pup and I am researching the breed.

The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a dog breed developed in Southern Africa. Its European forebears can be traced to the early pioneers of the Cape Colony of southern Africa, who crossed their dogs with the semi-domesticated, ridged hunting dogs of the Khoikhoi.

In the earlier parts of its history, the Rhodesian Ridgeback has also been known as Van Rooyen's Lion Dog, the African Lion Hound or African Lion Dog—Simba Inja in Ndebele, Shumba Imbwa in Shona—because of its ability to distract a lion while awaiting its master to make the kill.

The original breed standard was drafted by F.R. Barnes, in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), in 1922. Based on that of the Dalmatian, the standard was approved by the South African Kennel Union in 1926.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesian_Ridgeback

Kaprota
Bloody good breed. The dog in my avatar is my old RR Fred. Still miss the big lug. Make sure you socialise the pup and obedience train. My vet in Katherine used to live in Zim on a farm. We got to talking about RR and he told me that they are still used in Zim to hunt cattle killing leopards. He said that three RR would go in and one would come out alive. The leopard would be dead however. Don't know if thats true but I tend to believe it. On more than one occasion Fred protected me from some of our black cousins as I fished on the banks of the Katherine river. Brave dogs.

See "The Enigma of the Rhodesian Ridgeback" in African Hunter, Vol 17, No 6 for a background on the breed.

Great article on them. and great dogs...IJL do you remember 'rusty' the old ridgeback cross my folks had? the one who came in one night with a very personal piece of 'tackel' removed from a would be car thiefs groin

quote:

Originally posted by Ganyana:
Great article on them. and great dogs...IJL do you remember 'rusty' the old ridgeback cross my folks had? the one who came in one night with a very personal piece of 'tackel' removed from a would be car thiefs groin

Damn good dog that, even taking care of future thieves.

They are awesome dogs. I had a half RR half Lab years ago. Just the most loyal dog ever.

And we never had lions or baboons in the yard...a testament to her protectiveness or the fact that I live in Texas I don't know

Gayne, you said you live in Texas and have never had any baboons in your yard.

I use Ridgebacks for following up wounded game. They will run the whole day without getting to thirsty but the best is that their feet can take the punishment better than any other breed.

It takes a while to train them as they are slow to reach mental maturity +- two full years. After that you will not find a more able or willing hunting dog. They are not fierce if it is not needed but be ware if it is.

My one male will take down a Duiker size animal if wounded, pick it up and bring it back to me without damaging the skin to much. He is also the local Baboon terminator.

They are a great breed and I can not even think of doing my job without them.

quote:

Originally posted by Die Ou Jagter:
Gayne, you said you live in Texas and have never had any baboons in your yard.

Define baboon?

A true champion! Guess they hunt "those" too...

quote:

Originally posted by Ganyana:
Great article on them. and great dogs...IJL do you remember 'rusty' the old ridgeback cross my folks had? the one who came in one night with a very personal piece of 'tackel' removed from a would be car thiefs groin

I've had a couple myself over the years, though never employed them for hunting!

I currently have a RR crossed witha Great Dane and he turned out pretty good but is now enjoying retirement!

Not sure how a RR would fare against a large male baboon though.... someone will come out on top but not by much!

9 times out of 10 the baboon will win the fight. Every now and again one gets a dog that just seem to adapt to the way a baboon fights.
I have had two in my life that killed male baboons often.
Both were hammered early in their lives by Baboons but survived. My one dog has passed on now but my current one is in his prime. He absolutely hates baboons and have killed quite a few already.

I still miss my late RR, Eli. I hope some day to have another RR as good and as loyal as he was. Great dog.

I have read some more but I still am wondering if they are "sighthounds" more than "senthounds" or both....

Would a RR be able to help when following up a wounded buff - bring it to bay and prevent some of the bad out comes for the PHs we have been reading about of late.

quote:

Originally posted by Die Ou Jagter:
Gayne, you said you live in Texas and have never had any baboons in your yard.