The History of the
Rhodesian Ridgeback
by Lee Weston
The
Rhodesian Ridgeback is a native of South Africa. It is also referred
to as the African Lion Dog. The Hottentot tribes possessed a half
wild dog that hunted on the African veldt. Due to the nature of the
prey, this dog was capable of withstanding the drastic changes in temperature
of the climate, the heat of the daytime and the below freezing temperatures
of the night. He was able to go a full twentyfour hours or more without
water if needed to. The Hottentot dog was short haired, so that it
wasn't eaten alive by ticks. And it was a strong, quiet hunter, rarely
barking; it possessed keen eyesight and a good nose for scent. The
Hottentot dog had one unusual feature that set it apart from all others,
and that was a ridge of hair that ran down its spine, the hair turned forward
in the opposite direction than the rest. The only other dog which
was found to have this peculiarity was on the island of Phu Quoc, in the
Gulf of Siam. What the connection was, if any, has been lost in the
passage of time.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth
century, the Dutch, Germans, and Huguenots immagrated to South Africa,
bringing with them their families, and their hunting dogs. These
breeds of dogs included: Danes, Mastiffs, Salukis, Bloodhounds and others.
In 1707, South Africa was closed to emigration from Europe for more than
one hundred years. The settlers could no longer bring in new blood
lines for their dogs, either for hunting nor for family protection.
They discovered that the Hottentot dog, this half wild feral dog, was supremely
suitable for the conditions of the African veldt, and a tenacious hunter
as well. The settlers started to cross breed the Hottentot dog with
the dogs they had brought from Europe. They noticed that a dog that
had the special ridge on its back as a puppy, grew up to adulthood to become
an excellent hunter, of good disposition with the family, and a ferocious
protector of the home and herds. The settlers became more selective
in the breeding, and eventually the Rhodesian Ridgeback became a pure breed.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback is the only breed of dog that is known to keep
a lion at bay, for the hunter to kill, and still live. The R.R. has
also been used very successfully for hunting bobcat, mountain lion, bear,
coyote, deer, wild boar and raccoon in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Return to Rhodesian Ridgeback Directory
Return
to Bark Bytes Home
copyright and disclaimer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication shall be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission
from Bark Bytes, Inc.