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In November 1955 the American Kennel Club admitted the
Rhodesian Ridgeback to its Stud Book as the 112th breed to be
accorded AKC registration facilities. The Rhodesian Ridgeback is
shown in the Hound Group (Group 2). Since this recognition of
the Rhodesian Ridgeback by the American Kennel Club, intense and
greater interest has developed in the breed in this country.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a native of South Africa. The
breed's long history dates back to early in the 16th century
when the first European men explored the interior on the Cape of
Good Hope and found with the Hottentot tribes a domesticated dog
with the hair on his spine being turned forward. This is the
condition which we now refer to as the "ridge." The only other
known dog which has the peculiarity of such a ridge is found on
the island of Phu Quoc in the Gulf of Siam. It has never been
definitely determined whether the peculiarity of this ridge
originated in South Africa or on the island of Phu Quoc, but the
evidence available seems to indicate that it originated in South
Africa and that specimens of dogs with ridges were transported
from South Africa to the island of Phu Quoc.
It is not known where the Hottentots first obtained these
dogs. It is common knowledge that the Hottentot had pronounced
Asiatic features and that his ancestors probably hailed from the
East. If this is so, it may be assumed that the ridged dog
accompanied him on his peregrination until he finally reached
Africa.
The foundation stock of the Rhodesian Ridgeback was developed
by the first European settlers in South Africa to fill their
specific needs for a serviceable hunting dog in the wilds. The
Dutch, Germans and Huguenots who migrated to South Africa in the
16th and 17th centuries brought with them Danes, Mastiffs,
Greyhounds, Salukis, Bloodhounds and other breeds. However, for
more than 100 years from 1707, European immigration was closed;
consequently, the importation of additional dogs of these or
other breeds was not possible. Good hunting dogs, therefore,
became hard to come by and their value was high. The settlers
needed a dog that could flush a few partridge, pull down a
wounded stag, or guard the farm from marauding animals and
prowlers at night. They also needed a dog that could withstand
the rigors of the African bush, hold up under drastic changes in
temperature, from the heat of the day to nights below freezing,
and go a full 24 hours or more without water if need be. They
required a short-haired dog that would not be eaten alive by
ticks. In addition, the settler needed a companion that would
stay by him while he slept in the bush and that would be devoted
to his wife and children. Out of necessity, therefore, these
settlers developed, by selective breeding between dogs which
they had brought with them from home countries and the half-wild
ridged dog of the Hottentot tribes, a distinct breed of the
African veldt, which has come to be known as the Rhodesian
Ridgeback. The Hottentot dogs played the most important part in
the development and ultimate characteristics of the new breed.
Throughout all of the interbreeding and crossbreeding between
these native dogs and those of the settlers, the ridge of the
Hottentot dog was respected and retained. In due course, the
Hottentot dog established the foundation stock of our present
day Rhodesian Ridgeback.
There is no doubt the Rhodesians (now people of the country
known as Zimbabwe) have developed the breed as we know it today
from the original stock. In the year 1875, the intrepid
missionary, Rev. Charles Helm, undertook a journey from his home
in Swellendam in the Cape Province of South Africa to Rhodesia.
He was accompanied by two of these dogs. While the Rev. Helm was
in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) Cornelius von Rooyen, the big-game hunter
and early authority on the South African wildlife, borrowed the
two dogs to take along on a hunt. Von Rooyen soon concluded that
they possessed excellent instinctive hunting qualities and
thereupon pioneered the breeding of a pack of the species as
hunters of big game for his own use. They have since been bred
on an extensive scale in Rhodesia and were given the name of
that country.
In 1922 the first Ridgeback Club was founded at a show in
Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia, and a standard of points for the
breed was set, which differs little from the prevailing standard
today. In 1924 the Ridgeback was also recognized by the South
African Kennel Union as a distinct breed and the organization
recognized its first registered dog. Only two dogs were
registered with the SAKU in that year, followed by four in 1925,
and not less than eleven in 1926. Today, the Rhodesian Ridgeback
is one of the most popular dogs in South Africa.
It is not known definitely when the Rhodesian Ridgeback was
first brought into the United States. A few were imported prior
to 1940, possibly as early as 1912. However, after World War II
(between 1946 and 1955 -- when the breed was recognized by AKC),
quite a large number of Rhodesian Ridgebacks were imported, not
only into the United States, but also into England and Canada.
Their hunting characteristics have also proved to be useful in
hunting native game in other parts of the world. Intelligent and
ever alert, their heads are held high with pride and, with a set
of feet that will carry them over any sort of country, they are
the only breed of dog in the world that can keep a lion at bay
for the hunter to kill....and live! The Rhodesian Ridgeback 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. There have also been reports of
Rhodesian Ridgebacks having been trained to point upland game
and retrieve game and fowl.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback has the advantage of having keen
sight, and a good nose for scent. Due to the wide-open terrain
of the southern African veldt, coupled with the habits of the
game to be hunted and the techniques required to hunt such game
in that terrain, the Ridgeback was developed as a silent
trailer, characteristic of its sighthound ancestry. When the
terrain becomes more varied, where baying is desirable to keep
track of the hunting pack (such as in areas of the United States
where these dogs have been used), supplementation with baying
hounds (more typical of scent hounds) has been done.
Possessing many of the characteristics generally associated
with hounds, the Ridgeback has a quiet, gentle temperament,
rarely barking. While able to enjoy lazing around in a patch of
sun, or in front of a winter fireplace, a Ridgeback can be
instantly alert if a stranger should appear or he is in pursuit
of legitimate prey. Where he gave the impression of a big, lazy,
slow-moving animal, the Ridgeback can be a threatening presence
as a watchdog. Developed not only to hunt, but also as a family
protector, his affectionate disposition makes him a trustworthy
companion for a small child. He is easily trained, being, more
than many hounds, of above-average tractability. However,
because of this intelligence, an untrained Ridgeback can become
a terrible nuisance! Trained, he is a pleasure as a companion, a
hunting partner, or as a show dog or obedience competitor.
Because of his innate abilities to protect his family, a
Ridgeback should not be trained as a guard dog but rather the
natural protective qualities should be supplemented with
elementary obedience training for control.
In 1948 a group of enthusiastic Rhodesian Ridgeback owners in
the United States organized the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of
America, for the primary purpose of accumulating the data and
preparing the documents and pedigrees of dogs in the United
States as required to obtain recognition of the breed by the
American Kennel Club. Their activities were rewarded in 1955
when AKC conferred official recognition upon the breed.
After this recognition, which made possible the showing of
Rhodesian Ridgebacks in shows for championship points, there was
organized by owners and breeders throughout the U.S., the
Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the United States, for the purpose
of sponsoring AKC-sanctioned matches and licensed shows. Both of
these organizations were actively engaged in promoting the
Breed through national advertising.
Many Rhodesian Ridgeback owners and breeders were members of
and supported both of these clubs. In order to combine the
activities of the two clubs, they were, on March 6, 1959,
combined into one organization under the name of the Rhodesian
Ridgeback Club of the United States. The program of the combined
clubs incorporated the promotion of the breed with publicizing
and popularizing of the breed in the U.S., and forming a close
association with the breed clubs in South Africa, Zimbabwe
(Rhodesia), England and Canada. On April 10, 1968, the Rhodesian
Ridgeback Club of the United States was incorporated in the
state of Texas. Finally, on March 9, 1971, the American Kennel
Club formally admitted the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the
United States, Inc. as a member club. |
