So after a lot of consideration about what dog is really right for me. I am 99.9% sure I will be getting a Rhodesian Ridgeback. As always I have watched hundreds of videos so I thought I would share some of my favourite ones with you. I also thought they may be helpful for people considering the breed. Start off with some breed info And then some more fun videos
They are very pretty dogs. Nice videos. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the breed because of the health issues. There is a lot of hip dysplasia, dermoid sinus, cysts and mast cell tumors within the breed. Good luck! I would recommend keeping your future Rhodesian Ridgeback on an exercise regimen and not overdoing it for the first 2 yrs of his or her life. If you can find a ridgeless puppy, you can avoid dermoid sinus altogether. I would recommend bathing monthly, as their coat does get oily. Definitely steer clear of too many vaccines, as these increase the risk of mast cell tumors by a huge percentage.
My previous dog ended up with an aggressive squamous mast cell carcinoma (I think the vet said) in the bones of his face and had to be euthanized as it was inoperable and was closing off his nasal passages. He was only vaccinated for rabies. I love the look of this breed but heard of health issues as well. I met a guy who had one with an enlarged heart, hip dysplasia (my dog has this, he's just a random mutt), and a few other issues. He was like... He's getting pretty old. And when I asked the dogs age, he said 5. That's not old to me. My previous dog lived to be past 15, and Jade is like 13, and like 5 isn't old to me at all, especially speaking of heart failure and severe hip dysplasia where the dog couldn't even run. Nobody wants the Ridgeless ones usually, that's the whole point of having one lol. But seriously if definitely only want one with a ridge. Anyway they're nice dogs, hope you end up with a healthy one. Even in the last video I see there, the dogs don't look like they move very well. Very stiff and the smaller one has the classic "stuck legs" running motion typical of dysplastic dogs.
One of the things that was on my list when considering breeds was that I wanted a fairly healthy breed (that knocked off a lot of breed I was curious about). I do not care if my dog is ridgeless, has a perfect ridge or a "bad" ridge, I totally love the breed for the way they look and the ridge isn't actually something that I really care for either way. But I would only buy from a responsible breeder who breeds from healthy long lived lines, with hip testing and from a breed that knows how to check for dermoid sinus. I also plan on buying from a breeder that weans on raw, but if not they would be raw fed from 8 weeks onwards and I only plan on titer testing after puppy jabs so no over vaccination here. I won't be over exercising a puppy and know the appropriate amount of work for them as they grow. I also plan on keeping him intact or looking for a vasectomy, so no increase in the risk of cancers and joint problems that come from early neutering. In fact getting a healthy, well bred, and structurally sound dog is important to me because I plan on doing quite a lot of sports with this dog. I know, its such a shame that dogs are getting "old" so young. My Billy is 14 now and still going strong, if he wasn't grey you would have no idea that he was so old. I believe Penny (the bitch in the video) was spayed quite young, at least under a year old which is such a shame for a large breed dog. I am not sure if that is why, but I wish we wasn't so obsessed about removing our dogs reproductive organs and could let them at least mature before removing those vital hormones. I believe a lot of joint problems could be reduced by breeding well structured dogs, doing health tests, not over exercising young puppies and letting dogs physically mature before neutering them.
Great response. Also, the dog that's doing all the awesome tricks, on their video, they say he has a severe autoimmune disease. It really does look like there are severe health issues in the breed. Wonder why, they look like a well built breed, unlike say, bulldogs.
I've lost two dogs to cancer. Both were vaccinated according to the the traditional schedule. Rhodesian Ridgebacks seem like fine dogs, but it's just the health problems that throw me off. A friend of mine has a Rhodesian Ridgeback with dermoid sinus and hip dysplasia. The only crossbreed I've ever had lived to be 18 and had no health issues other than arthritis as he aged. The dog had to have the dermoid sinus removed surgically. However, it wasn't all gotten and returned. The dog was only 3 when going through this. He was so young! My 18-year-old boy was a Labrakita (Akita x Labrador Retriever). The problem is that the ridge is a defect, yet that is what they are bred for! If I was going to get one, which I definitely wouldn't just because of the health issues, it would have to be a ridgeless one to eliminate the risk of dermoid sinus. The best way to have a health Rhodesian Ridgeback is to get a ridgeless pup and put the dog on a limited exercise program until they are 2-years-old. Here is a video about Dermoid Sinus: Here is another one about hip dysplasia:
