Short History
The Rhodesian Ridgeback has, as
his name suggests, a ridge of hair growing the wrong way down
his spine. The ridge must be regarded as the characteristic feature
of the breed. His homeland is Zimbabwe, previously known as Rhodesia,
in Africa. The Rhodesian Ridgeback is presently the only registered
breed indigenous to southern Africa. Its forebears can be traced
to the Cape Colony of southern Africa where they crossed with
the early pioneers' dogs and the semi-domesticated, ridged Hottentot
hunting dogs. Hunting mainly in groups of two or three, the original
function of the Rhodesian Ridgeback or Lion dog was to track game,
especially lion, and, with great agility, keep it at bay until
the arrival of the hunter. The original standard, which was drafted
by F.R. Barnes, in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, in 1922, was based on that
of the Dalmatian and was approved by the South African Kennel
Union in 1926.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback should represent a well balanced, strong,
muscular, agile and active dog, symmetrical in outline and capable
of great endurance with a fair amount of speed. The emphasis is
on agility, elegance and soundness with no tendency towards massiveness.
The peculiarity of the breed is the ridge on the back, which is
formed by the hair growing in the opposite direction to the rest
of the coat.
The ridge is the escutcheon of the breed. The ridge must be clearly
defined, symmetrical and tapering towards the haunch. It must
start immediately behind the shoulders and continue to the hip
(haunches) bones. The ridge must contain only two crowns, identical
and opposite each other. The lower edges of the crowns must not
extend further down the ridge than one-third of its length. A
good average width of the ridge is 5 cm (2ins).
