Rhodesian Ridgebacks were originally bred in South Africa to hunt lions and bring them to bay. These hounds are incredibly agile, fast and work as a group, however, they are also very much a loyal, family dog and love living inside with the family. They get their name because there is a row of hair down their spine that grows in the opposite direction. However, there are a few in each litter that are born “ridgeless” and thus will never have the breed trait. I am fortunate to have one of these amazing animals and thankfully my lil’ Lucy, even though she is 2 1/2 yrs old (she was the runt of the litter), will never reach the average female weight of 60-70 lbs. She holds steady at 50 lbs 🙂
Recently I was invited to bring lil’ Lucy for a playdate with a group of Rhodesian Ridgebacks (7 of them!). This pack ranged in age from 4 months to 7 years with 3 of them just at 6 months old (they were twice the size of my pup!).
It was amazing to watch these pups run and chase each other. They could turn in the air and start back in a totally different direction with no change in speed. It was an amazing sight – my Lucy was a little shell-shocked at first but got in the grove after a while. Some of these gorgeous pups even tried their paws at going down a slide while the youngest pup just picked a spot at the end of slide and hung out there to root his buddies on.
Thanks so much for the excellent pictures.
This was indeed a fun time!!!
Beautiful photos!!!!