Rhodesian Ridgebacks?

Euro Hunter

New member
Greetings from Holland, though I am originally from Canada.

Houndsman, I rarely see mention of Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs when talk surrounds decoy dogs.

Why is that? My experience in Africa would suggest that they would fit the bill quite nicely

Thank you
 
I agree with you totally, I have a 9 mo. old Rhodesian Ridgeback female that I am getting ready to start on coyotes. They use them in Africa to decoy big game such as lions. They are fast, agile, super trackers,with lots of stamina and brains. Would love to hear about your experiences with them in Africa.
 
they were fantastic for tolling lion and other large predators and buffalo. they also made great guard dogs at camp during the evening.

Instead of mixing up pitt bulls, curs, staffordshires and pound mutts to create what a few consider american decoy dogs,i cant believe that the perfect canine for the job has already been developed. gents, to breed cur dog to pitt to mutt to hopefully create a decoy dog is like reinventing the wheel
 
I'm curious to work with Bigtrucker's ridgeback female, this fall. My fear about them is their size, with an estimated 70-85 pound estimate. Just too big for what I'm working on.

Tony
 
Since all the experts chimed in statin that the "Ridgeback is the best". I have one ? for the "experts". How much control do you have with these dogs????? Any dink can run after and fight a yote, if they got speed to catch it, but with decoy dogs you need them to go out, and come back, luring the coyotes into you, not just running them out of the country. I have been around only one ridgeback, and it was about worthless.She would see a yote, and run it out of the country, and we would spend half a day trying to find her. I'll keep my catahoulla cur crosses, and keep killing 200+ yotes a year. You can have your "Ridgebacks".
 
Originally Posted By: Duane@ssuSince all the experts chimed in statin that the "Ridgeback is the best". I have one ? for the "experts". How much control do you have with these dogs????? Any dink can run after and fight a yote, if they got speed to catch it, but with decoy dogs you need them to go out, and come back, luring the coyotes into you, not just running them out of the country. I have been around only one ridgeback, and it was about worthless.She would see a yote, and run it out of the country, and we would spend half a day trying to find her. I'll keep my catahoulla cur crosses, and keep killing 200+ yotes a year. You can have your "Ridgebacks".

excatly, outcross them enough with hunting stock and you might end up with a decoy dog. not something thats gonna break its leg jumpin off a show bench
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Bad day at the office Duane?? I didn't read where a single expert chimed in statin that "Ridgeback is the best"....at all. I see a gentleman from Holland curious why it's not a breed that is talked about much in the the US. Another member stating that he has a pup and would like to here experiences in Africa with them, another stating that they are curious and that he thinks they are too big, and another that thinks that the US ones have been bred for show.

I think the gentleman has a valid question.

Tony
 
Originally Posted By: Euro HunterInstead of mixing up pitt bulls, curs, staffordshires and pound mutts to create what a few consider american decoy dogs,i cant believe that the perfect canine for the job has already been developed. gents, to breed cur dog to pitt to mutt to hopefully create a decoy dog is like reinventing the wheel

Tony, Don't you think some might feel this is coming on a little strong for a new member with 5 posts?

Also stirring it up in the Electronic Callers section.

Some might think there may be more or less than meets the screen here.

????????
 
I guess I never looked at it that way, plus didn't know about the ecaller section issue. Always been a glass is half full kind of guy.
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An easy IP address trace from the admins ought to shed light on the verification of the new member.

Thanks...

Tony
 
I work hard never to knock another mans dogs or act like mine are anything special, besides the fact that they work for me. Each area of the country and the coyotes, ranchers and livestock that inhabit it is so different that what is the best in one section is probably not ideal in another. I've said this before Tony and Duane should be given some leeway. They make our hobby a professional paying part of their life. We don't have to agree with them but we should allow them to express a strong opinion every once in awhile without getting all personally insulted.

Jack in Missouri
 
i had some ridge backs for hog hunting, even had alittle in some dogs i hunted coyotes with but i havent ever had one with more then half ridge that i would have wanted on a stand with me. i will stick to my mixed up pack of turd eaters cause they work for me, most people wouldnt even want to feed mine buts thats fine with me
 
is it that hard to teach a ridgeback to "tone" back?? if you cant get it to come back on command i wouldnt blame the breed on it. but maybe there is something about them that makes them not heed to a shock collar. i dont know.

i understand the size comment. i would think a big dog may hurt more than help.

if a ridgeback is all a man has i would say go after it. better than having nothing there to give you companionship. if nothing else, just teach it to go out and walk around but not chace coyotes. have a buddy that has a cur dog that does not decoy them back in but will wonder around within a 100 yards and they seem to come in and investigate the dog and he kills alot of them. so i bet there are a million different ways to do it.
 
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glynn, thats the deal, you can teach about any dog to tone back, and all of mine are, but the good ones i have had dont need to be toned, they come back because they know when they need to. if a ridgeback is what a guy has then by all means hunt him, i just know that the ones i had were just like pits, all catch, i dont think i would have wanted to try to decoy with them. i know alot of people want a decoy dog to go out and kill a coyote or be kill crazy or whatever, i still say i want a decoy dog to have scars on his butt, not his head, he gets bit i want it to be while he's coming back not because he runs out and just fights, i got some dogs that will sure fight a coyote bad but they aint my best decoy dogs by a long shot.
 
trapper, i understand wat u are saying. i didnt realize that a ridge was so agressive. never been around them. i just didnt want to kill noones hopes and dreams on having a decoy dog if all they had were a ridge. maybe that person will have to tone them back everytime. if it works a little bit, atleast they have a little something.haha
 
I know that control of any dog is the key. I have never kept a dog that I couldn't control. The first thing I always do with any dog I get even if it's a grown dog is start with yard breaking. I always wait a minimum 2 wks before I take it hunting.I have had alot of hunting dogs over the yrs. when I decide I want to go, the last thing I want to do is try and find my dogs. I have been with a lot of guy's that we had to do that with their dogs. We didn't hunt together much after that. I have no problem with dogs of any breed. There are 6 Generations of my family that are or have been Professional dog Trainers. Let't stop for a minute, it probably goes back farther than that because my name is Mike Trainer. With that said I reserch breed traits and characteristics and pedigrees. There are things about the Ridgeback that really stand out for the line of decoy dogs I want to breed. The Female that I have is from African hunting bloodlines. She is super alert,smart, super beeper, whistle trained. will not pull on lead,heals, sits and stays. I can control her in any situation. She ready to start hunting now at 9 mos of age. I have worry at all of her running out of the country. Now you know that I bought "Trucker" from Tony. I plan to breed her to "Trucker" in a couple yrs. if all turns out right. I think the Vern Dorn Gunner cross with the Ridgeback will be what I want for a good coyote dog I may be wrong but now you all know what my plans with the Ridgeback are.
 
jglynn, i dont know if they all are, just the ones i been around.

trucker, i wasnt running your dog down, i was just talking about the ones i had hunted behind, hope you have good luck with yours, no matter what its fun to have a dog with doing anything
 
Been so long since I've been on here that they deleted my old account, formerly Ridgley. Yes, I realize this is a 10 year old thread. I stumbled across it while searching for something else and was curious to hear how it worked out. As a Ridgeback owner for 25 years and with a current pack of 9. A few comments obviously come from people with little experience of the breed, so hopefully I can clear that up. They don't use them to decoy lions, they use a pack of them to hold a lion at bay until the guy with the gun arrives. They are certainly not all show dogs, there are many breeders that use them as working dogs, whether that be hunting, herding, search and rescue, blood trailing, etc., they are actually when they have a job to do. Personally I use/have used mine for blood trailing and bird hunting. They have an extremely high prey drive and are nearly uncontrollable when they get on the trail of something. Recall is always a challenge with them. As for the question of using one for a decoy dog, I don't think they would do well for that task because, as mentioned, they have an extremely high prey drive and would likely take off after a yote and completely ignore your commands. Outside of decoying and waterfowl retrieval, they are extremely intelligent and can handle just about any task you put them to. They are also sensitive dogs, believing the punishment should fit the crime. If you use a heavy hand in your training you will ruin the dog.
 
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