Official Breed Standard of the Kennel Union of South Africa & Zimbabwe Kennel Club
RHODESIAN RIDGEBACK
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY
The Rhodesian Ridgeback is presently the only registered breed
indigenous to southern Africa. Its forbears 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.
GENERAL APPEARANCE
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 5cm (2ins).
BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT
Dignified, intelligent, aloof with strangers, but showing no aggression or shyness.
HEAD
CRANIAL REGION
Skull: Should be of a fair length (width of head between ears, distance
from occiput to stop, stop to end of nose,should be equal), the skull
flat and broad between the ears and the head should be free from
wrinkles when in repose.
Stop:The stop should be reasonably well defined and not in one straight line from the nose to the occipital bone.
FACIAL REGION
Nose;The nose should be black or brown. A black nose should be accompanied by dark eyes, a brown nose byamber eyes.
Muzzle:The muzzle should be long, deep and powerful.
Lips: The lips should be clean, closely fitting the jaws.
Mouth: Jaws strong, with a perfect and complete scissor bite, i.e. the
upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teethand set square to the
jaws. The teeth must be well developed, especially the canines or
holders.
Cheeks: Cheeks should be clean.
Eyes: Should be moderately well apart, round bright and sparkling, with
intelligent expression, their colour harmonising with the colour of the
coat.
Ears: Should be set rather high, of medium size, rather wide at base,
and gradually tapering to a rounded point. They should be carried close
to the head.
Neck: Should be fairly long, strong and free from throatiness.
BODY
Back: Powerful.
Loins: Strong, muscular and slightly arched, powerful.
Chest: Should not be too wide but very deep and capacious and brisket should reach to the elbow.
Forechest: Should be visible when viewed from the side.
Ribs: Moderately well sprung, never rounded like barrel-hoops.
Tail: Should be strong at the root and gradually tapering towards the
end, free from coarseness. It should be of moderate length. It should
not be inserted too high nor too low, and should be carried with a
slight curve
upwards, never curled.
LIMBS
Forequarters: The forelegs should be perfectly straight, strong and
well boned, with the elbows close to the body. When viewed from the
side, the forelegs should be wider than when viewed from the front.
Pasterns should be strong with slight spring.
Shoulders" The shoulders should be sloping, clean and muscular, denoting speed.
Feet: The feet should be compact and round, with well arched toes, and
tough elastic pads, protected by hair between the toes and pads.
Hindquarters: In the hind legs the muscles should be clean, well defined, good turn of stifle and strong hocks well let down.
GAIT/MOVEMENT
Straight forward, free and active.
COAT
Hair should be short and dense, sleek and glossy in appearance, but neither woolly nor silky.
COLOUR
Light wheaten to red wheaten. A little white on the chest and toes is permissible, but excessive white hairs
here, on belly, or above toes is undesirable. A dark muzzle and ears permissible. Excessive black hairs
throughout the coat are highly undesirable.
SIZE
The desirable heights are:-
Dogs : 63cm (25ins) to 69cm (27ins)
Bitches : 61cm (24ins) to 66cm (26ins)
WEIGHT
The desirable weights are:-
Dogs : 36.5kg (80lbs)
Bitches : 32 kg (70lbs)
FAULTS
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault
and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be
in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and
welfare of the
dog.
NOTE
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.