Rhodesian Ridgebacks are a breed from antiquity that originated from the annals of South African history. The peculiar ridge trait was first discovered by European settlers living amongst the Hottentot tribal peoples and the South African Bushman living in the region. In the year 1652, European settlers had traveled to South Africa to trade cattle for these native dogs. Recognizing the stamina and hunting instincts of this half domesticated dog, they purposely began to cross breed them with a variety of high standard European dogs to create the perfect specimen which would be able to survive the African challenges of the veldt, while at the same time retaining adept hunting abilities.
I would be here ALL day if I had to name all the unique facts about this beautiful animal however, some other cool facts about the Rhodesian Ridgeback is that these amazing animals can keep up to a running horse for up to 30 miles... goodluck running away from these guys! These dogs were also bred in South Africa in aid of hunting lions with the native people there. With such high prey drive, these animals have been bred in packs to corner lions and drive them up tree's or trap them to make it easier for the native people to hunt... truly AMAZING. It is also said that the Rhodesian Ridgeback is one of the only dogs that will stare death in the face and still move forward.
Although these truly amazing animals can have aggressive tendencies, they are still extremely well behaved around people and other animals as long as they are going through consistent training as a puppy. I personally thought that these dogs were so amazing that I had to get one for myself!
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Please feel free to share any comments about any animals you might have and love!