Are Rhodesian ridgeback dogs good pets?

Yes, they are wonderful pets! I have one who is two years old. Keep in mind, these are high energy dogs needing lots of exercise. Also these dogs tend to be pretty protective and territorial. Mine is especially protective of women and quite the little loverboy at 90 pounds.

We do have four other dogs all males of different breeds and they get along just fine. Our neighbor has a cat, and our ridge-back does not get along with him at all!!! Along with the cat, he does not like squirrels, racoons, skunks or any other critters.

Lastly, our ridge-back is a great swimmer, and on hot days we cannot get him out of the water!!!

Good luck and enjoy your new pet

Rhodesian Ridgeback As A Pet

If you want a guard dog, you need one that has been specially trained as one by the authorities. Proper guard dogs are on par, intelligence and training-wise, with police dogs and disability dogs. It's not like just anyone could buy a puppy and train it to be protective of them and their property in a way that isn't dangerous, just like you can't have any old person train a dog to be an effective guide dog or a sniffer dog. When trained wrongly ie. by the owner who has no experience, they will not be able to differentiate between an intruder or just another person, which as you can imagine, could mean horrible injuries and innocent lives lost. Also, real guard dogs are used to protect and guard, not kill. A real guard will NEVER kill an intruder. A wrongly-trained guard dog WOULD because no boundaries would have been set through proper training. And if your dog did kill an intruder, whether the intruder was breaking the law themselves or not, your dog faces being euthanized (killed, basically) and you may face a prison sentence. It is illegal to own something so dangerous that you have so little control over. The only other thing a badly-trained or badly-chosen guard dog would do if an intruder broke in would run away from the situation which would pretty much defeat the whole object. Dogs can be wimps, even so-called aggressive dogs such as Dobermans. Just because a dog is a certain breed, it doesn't mean it will make a good guard dog, just like there's no guarentee that a labrador retriever will make a good guide dog. Potential guard dogs are vetted by professionals for their suitability before training even begins. So basically, you, as an unprofessional, could pick a Rottweiler for the purpose of being a guard dog and it may just end up being the biggest wuss ever. For the price of a good guard dog, you can buy and install a decent CCTV system with a direct link to the local police station. A much safer option. True, a dog CAN be used for protected but no one should buy one for that sole intention, unless you are prepared to go the correct way about it and get a liscence. Dogs for most people, should be predominantly pets. If you want a dog as a pet, great and good luck to you, but please seriously think about getting one for any other purpose.

This breed was developed to hunt lions. Yes, that's right, lions. They are highly tenacious, energetic, intelligent, have huge amounts of stamina, strong-willed, and very high prey drives. They would be a very poor choice for a flat, unless you are incredibly active every single day (and by this I mean not just walking- running, swimming, dog sports, hunting, etc) and have access to a fenced area to allow them some off-leash runs. Even if you had a home with a large yard, the dog would still require large amounts of structured and intense exercise as well. They would not be a breed I would choose to have in a home with smaller animals, and can be prone to dog aggression as well. They are not a dog for a handler that does not have previous experience handling more difficult breeds. Coat colors vary from wheaten to a darker red coloration. They are quite large and active so yes, they would eat rather a huge amount of food.

This dog does not sound like an appropriate choice for your household at all. They can be wonderful with owners that meet their needs for exercise and mental activity, and who have a good amount of experience with strong breeds. They can be an absolute disaster in homes that aren't suitable. I love the breed, but would never own them because my lifestyle is not compatible with their needs, and I own several smaller pets.

The only experience I ever had with Rhodesian ridge backs was a lady had one who baby sat and the dog was baby's pet that tolerated children well, and got along well with other dogs.

if you have the knowledge and time to train, exercise, socialize, groom and take to vet

needs to live in house with family with 24/7 supervision when in fenced yard

high prey drive so need 24/7 supervision with the other animals

yes they need at least two hour walks a day

4-5 hours of exercise/play

45 minutes of training

get a breed book for colors

biggest bag of food monthly

I know a woman who owns five of them. I meet 3 of them the were wonderful dogs, friendly towards my dog and my little brother and sister, talked to her for a while she owned cats and horses. with socializing as a pup they will be good with any other animal. yes theses are big animals and do require exercise, a big house would be better for a big dog but if he/she was getting the daily amount of exercise and a place to do his/hers business you would be fine having them in a flat. yes the do eat a lot of food.

Check out this video and these websites:

Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBdwQ9B20ug

Website 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesian_Ridgeback

Website 2 - http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/rhodesianridgeback.htm

Any dog can be the perfect pet. Long as you train it, walk it everyday and love.

Good luck!

Bit I have to disagree with the "buying". Why no adopt?