Studio North Rhodesian Ridgebacks

Official Standard for the Rhodesian Ridgeback

GENERAL APPEARANCE

The Ridgeback represents a strong, muscular and active hound, symmetrical and balanced in outline. A mature Ridgeback is a handsome, upstanding and athletic dog, capable of great endurance with a fair (good) amount of speed. Of even, dignified temperament, the Ridgeback is devoted and affectionate to his master, reserved with strangers. The peculiarity of this breed is the ridge on the back. The ridge must be regarded as the characteristic feature of the breed

Elaboration: A Ridgeback represents the perfect balance between power and elegance. The power should come from soundness and conditioning, notfrom excessive size. The elegance comes from style, presence and carriage. The Ridgeback should give a clean appearance with body lines blending smoothly. A male should be masculine, not coarse or cumbersome. A bitch should be feminine but strong, not weak or delicate. The Ridgeback is an athletic dog, clean-muscled, upstanding, well balanced and smooth in outline, a dog intended to hold large and dangerous game at bay. He is agile, quick, light on his feet and intelligent enough to stay out of harm's way, brave enough to defend his master.

SIZE, PROPORTION and SUBSTANCE
A mature Ridgeback should be symmetrical in outline, slightly longer than tall but well balanced. Dogs--25 to 27 inches in height; Bitches--24 to 26 inches in height. Desirable weight: Dogs--85 pounds; Bitches--70 pounds.

Elaboration: Desirable weight should be a guideline. Appropriate weight should correspond with the height and bone structure of the dog/bitch. A heavier-boned animal may weigh more, a finer-boned animal less than the 85/70 pound ideal as described in the Standard. A mature Ridgeback should be slightly longer than tall. The back should be strong and firm. The length should be carried in the rib area, allowing for ample room for heart and lungs. The well-coupled loin is neither too long nor too short, but well balanced with the rest of the dog. A long loined dog may be fast, but he lacks the ability to stop, turn and maneuver which is required by the Standard. Overall balance and symmetry is most important.

RIDGE
The hallmark of this 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 must be regarded as the characteristic feature of the breed. The ridge should be clearly defined, tapering and symmetrical. It should start immediately behind the shoulders and continue to a point between the prominence of the hips and should contain two identical crowns (whorls) directly opposite each other. The lower edge of the crowns (whorls) should not extend further down the ridge than one third of the ridge *illustration 1*. Disqualification: Ridgelessness. Serious Fault: One crown (whorl) or more than two crowns (whorls) *illustration 2*.

Elaboration: The Standard is very precise regarding the ridge. The ridge is located on the dog's back. Any variation in length of ridge or placement of crowns (whorls) is incorrect and is to be considered a fault. The amount of variation and the severity of the fault is up to the individual assessing the dog. The width of the ridge is immaterial. Occasionally there will be a parting of hair at the top of the ridge. This is not to be considered a fault unless it contains a complete crown (whorl). A ridgeless dog is to be disqualified.

illustration 1

Should be of fair length, the skull flat and rather broad between the ears and should be free from wrinkles when in repose. The stop should be reasonably well defined. Eyes--should be moderately well apart and should be round, bright and sparkling with intelligent expression, their color harmonizing with the color of the dog. Ears--should be set rather high, of medium size, rather wide at the base and tapering to a rounded point. They should be carried close to the head. Muzzle--should be long, deep and powerful. The lips clean, closely fitting the jaws. Clear faced or masked dogs are equally correct and neither is preferred.  A clear face with black or brown/liver pigmentation only on nose, lips, and around the eyes, or a masked face with black or brown/liver pigmentation is correct as long as the color is not continuing with a solid mask over the eyes.  A darker ear often accompanies the darker masked dog. Nose--should be black, brown or liver, in keeping with the color of the dog. No other colored nose is permissible. A black nose should be accompanied by dark eyes, a brown or liver nose with amber eyes. Bite--jaws level and strong with well-developed teeth, especially the canines or holders. Scissors bite preferred.

Elaboration: The head must be in proportion with the rest of the body. The backskull is flat, never domed, free from wrinkles when in repose. When the ears are brought forward in an alert position, the skin is furrowed with expressive wrinkles on the backskull between the ears and above and between the eyes. The planes of the backskull and muzzle are parallel and equal in length. Cheeks are clean and flat, not rounded or bulging. The head should never give a wedge shaped impression. Eyes: The eyes should be spaced moderately well apart, rounded, bright and sparkling with intelligent expression, not small, recessed nor sunken. The color should harmonize with the pigmentation of the dog. Black-nosed (pigmented) dogs should have a brown to dark brown eye. Liver or brown-nosed dogs should have an amber-colored eye, with preference given to the darker shades of brown or amber. Yellow eyes on a black-nosed dog are undesirable. Ears: When the ears are brought forward to attention, they are raised even with the top of the head. The ears should hang close to the head and cheek, flaring outward to frame the head. Muzzle: The muzzle is long, deep and powerful and finishes up fairly full in width, strong in underjaw. Depth of muzzle should be in the muzzle itself, not in the leather of the lips alone. Bite: Scissors bite is preferred, but a level bite will occasionally be found and is acceptable. Emphasis must be placed on the development and proper position of the canines.

The neck should be fairly long. It should be strong, free from throatiness and in balance with the dog. The chest should not be too wide, but very deep and capacious, ribs moderately well sprung, never rounded like barrel hoops (which would indicate want of speed). The back is powerful and firm with strong loins which are muscular and slightly arched. The tail should be strong at the insertion and generally tapering towards the end, free from coarseness. It should not be inserted too high or too low and should be carried with a slight curve upwards, never curled or gay.

Elaboration: Neck, Chest and Body: The neck should be fairly long and elegantly arched. Throatiness or a ewe neck should be penalized accordingly to the severity. A chest that is too wide or too narrow is inefficient and hinders speed and diminishes endurance. The brisket on a mature dog should reach well to the elbow. Topline and Tail: The topline flows smoothly from the top of the head down the neck and over the shoulders. The point above the shoulders is the highest point of the backline, never lower than the loin or hindquarters, standing or moving. The back is firm, standing or moving- neither swayed nor roached. The loins are strong. The arch of the loin should not be exaggerated. The croup is neither flat nor steep but blends smoothly and finishes out with the tail set neither too high not too low. Standing, the tail may fall between the hocks or may be tucked towards the abdomen. A kink or dud joint is considered undesirable, as is a tight curl.

Elaboration: Shoulders: The shoulder blades should be long, well laid back and sloping: upper arm is of equal length and placed so that the elbow falls directly under the withers. Forelegs: The bone of the front legs should have plenty of substance, more so when viewed from the side than from the front. The pasterns should be strong and slightly sloping. Feet: The feet should be well knuckled up with thick pads. Flat, thin-padded and splayed feet are incorrect.

Elaboration: The strong, elastic muscles of the hind legs should be carry well into the inner and lower thighs. The stifles are moderately well bent. Hocks should be well let down and straight from hock to pad. Rear angulation should balance and compliment the front. The muscling should be clean and well defined, denoting speed and agility.

Elaboration: Puppies usually have heavier coats than adults. More densely coated dogs may exhibit pellet- like molting patterns throughout the coat which should not be penalized.

COLOR
Light wheaten to red wheaten. A little white on the chest and toes permissible but excessive white there, on the belly or above the toes is undesirable.

Elaboration: A Ridgeback hair is banded, lighter at the base, darker at the tip. The color may range from light wheaten (buff) through various shades of gold to red wheaten; all shades are acceptable. Lighter wheaten highlights are usually noted over the shoulder blades. Clear-faced dogs or dogs with black on the muzzle, ear and around the eyes are equally acceptable. However, these black points should not continue as a solid mask over the eyes. Ridgebacks with black pigmentation may have black hair interspersed throughout the coat; dark brown hair may be seen on a liver/brown-nosed dog. If the amount of black or dark brown is excessive, it is undesirable. Our standard does not condemn white. Some white is permissible and excessive white is not desirable. Small socks and white on the chest on an otherwise typey, sound dog should not eliminate him from consideration. The scale of points allows 5 points out of 100 to Coat and Color. Emphasis should be placed on the general conformation. To quote from Maj.T.C.Hawley's definitive work The Rhodesian Ridgeback, "We must, at all costs, avoid a fetish that white is taboo."

GAIT
At the trot, the back is held level and the stride is efficient, long, free and unrestricted. Reach and drive expressing a perfect balance between power and elegance. At the chase, the Ridgeback demonstrates great coursing ability and endurance.

Elaboration: The trot should be effortless and flowing, covering the maximum amount of ground with the least amount of effort. As speed increases, the legs angle inward toward a center line beneath the body. The head is carried slightly above the level of the back, the backline remains level and firm, never high in the rear or loin. The tail blends smoothly, carried slightly above the level of the back, never gay nor curled. At all speeds the gait is effortless, rhythmic and smooth, denoting efficiency, presence and style.

A fine hunter and tracker, the Rhodesian Ridgeback is a fast and agile "sighthound" and possess considerable stamina for the hunt, but in the home it is a calm, gentle, obedient, good dog. Good-natured and well intentioned but can be boisterous around children. They are intelligent, cunning and straight-forward dogs that are loyal to the family, have something of a mind of their own, are brave, vigilant, reserved toward strangers. This breed needs thorough obedience training, early and proper socialization with people and other dogs, and firm owner leadership to become the excellent companion he can be. Ridgebacks react best to an extremely consistent and equable approach to positive training. They are intelligent and learn quickly, but they are also strong and a bit stubborn. Training should be gentle and start young while the dog is still small enough to manage. They are also very good watch dogs, but not suggested for guard dogs. Males may be combative with other dogs. Provided this dog meets cats and other pets when it is young, any potential problem will be prevented. Do not overfeed this breed. Ridgebacks make excellent jogging companions.

DISQUALIFICATION: Ridgelessness

Approved by The American Kennel Club on August 11, 1992 and effective September 30, 1992 revised Effective march 31, 2010