Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

I got a Rhodesian a couple of months ago and she appears to have great hunting instinct. She flushes rabbits with no problem and it takes a strong hand to keep from following deer trails. I was just wondering if anyone has used them as serious hunting dogs. They were used by law enforcement for trailing so their noses are good.

Dan O.

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

I've got a 10 mo. old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, and a 14 yr. old as well. The older one has arthritis so she ain't movin much, but was reported to have been seen killing a pig, and has chased pigs through our yard. Plenty of people here in Hawaii use Ridgebacks for hunting pigs. My 10 mo. "Kaya" has shown interest in hogs, as well as wild chickens. She will bay my cats up into trees and chase them through the yard. She won't grab anything with her mouth except chickens. I've taken her hunting before with my friends Pit and Brittany/Pit mix, as well as some little puppies that couldn't do much. The two pits ended up grabbing a small sow and my dog was baying it. I've heard of them being used to point birds. My dog already has the instinct to point when it's smelling things. They'd be a great dog to flush rabbits with, it'd probably catch them though.

Evan

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

You're right about the catching it part. I put her on a lure course and they had trouble keeping the lure ahead of her for 800 yds (until she tired). My dog must have been raised with cats, etc. because she wouldn't harm a kitten. On the other hand I've heard that 3 Ridgebacks was the equal of a pride of 5 lions. They would seperate one and keep it at bay until the hunter could take his shot. She's the smartest dog I've ever owned.

Dan O.

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

Don't have many lions in these parts. lol Must be kind of an over kill on the rabbit. These are awsome dogs and should be good on something I would think.

curt nulle

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

Mountain lions? lol

Dan O.

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

they're used to hunt mountain lions, wild boar, jaguars and other big cats in the amazon, bear, small game, upland birds. if you have any hogs near your house i would highly recommend giving hog hunting a try. Chances are you'll love it, super high paced action...insane adrenaline rushs. try finding someone with pet hogs and show your ridgeback the hogs. Maybe theres a baypen around where you live.

Evan

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

Unfortunately there's no wild boar in Ontario. At least none that I've ever heard of. I love hunting with Jack Russells so I can only imagine how a Rhodesian would react to a bear etc.

What is a baypen?

Dan O.

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

A baypen is just a pig pen that people throw dogs in with the pigs to train them. Yeah, sounds like you'd have to do a lot of travelling to find any pigs. I'd definetly try to bring out the hunting instinct in the dog though. Ain't nothing that dogs like more than to go chase animals!

Evan

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

as already stated, ridgebacks are hunters. some kick butt hunters to say the least. if im not mistaken they were originaly breed in africa to hunt lions. however, a very gentle dog when raised right. a friend of mine has a ridgeback. probably wieghs 110lbs, i guess thats average for a ridgeback. but man, that dog is cool. dosnt care for the water, but absolutly is a protector and a hunter. i've seen her check many o' dog she wasnt familiar with. another friend has a ridgeback and uses it to bird/rabbit hunt. without a doubt there is an instict in them to hunt. i would encourage you to bring it out.

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

Hey
I let my dog off the leash today, and like always she disapeared. She came back with a pig's tail in her mouth. I took the tail and dragged it around laying trails, one trail she followed for a long time. went maybe 400 yrds across a horse pasture, then cut through some horse trails for about 50 yrds, then tied the tail up in a tree. It was fun watching her follow the scent, zig zagging back and forth across the line that i dragged it on. She's got a really good nose on her, now i just hope she'd do it on her own when we're out hunting!

evan

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

They were used for tracking by the RCMP. It must be the bloodhound in their background. Interesting mix: nose of a bloodhound, speed from a greyhound, head and neck from a mastiff, protects it's owners without being aggressive, but a big suck housedog.

Dan O.

RE: Does anyone hunt with Rhodesian Ridgebacks?
 

Latest update on my dog:
Took her hunting up one of the valleys near my house with Nic Barca and his two dogs. He's got an older black lab and a bull terrier/walker/plott. We were walking up a rooted up river bed. The area had plenty of fresh signs. Rambler, the black lab caught a trail and was running on the right of the river, then my dog took off up the left side of the river climbing up a valley wall, a minute or so later Nic's Terrier/Hound caught the same trail and took off up the trail. Followed a few minutes later by the black lab. We could hear them on the trail ruffling dead hala leaves. They went silent for a while, out of our hearing range. Then I heard something coming down crashing through the leaves. I thought it was my dog running down the hill, but a good sized hog came bustin through the hala straight down the hill, then cut across right before reaching the river and run up valley. My dog lost sight of the pig pretty much right after she came down toward the river. It took a while for the dogs to get back on the trail, but they followed it for another five minutes or so until they lost the scent.

I was pretty impressed with my dog for being on that hogs ass. Hopefully she'll get one one day.

Here's some pics of my ridgeback.
http://www.angelfire.com/ri2/lasimba/pages/l3p7.html