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Breed guide · Dogs
Her ancestors tracked lions. She tracks the delivery bag from the lift.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
Nose down one minute, gone after a cat the next.
What's going onThey follow a scent like any hound and chase what they see like a sighthound, fast enough for that to matter near a road. Keep them on a lead unless the space is fenced.
At home
Warm with the family, cool with anyone at the gate.
What's going onRidgebacks guarded farms in the Cape, and many are reserved with strangers and protective at home. Meet lots of people calmly while they are a puppy, and never reward guarding.
At home
You sit down, and they park their full weight against your legs.
What's going onMany Ridgebacks lean on the people they have chosen. It is one of the best things about living with one.
At home
Bursts of speed in the garden, then flat out on the sofa.
What's going onThey were built for bursts of speed, and for tracking. A fenced space for a run and a slow walk where they can sniff do more for them than a long march on the lead.
At home
Dinner gone in seconds, and ready to play straight after.
What's going onBloat (a twisted stomach) is a real risk once they reach their prime. Split their food into two or three meals, and keep hard exercise away from mealtimes.
At home
You ask. They look at you, and decide whether it is worth it.
What's going onThey were bred to make decisions around a lion. They learn fast, and calm, consistent training, paid in treats, works where force does not.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their day
Built for: Covering long distances in African heat.
In Dubai: Often a villa or a flat.
Their work
Built for: Tracking big game, and holding it at bay.
In Dubai: Running far less than their body was built for.
Their guard
Built for: Guarding the farm at night.
In Dubai: Strangers at the gate every day.
The guarding, the chasing, the counter raids and the restlessness mostly come from that gap.
You cannot give them a farm and a lion. You can give them a job, a run and a calm home, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the risks on a Rhodesian Ridgeback's record at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
They follow their nose and chase what they see, and they are fast.
Every age
Why
They follow their nose and chase what they see, and they are fast.
What to do
Lead or long line anywhere that is not fenced. Check the garden wall and gate for gaps. Nobody opens the front door until someone has hold of them, and keep their microchip registered to your current number.
Tracking was half their work, and searching tires their head as well as their legs.
Every age, more of it as walks get shorter
Why
Tracking was half their work, and searching tires their head as well as their legs.
What to do
Let them sniff for part of every walk. At home, hide part of their dinner and teach "find it", or scatter it on the grass.
Extra weight strains their hips and elbows, and bloat (GDV, a twisted stomach) becomes a risk in their prime adult years.
Every age, most of all from 4 years
Why
Extra weight strains their hips and elbows, and bloat (GDV, a twisted stomach) becomes a risk in their prime adult years.
What to do
Weigh their food on kitchen scales and split it into two or three meals. Keep them calm after they eat, with no running or rough play. Keep food off the counters. From 4 years, their plan includes a talk with your vet about gastropexy (an operation that tacks the stomach in place), so you can decide together.
Hip and Elbow Dysplasia (poorly fitting hip and elbow joints) are the first risks on their health record from puppy to young adult.
Up to 2 years, evaluation before 2
Why
Hip and Elbow Dysplasia (poorly fitting hip and elbow joints) are the first risks on their health record from puppy to young adult.
What to do
While they are growing, keep runs short and stairs to a minimum, and use a ramp so they never jump out of the car. Put rugs where they run on marble. Their plan includes a hip and elbow evaluation (X-rays to see how well the joints fit) before they turn two.
The gene behind the ridge also raises the risk of dermoid sinus, a small tube in the skin along the spine that can become infected.
Every age
Why
The gene behind the ridge also raises the risk of dermoid sinus, a small tube in the skin along the spine that can become infected.
What to do
Once a week, look inside their ears, then run your fingers along their ridge and neck, and tell your vet about any small hole, lump or discharge. Ask the breeder whether your puppy was examined for dermoid sinus at birth.
Their short coat copes well with heat, but hot pavement burns their paws like any dog's.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
Their short coat copes well with heat, but hot pavement burns their paws like any dog's.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds. If you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. Save sprints for the coolest hour.
They were built for bursts of speed, and a lead walk alone leaves them restless.
From 2 years, once their joints are grown
Why
They were built for bursts of speed, and a lead walk alone leaves them restless.
What to do
Two or three times a week, let them run in a safe, fenced space, in the cool, and not straight after a meal. Add sniffing time to the walk every day.
They were bred to guard, and in a large dog guarding is much easier to prevent than to fix.
Every age, most of all up to 2 years
Why
They were bred to guard, and in a large dog guarding is much easier to prevent than to fix.
What to do
As a puppy, meet many calm people, including at the door. Let guests come in without fuss, and reward them for settling. Never praise barking at the gate. If they start guarding, contact your vet.
They are clever and independent, and they stop listening when training turns into a fight.
Every age, most of all 6 months to 2 years
Why
They are clever and independent, and they stop listening when training turns into a fight.
What to do
Two or three short sessions a day, paid with part of their dinner. Teach a sit at the door, "leave it" and a settle on their bed. Everyone in the house uses the same words.
They are stoic, so a sore joint or a new lump shows up under your hands before they complain.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
They are stoic, so a sore joint or a new lump shows up under your hands before they complain.
What to do
Once a week, run your hands along their ridge, ribs, hips and legs, and note any new lump. Watch how they get up and how they run. Weigh them once a month.
Two of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies
The ridge is the breed's mark: a strip of hair along the spine that grows the opposite way to the rest of the coat. It came from the ridged dogs of southern Africa, and the gene behind it also raises the risk of dermoid sinus, so every puppy should be examined along the ridge at birth.
Colours
From pale, light wheaten to a deep red wheaten, sometimes with a little white on the chest and toes. Against that warm coat, the ridge catches the light.
The first six months
Vaccinations, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first. Let them meet many calm people, including at the door, and hold back long runs, stairs and jumping out of the car while their joints are growing.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Rugs where they run on marble, a ramp for the car, a bin with a lid and clear counters, a snuffle mat, a long line, and a garden gate with no gaps.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Hip and Elbow Dysplasia are the first risks on a Ridgeback's record, and dermoid sinus comes with the ridge. Ask the breeder for both parents' hip and elbow results, and whether each puppy was examined for dermoid sinus at birth.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
She'll keep tracking the delivery bag. If she stops meeting it at the lift, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
Before the 1700s
The ridge comes from the dogs of the Khoikhoi people of southern Africa, who kept them to hunt and guard.
What they still carryThe ridge, and toughness in heat.
1700s to 1800s
Settlers in the Cape crossed their own hounds, mastiffs and terriers with the local ridged dogs, to guard homesteads at night and hunt by day.
What they still carryThe guarding streak, and devotion to their own people.
1879 to the 1900s
In Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, the hunter Cornelius van Rooyen used small teams of ridged dogs to track lions and hold them at bay. A good one was fast enough to stay out of reach and sensible enough not to attack.
What they still carrySpeed, a nose and a cool head.
1922 to 1955
Owners met in Bulawayo in 1922 and wrote down what a Ridgeback should be. The American Kennel Club admitted the breed in 1955.
What they still carryA breed shaped around the ridge, and the dermoid sinus risk that comes with it.
Today
In Dubai a Ridgeback lives in a villa or a flat, with a short coat that suits the climate better than most.
What they still carryA lion-tracking farm dog built for heat and distance, with far less ground to cover.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Rhodesian Ridgeback suits you, so might these.
SalukiThe closest kind of dog: another hunting hound made for hot country, lighter and much faster.
Pharaoh HoundAnother short-coated hunting hound that handles the heat well, smaller and more playful.
BorzoiThe same calm, quiet, independent temperament, in a big sighthound with a long, silky coat.
RottweilerA similar large size and the same short coat, in a heavier guardian who is just as protective of the family.
