Tambuku Rhodesian Ridgebacks

The Traditional Function of the Rhodesian Ridgeback in Africa: 

Traditionally the Rhodesian Ridgeback had a number of varied functions, each one uniquely adapted to the harsh African environment.  This is characteristic of many of Africa’s indigenous breeds, and because of these many functions required from one dog, there does exist diversity of structure, morphology and behaviour within breeds and types in Africa. 

The Sicha, a case in point: The Zulu Sicha is a medium-sized pariah-hound that is traditionally regarded as being the dog of the Zulu forefathers. In other words, it has lived and existed as a distinct type among the Zulu of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, for centuries. It was even described by the well-known ethnographer-traveller-missionary Bryant in 1883, only four years after the annexation of the Zulu Kingdom by British Imperial Forces. Bryant describes this dog as: 

    Most of the Bantu dogs, and of the Zulu too, are of the jackal-pariah type. But besides this, the Zulus possessed another entirely different breed which they call isiQa [Sicha]. This was more suggestive of a small hyena than a jackal, smallish in size but stout in build, with shorter, squarer muzzle, short light-brown hair, fierce in temperament and carrying a slight mane along the neck and spine…The Zulus were fond of dogs not only by reason of their helpfulness in the chase (especially those of the isiQa breed), but also at night time as watch dogs at home when they were allowed to run loose…”. 

Sicha of this description are still to be found today wherever there are Zulu-speaking people. However, most dogs allocated to the Sicha classification by indigenous peoples show variation in type according to the landscape in which they are found and the type of work which is expected of them.  

The environment north of the Tugela River in the Zulu territory proper tends to be of rolling hills covered with dense acacia scrubland, rather dry and sandy. Sicha found today in this landscape are often lighter in build to that described by Bryant, with something of the sighthound about them and with smooth coats and sometimes erect ears. This makes sense regarding their hot, dry, landscape where it is an advantage to be heat-adapted.   

South of the Tugela, most specifically in the highlands of the Natal Drakensberg mountain range, the Sicha tends to be heavier, more robust with heavier coats, lop-eared and with rather thicker tails. Here they are more of the pariah type. These morphological adaptations are advantageous in an environment in which temperatures drop below freezing in winter, and for hunting in rugged mountainous terrain in which a thick tail is said to function as a breaking mechanism. 

In addition to the tasks of hunting and guarding mentioned by Bryant, I can add to the Sicha’s repertoire of accomplishments also ratter, companion in the bush, homestead guard, and outstanding livestock guard and herder. 

The Rhodesian Ridgeback, a multifunctional worker:

Similarly the old Rhodesian Ridgeback had to be capable of performing a number of different and unrelated tasks for his Colonial owners in southern Africa, a quality that he undoubtedly inherited from his indigenous African dog ancestry. 

Such tasks included hunter of antelope and smaller quarry, a tracker and bayer of large and dangerous game such as the large cats, and large and sometimes treacherous antelope such as Eland and Kudu. Ridgebacks were expected to act as a warning system of concealed dangers in the bush. Sometimes Ridgebacks were merely asked to provide company to the bushwalker during his many lonely hours in the African wilderness.  At home, on the farmstead, the hound acted as a personal companion and guard to the family. 

In order to perform these tasks the dog had to be capable of endurance, some, not excessive speed, feet that could cope with rocky and sandy soil, a colour that could camouflage with the varying hues of the African landscape, ranging from deep orange soils to tawny golden and blonde grasses. Contained splotches of white helped to break up the self-colour and better camouflage in areas of speckled light and dense growth. The dog had to be protective, courageous, highly intelligent, and as many hunters will tell you, with a slightly nervous edge, which kept the dog on his toes, making him highly reactionary to, and suspicious of, any changes, or oddity, in the immediate environment. 

The Function of the Rhodesian Ridgeback in a Modern southern Africa 

Today the Ridgeback is as, or even more indispensable to, many South African homesteads and families, as it ever was in the past.  While the dog is rapidly disappearing from his original country of recognition, formally Rhodesia, and now Zimbabwe, it is really only in South Africa that the hound is still seen in any significant numbers in Africa today.  The breed’s modern functions include: 

Protector and companion: This is the prime modern function of the hound in Africa. In South Africa, essentially among English-speaking people, and British descendents, the hound is extremely popular. Among this population group the dog carries with him a magic that is culturally engrained and recognised.  Many people of this ethnic group, especially those living on farms, or from the former colonies, have grown up with the hound, and have deep memories of the hound always being present in their home circumstances. They feel very comfortable with the breed and place an enormous amount of trust in the hound’s abilities to protect and as a companion. 

More than this, southern Africa is as much a frontier as it ever was. Some would say it is now a more dangerous part of the world in which to live that ever before. There is no doubt that crime, and serious crime such as murders, armed robberies, rapes, and farm attacks have spiralled out of all control in some areas.  

One of the last resorts of families to protect themselves is to ensure that they have included in their home life a dog that will protect them, and warn them of unwanted intruders, an unfortunate daily reality in this country. This need in a modern South Africa has led to the popular misconception that the Ridgeback should be an enormous mastiff-looking hound in order to be effective as a formidable deterrent to unwanted intruders. Backyard and uninformed breeders have risen to meet this demand and it is not uncommon to come across hounds of this type on outlying farms and rural areas, and even in suburbia. 

It should be emphasised that the Rhodesian Ridgeback should be protective, an ability requiring intelligence, the facility to discern, and problem-solving functions, not aggressive.

For Rhodesian Ridgebacks working as family and personal protectors in southern Africa today it is absolutely imperative that the hound retain its sharp and protective instincts as the lives of those who care for them often depend upon it. This is something that is possibly quite difficult for enthusiasts living in countries outside of Africa, and not part of the dangerous African milieu, to fully appreciate and remember when selecting their breeding material.   

Bush Worker: There are a number of Ridgebacks working in wilderness areas of southern Africa, some as hunters of animals classified as vermin such as jackal, bushpig and caracal (lynx). This is dangerous work and those who would value their hounds so little as to engage them in this pursuit do so at the dog’s peril.  

Far more are used as dual purpose hounds as bush companions to conservationists and bushwalkers, and to warn their companions of imminent and concealed threats in the wilderness. These could include snakes, large cats and other predators, dangerous antelope, wounded animals and even human adversaries. The Lion Dog Working Group, initiated by Scotty Stewart of the Rhodesian Ridgeback International Federation, have for a number of years now, been selecting and breeding for working hounds to be placed amongst game rangers and for general work in the wilderness, on farms and even in regular homesteads.  These Ridgebacks are typically much smaller and more muscular, often “tighter” in construction than their cousins currently presented in the show ring. 

Once a threat is identified, the hound is expected to aid his companion by contending with any dangers intent on causing harm. A dog of my own breeding has sacrificed his own life while protecting his owner in the Kruger Park against two lionesses lying concealed within a short reach of his house front gate. Others of my own and other breeding have killed snakes such as King Cobras, on a number of occasions saving the life of their owners. A bitch I sold to Johan Terblanche of Vryheid fought off armed intruders with knives while protecting his teenage daughter, even while the bitch’s throat had been potentially fatally slit. Others have given their lives protecting, some leaping through glass windows, others shot, many have been killed in their line of duty.  

Dogs of this calibre require boundless courage, a highly protective instinct, deep love for their owners, and a sensitive, highly-reactive disposition. Such dogs often do not do well in urban settings where their acute senses and finely-tuned reactions are literally bombarded and constantly assailed by a cacophony of bangs, shouting, traffic, and other noises associated with suburbia and urban living. They are also frustrated by constrained spaces. As opposed to Western countries, Africa’s social landscape continues to provide a testing ground for the traditional deep psyche of the working hound, a disposition, it is sometimes argued, that is hardly suitable in a show dog. 

But how did the Ridgeback acquire these functions? 

The protective abilities of the modern South African Ridgeback developed out of a dynamic history of a turbulent colonial past.  When the first Dutch settlers arrived at the shores of the Cape of Good Hope in 1653 they were fascinated by the protective abilities of the diminutive scrawny indigenous dogs of the local Khoi (Hottentot) people whom they encountered. Although small in stature (about the size of a small sheep dog) these pariahs were extremely plucky and had an inherent hatred for the large African cats such as lions and leopards - born out of thousands of years of cohabiting with these lethal predators in an untamed landscape. This was something the European settlers wanted to capture for themselves in their own dogs. 

In addition, these little Khoi dogs were extremely loyal to their owners and would do their best to protect their owners against various threats. The Dutch settlers appreciating these qualities cross-bred their larger and stronger European hounds and mastiffs with the smaller Khoi dogs.  The result of this cross breeding was a taller and extremely athletic hound. Yet despite its much more impressive physique it retained the essential character of the much smaller Khoi dog.  This dog, commonly known as vuilbaard and steekbaard, were well-known to early transport riders, trekboers, and hunters. Ridged dogs stemming from this bloodline were instrumental in founding the Rhodesian Ridgeback breed. 

And so it was that the ridged hounds of southern Africa became famous for their courage and tenacity on the hunt, and much admired for their inherent ability, born out of centuries in Africa’s wilderness, to bay the large cats. 

Bush Hound or Cat-walk Model? 

It is now nearly a century since the Rhodesian Ridgeback first made his debue into the show ring.  Like registered dog breeds elsewhere it is now mostly up to registered breeders, who are expected to adhere to official breed standards, to promote the breed and shape its future existence. However, rules and standards applying to the show ring can often become a far cry from the original factors that shaped the breed. During the years of the Great South African Depression in the 1920’s many Ridgebacks were exported to countries outside of southern Africa.  Here the dog was further developed in a milieu vastly different from the African milieu in which the breed originated. In fact, many breeders were city-slickers with little understanding of the African wilderness.  

Instead of being mindful of a working hound in Africa, Ridgeback’s were then being moulded and shaped for the international dog-fanciers’ cat-walk, with little or no reference to what it really was like to possess a working hound in the African wilderness. Rhodesian Ridgebacks have become big money, a trend that is not conducive to the future well-being of the breed. The result is a flashy, almost “sports model” type Ridgeback, bearing little resemblance to the rugged, muscular, compact, hardy little dog that was a common sight on African farms and in African homes. Not to be outdone by the international show fraternity South African breeders followed suit and imported hounds to “improve” their own lines.  

Another reason for the importation of hounds from foreign countries was, and is, to open-up a rapidly decreasing gene pool in southern Africa. While this in itself is to be congratulated, as many beautiful and fine hounds contributed to a constrained gene pool, it is also important not to loose sight of what we already have. It has been argued by some enthusiasts that it is the lack of future-vision not to open up the breed register and include unregistered hounds of old South African and Rhodesian lines which are still to be found on farms and in homes today. 

Fortunately there do still exist such good hounds, but no current facility provided by KUSA to incorporate them. It has rather become the norm to import, often unfamiliar bloodlines, and incorporate them into the older gene pools while totally excluding our rapidly dwindling, but precious, older lines. It is not surprising then that many show dogs now differ both in structure and temperament from the southern African Ridgebacks of a few decades ago.   

I cannot over-emphasise the imminent disappearance of the older southern African lines. Today most of the dogs in the show ring share a handful of imported ancestors. Due to restrictive regulations the genetic diversity of the show hounds in South Africa has been severely compromised. Keeping in mind that the modern Ridgeback developed out of a founding group of only eight or so dogs the genetic diversity was nothing more than a bottle-neck, and so compromised, from the early beginnings.  

With this given set of circumstances certain Ridgeback enthusiasts feel that the present position of registered Ridgebacks in South Africa, the country of origin, is in dire straits. Translated to the wider picture one could then also question the future of the dog internationally. If present official thinking and regulations are not urgently reconsidered, breeders and proponents of working hounds would surmise that perhaps, in order to retain the essential Rhodesian Ridgeback, two different strains of the hound be developed, one to suit the needs of the population of the African milieu, and another to suit the requirements of the show-dog fancier internationally. In fact some breeders and keepers of working hounds in southern Africa believe themselves to no longer have need of show dog bloodlines.  

Admittedly, it would be relatively easy to improve the aesthetic appeal of a working line by using a show hound stud, but far harder for a show line, having lost essential form and temperament, to include unregistered working hounds in their bloodline – given present circumstances. 

The Way Ahead 

Not all breed enthusiasts have been so insular in their thinking. Enthusiasts of northern African sighthounds in Germany and the United States have opened their registers to include good specimens located during expeditions into the Sahel, as have American enthusiasts of the Basenji opened their registers to include specimens imported from Central Africa. In reverting to the population of origin these fanciers have extended and cleaned-up their gene pools, so possibly controlling the incidence of health concerns that becomes problematic within closed gene pools of all species of animal. More so of specialised breeds within species. These enthusiasts have also ensured the inclusion of behaviour and temperament inherent in the Africa-adapted population. 

In the Rhodesian Ridgeback internationally there is growing concern regarding the increasing incidence of cancers, gastric torsion, hip displasia, to name just a few health concerns, within the breed. It is important to realise that once our source population has disappeared it will have gone forever.  

There are no longer Rhodesian Ridgebacks as a source population in Zimbabwe. We can only now look to the few old and working bloodlines still remaining in South Africa. For how much longer this is a possibility to us, we do not know. Better to arm ourselves with foresight and adopt a bold approach to salvage what we can of our rapidly dwindling and increasingly rare old bloodlines.  

The only way to accomplish this is for the international body of Ridgeback enthusiasts to ensure that official Kennel Bodies world-wide open their registers to include unregistered dogs from the country of origin, and to be mindful, when breeding, of the essential characteristics of the African working Rhodesian Ridgeback. Hopefully working African Ridgebacks will never become a source of big money, themselves victims of the international dog trends world-wide that have almost led to their very demise.

RRs of the World

 

Meet Sian Michelle Hall, an RR owner, anthropologist and writer based in South Africa. Sian owns a tour company specialising in archaeology, horse and dog tours world-wide. She has also written a book, “Dogs of Africa” and is currently organizing an RR African tour in October ’09.

 

Q1. How did you first get involved with RRs and what made you choose this breed?

I was born and grew up in Zambia, and my mother and father are both South African. My father’s family lived in Zimbabwe for many years, and so in actuality my family was distributed throughout South Africa, Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe) and Zambia.

 

Rhodesian Ridgebacks are, of course, very well-known in these countries and in southern and Central Africa as a whole, up to Kenya in eastern Africa. They simply form part of daily life and in South Africa certainly, are often to be found in rural areas and farms, but also in towns.

 

For me, and I know that this is true for others also, Ridgebacks form a symbol which always helped me ground myself and even provided a mirror of identity by acknowledging myself as a European in Africa, but uniquely southern and Central African, just like our own dog.

 

My family have had Ridgebacks and Ridged dogs for generations before me, as my forebears are German and British Colonial, and even before that early German and Dutch settler. In fact, some of my ancestors have been living in South Africa for more than 350 years. Ridged dogs always formed part of our domestic landscape.

  Q2. How many RRs do you own and where do they live?

I personally have five Ridgebacks living with me at my home in Howick,     KwaZulu Natal. Only two are currently breeding bitches (who are still waiting   for their first litters). I also have a very rare iJakalasi Zulu pariah-hound from     whom I also hope to obtain a litter.

 

The area in which we live is very beautiful, something of a mixture of an English charming landscape and the majesty of Africa. Howick is situated in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountain Range, an acclaimed UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Q3. What do you like to feed them?

I believe in feeding a natural home-cooked diet with abundant raw and cooked vegetables and fruits, but time and work constraints dictate that I feed them Hill’s Science Diet which is the top food available here in South Africa. I do, however, add eggs, fish, rice, oats, oat bran, vegetables, fruits, and sour milk, or maas,  (a traditional food fed to dogs in Africa). I believe that yogurt is terribly important in the Ridgebacks diet to maintain a healthy stomach flora, guard against stomach problems and to maintain strong immunity. I wonder if the commercial foods are not too high in fat.

 

I also put out a herbal rooibos tea which many of my dogs prefer to plain water. It is full of anti-oxidants and minerals and great for dogs and humans alike. Interestingly, rooibos tea was first developed by the Stone Age nomadic Khoi pastoralists of the Western Cape, the very same people who originally kept ridged dogs from which the modern Rhodesian Ridgeback developed. Perhaps they fed them tea too.

 

Q4. What are your RR's most endearing features - what do you like about them the most?

Everything – their agility, sense of humour and fun, problem-solving abilities, their aesthetic beauty and many similarities to lions. Also their concealed wild spirit and their underlying ability to protect, hunt and survive in the bush if pushed. I love the way they come into their own when loose in the African bush and veld. And I appreciate the way in which they constantly remind me of my own history so much part of theirs, and of Africa and Europe blended into one.

Most importantly, Rhodesian Ridgebacks are Soul Mates.

 

Q5. What sort of activities do you do with your RRs?

Not as many as I should. Again work constraints and time. I do however, love to walk them in the countryside and at our very charming village shopping centres. We also have many quaint country fares, Medieval Festivals, Highland Games and the like scattered throughout the year. The dogs love going to these.

 

I often take a hound with me when conducting anthropological and archaeological fieldwork. I also have a Heritage Impact Assessment company, and this means that the dogs get to meet Bushman descendants, visit caves, walk in the mountains, help find Stone Age stone tools, keep baboons at bay, fish and swim in rivers, visit and go walking in the mountains with Zulu diviners (traditional healers) and Bushmen descendants. They also go walking on our lovely East African Coast beaches to swim in lagoons. They like to explore haunted houses while I collect material for my Ghost Story books, and some of my hounds have featured as characters in my ghost stories based on their participation in my research.

I used to show very regularly but no longer do so. I soon will start training my dogs once again in obedience and as general working hounds. As I have old working lines, in particular the line from Roodedraai Puku and Tambuku Yesaba Bobese, my pups are much sought after in South Africa by hunters and conservationists. I will only allow my pups to work as conservation helpers and not hunters as it is simply way too dangerous for dogs that I value so highly. Puppies from my litters have been used in the Kruger Park and descendents from these hounds remain with conservationists.

 

Many pups are also on farms and private game reserves as companions, personal protectors and conservation helpers. I try to maintain a balance between a functional working hound and one that is aesthetically graceful and beautiful.

 

Q7. Are they a popular breed in your country and does the breed have a good reputation as being a reliable family pet and are they used as a hunting or a guard dog?

They, together with the native African breeds, such as Sicha, iJakalasi and iTwina, are perhaps the only dogs truly suitable to the African environment, having developed here for hundreds and thousands of years. I would say that they are the only reliable protectors in these conditions where a real and violent threat to one’s own person is a daily reality. Ridgebacks are the only dogs that have proven that they will physically engage with an assailant, and successfully overcome them, when their owner’s life is threatened.

 

The interesting thing about all these breeds and types is that they integrate well on a daily basis, are loving, kind, considerate, wonderful pets, but when your life is in danger they will give their lives for yours against human or wild game adversary.

 

From my own litters, I have puppies who have saved their owners lives against poisonous snakes on many occasions, a young bitch who singly fought off an assailant who attacked a teenage girl at home, in spite of being stabbed numerous times, and a young male gave his life for his owner trying to protect him against two fully grown concealed lionesses in the Kruger park. I mention just a few incidents. I think that this is an impressive track record on its own for a single breed. My iJakalasi similarly protects me against snakes.

Q8. Are most people you meet familiar with the breed?

Oh yes. Most people regard them with awe and see them as having an almost mystical and romantic quality associated with Old Africa and their infallible and fierce loyalty to their humans. If someone in South Africa does not recognize a Rhodesian Ridgeback then one tends to regard them rather queerly.

 

Q9. How many RRs would be shown on a regular basis at conformation shows, and at your RR specialty shows? 

Wow, not that many, and with more and more people immigrating for overseas the numbers dwindle even further. To be honest, one does wonder about the future of Ridgebacks in Africa, but then with our precarious social circumstances, and the high crime rate, and violent crimes, the dogs are honed to fit their natural and social environment even more keenly. Therefore there is a contradiction in the status of Rhodesian Ridgebacks in South Africa.

 

Also, it would be nice if breeders and the Kennel Union here would look ahead and make it a policy to register on a developmental Register Ridgebacks from old African lines that have not left southern Africa, which are not registered but still to be found as working hounds on farms, rural areas and even in towns. It would be sad to loose them, and it is alarming that in this country of origin of the breed that you cannot find a Ridgeback excluding imported lines, and from exclusively old and uninterrupted lines. Very sad I think.

 

Just think that there are hardly any Ridgebacks remaining in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), and I question whether they are being bred there any longer.

 

 

Q10. How do you think the breed can be improved - are there any particular conformation problems or any health or temperament issues that could be improved?

Where does one start – I need a book to write. I suppose that if breeders familiarize with the following:

v      The South African landscape

v      The history of the dog (native breeds) in southern Africa

v      The use and morpohological types of indigenous African dogs

v      The history of the Settlers and Colonials in Africa and their function for the dog

Then breeders will have a secure understanding of this unique breed’s requirements and this should guide them as to morphology, type, movement and behaviour.

                                                                                                                                                  

Remember that the original breed standard was written by, and for, individuals living in the African landscape. These pioneers of the breed were familiar with the indigenous breeds scattered across the southern African landscape, the landscape itself, wild game, and the function of the ridged dogs in this context. The standard is just a template to guide the breed’s development, it is not a conceptual prison. There is much about the Ridgeback that has never been written in the standard but that was so blatantly obvious to an individual living in Africa that its mentioning was overlooked, or consciously, or unconsciously omitted, but which is integral to the healthy continuation of the breed.

 

Q11. What are the most common diseases you have to vaccinate for and what parasites are a problem?

 Here in southern Africa, biliary, erlichiosis, parvo virus, distemper and rabies. Worms, especially tapeworm, is very common here in the Natal Midlands during the rainy season and so are fleas, because of the very damp conditions.

 

Q12. What is their average lifespan?

It varies widely and is largely dependent on maintenance. The worse food you feed your dog the less his/her lifespan. Ridgebacks are partial to bloat and cancer and these diseases are more common in certain lines – no doubt. Feed these dogs a low quality food and say goodbye. Honestly, feed your dogs the highest quality food you can afford or obtain.

 

In Zambia we had an international Safari Camp and we and our dogs ate venison (Impala and Warthog mostly), mielie meal, rice, and vegetables and we never took the dogs to the vet with illnesses as we do our dogs on commercial foods. That’s a fact.

 

I would say that healthy Ridgeback could make 15 years, but an average of 12 to 14. I am now talking about dogs that are valued, loved, and cared for exceptionally well, and dogs on an appropriate high-quality nutritious diet.

 

 

 

 

Sian Michelle Hall
Africa Antiqua Specialised Tours                                                   Web: www.freewebs.com/africa-antiqua-tours/