Truth for the most part. Any Ridgeback that bays is a cull. The dog was breed to bring down big game and was a very good breed until some idiot started selective breed for hunting Lions and changed things forever. This is my Ridgeback imported from Africa on a nice boar that would test most dogs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzsvgMcUxiU&feature=channel_pageHey smwilson. I've hunted over Ridgebacks in more than 10 different states in the US from Florida to Minnesota, I have also hunted over Ridgebacks in both Sweden and Germany, on game ranging from quail to moose. I've worked over Ridgebacks of American breeding, Canadian breeding, eastern European breeding, western european breeding, even dogs imported directly from Kruger Park breedings in South Africa.
Just you know, the guy L3 was talking about is Cornelious Van Rooyen. He was followed by hunters like Hubert Tremelett, Jock Flemming, Bill Masey, Furgeson Chance, Jan du Preez, and Francis Barnes, to name just a few. Far from being an idiot, he was a good friend of Selous and Upcher, and was regarded as one of the great white hunters of his day. He a developed a type of ridged cur dog that eventually would become known as the "Rhodesian Ridgeback". He bred bay dogs for a reason, and it wasn't because he was an idiot, it was because he bred the best of the survivors.
If you want to learn the real, factual and honest truth about the early hunting history of the breed, buy yourself a copy of the "Pioneers" book, by Costa.
http://www.kantara.com.au/pioneers/index.htmMany Ridgebacks can be mindlessly gritty/catchy, a precious few are smart enough to back up and bay solid. There are other breeds out there that make better catch dogs, and other breeds that make better bay dogs. What they bring to the hunt that few others can is an impressive combination of nose and speed. So if you need a catch dog or a bay dog that has a decent nose and can cover ground lightning fast, then a Ridgeback might be a good bet if... but only if you buy from a breeder producing what you are looking for.
While you're waiting for the pioneers book to show up in the mail, check out these websites and learn the truth about this breed for yourself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodesian_Ridgeback#Classification_conundrumhttp://thehra.com/fromthefield/http://www.rhodesianridgeback.org.za/http://www.boardogs.com/Boardogs_Ridgebacks.htmhttp://www.rrcus.org/club/breedinfo/history.htm
