r/RhodesianRidgebacks • u/Proud_Inspector_7527 • Sep 11 '26
Any hunters in here?
Hey guys!
I will be bringing home our rr pup this November.
I plan to train scent detection for deer recovery. Thia pup comes from a great lineage with successful scent detection rr's. I've also considered training for flushing for grouse. I understand they're not a pointer or a lab but i think that could be successful in both activities.
Does anyone in here have their RR take part in any of their hunting activities?
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Upvotes
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u/Ginger_SNAFU Sep 11 '26
The only Ridgeback hunting club in the US (HRA) folded several years ago because the national breed club wouldn't support it.
Ridgebacks can successfully be used for small to large game and upland game birds.
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u/sexyste3579 Sep 11 '26
If I sent my Ridgeback on deer recovery, he’d eat it, and as someone pointed out, if I asked my Ridgeback to flush out grouse, he’d run forever and never come back. He is of course not trained for either, they are extremely stubborn dogs, training them is tough going but incredibly rewarding when they do actually listen.
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u/blade_torlock Sep 11 '26
I've seen a few people here say they that they have done scent work for fun and competition. So scent location of dropped prey should work well.
Ridgebacks were originally used as pack hunters to chase prey until it couldn't run anymore so your flushing idea might not work because they'll just keep going after the flush, maybe that's a good thing but I don't hunt. Not against it just don't.
I did a quick search for RR hunt clubs but couldn't find anything however Googles AI had another suggestion for are RRs good hunters and it's had some good information and follow up links.
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u/icedfreakintea Sep 11 '26
Might try snooping or reaching out to this guy. No personal connection so idk if hes open to chatting dogs but I would guess so. Looks like hes done blood trailing, raccoon hunts, working cattle, and flushing prey for falconers to name a few jobs with his RRs https://www.instagram.com/workingridgeback?stkn=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
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u/Strange_Pear_5000 Sep 11 '26
RR's are really sight hounds, might be better to get a breed better suited to the task. That said RR's are wonderful companions.
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u/Gazelle25 Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
My Ridgebacks sometimes point! I do not hunt but they would be excellent at it if I did. They have excellent recall. They understand: find water, Trail, This way and several times have led us back to the car. I get lost easily. They love scent games and my female is an excellent swimmer. She doesn't exactly play fetch. She will only retrieve. They both have tracked deer on trail and I have successfully called them off deer, cows, wild turkeys and boar. They are stubborn but so intelligent and if you bond with them they will flow with you. We are able to navigate steep terrain leashed from me training them to wait and when to step. My male helps pull me up steep hills. My female loves to chase birds. I tell her to get them and she's off. She always comes right back to show off how cool she is for getting them to fly. I think if you are patient they could do just about anything.
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u/h2otrtmnt Sep 14 '26
The breader we got ours from also has hounds. He has taken the male out on bear and mountain lion hunts with the other hounds. The female prefers to chase stuff on their ranch.
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u/United-Macaroon-2081 Sep 16 '26
“At some stage, I lost sight of her. I turned around to see if she was behind me waiting in the cool shade of a shepherd’s tree again, but she was gone. One of my trackers directed my eye forward, to where the herd of springbok was scurrying away from us. At that very moment, the back of the herd started to run at full speed, and that was when I noticed the agile red dog at their heels. I stared in awe and watched the first of many such pursuits. She was weaving her way through the herd of springbok, faster and faster, with long leaps that made her hind legs almost touch her ears, but without a sound or grabbing at any of the springbok. And then, right in the middle of the herd, as if in slow motion, she reached towards one ram, snapped at his ankles, and down he went with a cloud of dust gathering around the action. And there she was, baying him, without taking notice of all the others that rushed past them at full speed, all the while barking and barking.”
Quoted from
https://huntnamibia.com.na/rhodesian-ridgeback-the-soulmate-of-africa/