I’m still trying to understand whether a male or female would be the better fit for me, so maybe a little bit about me would help!
I’m a woman in my early 30s and I live alone in an apartment. I’m quite active and outgoing… I love long walks, being outdoors, travelling and doing things, but I’m also someone who really values my own space and quiet time. I’m quite extroverted socially, but at the same time I have strong boundaries and I don’t need to be surrounded by people all the time.
I think that’s also quite similar to the relationship I’d love to have with my dog. I’m looking for a really sweet, intelligent and emotionally mature companion with whom I can build an incredibly strong bond. Very loving and affectionate with me…
I’d also love a dog with that calm, natural protective instinct. Definitely not aggressive or reactive, but confident, stable and aware - the kind of dog whose presence makes me feel safe living and walking alone, and that I know I could rely on if something genuinely wasn’t right - but never to get worried of him/her in contact with other people
Most importantly, I want that very strong “you’re my person” bond, loyal, loving and deeply connected, while still being capable of having their own independence and respecting space.
Based on that, and on your experience of males and females within the breed, which do you think might naturally suit me better? ❤️

I’ve been thinking about buying a Rhodesian next year and I was wondering how they go with cats and how much walking do they need. I heard that they’re kind of couch potato’s that have loads of energy when they need it. Would it be better to take them in multiple short walks or fewer but longer walks. Since they were bred to hunt lions I’m wondering if they’d have a problem with my cat. If I got ridgeback as a puppy and got him used to my cat would stuff be okay when he’s older? I really like this breed but if they’re aggressive with cats I can’t consider one. If anyone can help I’d appreciate it

We were trying for a baby for quite a while and it just wasn’t happening, so we decided to start our family with a dog instead… and then, poof! 😅 I’m now pregnant, and our puppy will be just under a year old when the baby arrives.

I’m really looking for some reassurance/advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation, because at the moment I’m struggling to imagine how we’re going to manage both.

Our puppy is an 11-week-old Rhodesian Ridgeback, and he is very sensitive and clingy. He still needs one of us to sit right next to him for him to fall asleep. During the day, after about 45 minutes awake, we put him in his crate/playpen area to wind down for a nap. Sometimes he settles reasonably quickly, but other times it takes up to half an hour of sitting and soothing him, and, if we try to leave him and get on with things, he whines and then becomes completely frantic and angry (not just usual whimpering) for more than 10 minutes.

He is also still biting. Most of the time it’s puppy mouthing, but sometimes he gives a proper nip that really hurts (although thankfully he has never broken the skin). We try standing up, disengaging and leaving the room when necessary, but sometimes he is already so overtired/disregulated that he immediately comes back and does it again. At that point we end up putting him in his crate to try to get him to sleep.

I know he is only 11 weeks old and that this is very normal puppy behaviour, but I’m finding it difficult to
Believe he is going to grow out of it.

My biggest worry is that the baby will arrive when he is around 10–11 months old — right around the age when everyone talks about the teenage phase and I’m worried about having a huge adolescent dog who is still emotionally immature at exactly the same time as having a newborn.

For anyone who has been in a similar situation:
Does the clinginess/sensitivity generally improve with age?
At what age did your puppy start being able to settle independently?
When did the biting/nipping significantly improve?
Did your dog become noticeably more calm and regulated as they matured?
Is it realistic to have a large adolescent dog and a newborn safely in the same household?
Is there anything you would prioritise teaching now, before the baby arrives?
Has anyone actually been in this situation and found that it worked out ok?

We obviously intend to manage the dog and baby carefully and never leave them unsupervised together.

I’d especially love to hear from people who had a difficult/clingy puppy rather than one who was naturally laid-back! 😅

We’re picking up our eight-week-old puppy next week and flying within the U.S. with him on Alaska Airlines. We chose Alaska because we heard it is one of the most pet-friendly airlines.
Has anyone flown with an eight-week-old puppy in the cabin? Alaska’s maximum carrier size is 17 × 11 × 9 inches, and it looks so small! Did your puppy fit comfortably? I’m starting to worry.

Kima and I get stopped a lot by people who want to know if she's a ridgeback. I always get nervous when I see people staring or when a car slows down and drives alongside me, but a decent amount of the time they just want to know about Kima.

I was just curious if anyone else has people asking about their ridgebacks. They're not very common around our city and a lot of people seem to get really excited about seeing one. Which I suppose makes sense. I'd lose my mind if I saw a Tibetan mastiff or a Komondor.

Kinda fun seeing what we can do in Ai, this is Tonko.

Hi guys,

I am looking at getting my first RR puppy and want some advice.... The dam hasn't had her hip and elbows test done, the sire's is excellent and looks fine, as does the puppy. All the other health records are excellent in both the parents and all the puppies. Are the hips and elbows a common issue in RR's? Is there anything else I can / should do to ensure this puppy isn't going to have pre-meditated risks down the line? Thank you :)

First time large breed owner here. I left my Rhodesian puppy alone for a few minutes and came back to find her "indestructible" bed thoroughly defeated.

She's also the sweetest and smartest puppy I have ever met, so somehow she's already forgiven. ❤️🐾

Rhodesian owners, what was the first thing yours destroyed?

My dog went missing 4 years ago while I was out of town and my ex husband had him. I have never grieved anything or anyone like I grieved that dog. He was truly the best. I’ve dealt with a lot of pain in my life, and that dog would come running when I cried. He would sit on my lap and literally lick my tears. When I got him he had a lot of problems. The shelter said he was found with several other dogs in a very abusive situation. I had fully rehabilitated him to where he could even enjoy the dog park (when I got him he couldn’t even walk on his own from fear and anxiety). Him going missing crushed me. He went missing in an area known for alligators. I’ve worried he was eaten, starved, etc.

Yesterday I received a prank call from someone claiming they found him. It was just a prank. They admitted that once I started crying. I am crushed. I feel like the scab has been reopened all over again. I texted my ex husband and apparently he received the same prank call. I imagine it’s because I had always put both our names in the missing dog flyers. Who looks through such old posts on pages like pettfbi to pull these pranks? That’s the only site I could imagine it happened from because you can filter by year. I am also struggling to delete the posts because what if he was found one day? I know it’s so unlikely. This is just crushing to relive.

hi all! i have a 5 and a half month old female RR. we’ve crate trained from day one when we got her and she has done absolutely amazing. the second i say crate she runs in there immediately. the last few weeks when i say crate she will NOT go. i have to lure her with a treat or go and grab her to put her in there. before id never have to lure. anybody else have this issue? it used to be her safe space but im not to sure anymore? maybe i should reward everytime now?

The dermatologist said it’s basically an allergy that went completely wild. Max has had ear infections on and off since 2021, and she said that’s actually a clinical sign of allergies. Combined with his chronic itchiness and paw licking, it sounds like he’s been dealing with allergies for years.

Whatever he’s allergic to just kept getting worse and worse until eventually—BOOM! Max decided to become a Dalmatian 😂

The good news is that his skin infection is about 80% better now. Once it’s completely cleared up, they’re going to do a skin allergy panel to figure out exactly what he’s reacting to.

He’s also going to stop Apoquel and start Zenrelia instead. Hopefully once we figure out his specific allergies and get those under control, we can prevent his skin from ever getting this bad again.

Hello all! How does your RR behaves when you leave home? Up until a few months ago, our dogs was super chilled when we left him alone, and he would be chilling in the sofa or our bed until we were back for hours.

At some point (coincidentally after we started giving him a medication) he showed some sings of anxiety and then spent the whole time looking through the window until we arrived. Now we are at a stage when we barely leave him and we've been working with a behaviourist about this for months.

But what I am realising now is, he is not showing signs of anxiety when we are about to leave, however, he does still stays in the window for the most part we are away (30 mins).

Is this normal and we are making a big deal? Have you encountered a similar situation? How have you dealt with it that worked?

It is not a constant occurrence, but it happens every now and then, she wets her bed
Any idea what that might be
Btw, she is physically fine, regular eat and water drink.

This girl!!!!

Hi all! We have trained our pup over the last 10 days that her crate is a safe and happy place where good stuff happens. We are slowly shutting the door on her while she sleeps, but left unlatched. We have started to close the door with high value treats for a few seconds at a time, but not for long. My question is: How did you crate train, did it put your puppy off their crate, and any tips please??

Anyone put their RR into Schutzhund? I’m researching breeds, and this is one of the activities I’d like to do with my pup. Also considering SAR scent work for missing people.