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temperament
What we have learned from our dogs is that every single ridgeback is different and has his individual needs.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback represents a strong, muscular and active dog and like any medium to large dog, Ridgebacks need exercise. A young Ridgeback is a very energetic fellow. But as Ridgebacks mature, most of them become much more laid back.
Ridgebacks are independant dogs, intelligent, strong willed - often called "stubborn". They need a lot of time to mature (almost 3 years) and training requires a lot of positive motivation.
Ridgebacks are not born as perfect family companions, they must be socialized early in life in order to develop a stable temperament. They will accept cats, dogs and other pets when exposed early. They are usually very good with children, but of course children must always be taught to treat all animals with kindness and compassion. If you allow the young Ridgeback to get a lot of different exposures and get to know many different situations you will have a balanced and reliable dog once he has grown up physically and mentally.
He will happily spend his day snoozing on the couch, but be assured that on the hunt he shows an excellent sight and scent, and although quite a huge dog he is very mobile and enormously fast. He has a high prey ride which is not always easy to control.
As a member of your family, he is affectionate, loyal and loving. He usually chooses one person to bond to, but he does share his love with the entire family. The Ridgeback does not like to be left alone and wants to be close to "his pack" day and night.
Depending on his skills and preferences your Ridgeback might like Agility, lure coursing, tracking, obedience e.g. Ridgebacks need plenty of exercise in order not to get bored.
Dea Decora's Argos (sire litter C, Sweden) training Agility