Rhodesian Ridgeback (Comprehensive Owners Guide)

By Ann Chamberlain

Named for the peculiar ridge on his back, the Rhodesian Ridgeback is a handsome and strong working dog originating from southern Africa, where he was used for big-game hunting. His clean musculature, symmetrical outline and distinctive sighthound body endow the Ridgeback with impressive speed, power and endurance. This is a dog graced with intelligence, patience and a keen sense of humor, making him a delightful companion, brilliantly adapting to life as a pet and weekend sports dog. Written by long-time Rhodesian Ridgeback breeder, judge and devoted fancier Ann Chamberlain, this Comprehensive Owner's Guide provides an accurate, insightful and entertaining retelling of the breed's history in Africa, Europe and the United States. The author's discussion of the breed standard and the breed's characteristics will prove useful to the novice and experienced owner alike. Comprehensive in its scope and up-to-date in its content, this book offers expert advice on the selection of a puppy, breed-specific health concerns, house-training and obedience training as well as everyday care maintenance, including feeding, grooming, exercise and safety considerations. A lavishly illustrated chapter on canine healthcare, written by Harvard professor and prolific author Dr. Lowell Ackerman, covers the selection of your veterinarian, parasite control, spaying/neutering and infectious diseases. Whether you are a newcomer to the Rhodesian or a committed fancier showing and/or racing your dogs every weekend, this new breed guide promises to be an indispensable addition to your library. Book jacket.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1593782284
• ISBN13: 9781593782283
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: Kennel Club Books
• Length: 155 Pages
• Weight: 1.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 14 years and up

Customer Reviews

Very informative

This is a very comprehensive book about rhodesian ridgebacks. This book is very hard to find (haven't seen one yet) in regular pet stores probably because it is not a popular breed; pet stores only stock items that are big sellers. I loved the history of the breed part of the book; I liked the stories it provided. While the book is specific to ridgebacks and has some specific insights into the breed, the health, caring, and training sections are pretty general to any dog breed. If you are looking at this book compared to other rhodesian ridgeback specific books, this one is the most comprehensive. The other two books I bought about rhodesian ridgebacks are half the size.

preaching to the choir

'Funny thing about Rhodesian Ridgeback books. It's hard to tell the reader something he doesn't already know. That's because this beguiling breed elicits such passion and understanding from its owners that most of us end up so attached to our dogs that we know their behaviors and temperament inside and out. As a result, we read *about* the breed while nodding our heads and commenting 'Yup ....', 'Uh-huh ...' and the like. Still, author Ann Chamberlain does the telling about as well as anyone could. She obviously knows and loves Ridgebacks. The photos alone--this is, after all, an eminently photogenic dog--are worth almost the price of the book. Rhodesian Ridgebacks are just strong-willed enough that most prospective buyers should be told just one thing: 'Choose an easier breed.' The rest of us get to read Chamberlain's RHODESIAN RIDGEBACK, nodding our heads in unison as we go.

An excellent book on Rhodesian Ridgebacks

If you are looking to get a RR, I highly recommend this book! It gives you all you need to know about the breed and it also includes some training and health issues in regards to the breed. A friend of mine gave me a book on puppy training and I read it for a week prior to getting our RR puppy. It was a good book, but I felt that it lacked the 'character' training needed for this particular breed. So I ordered this book along with another book (Rhodesian Ridgebacks (Complete Pet Owner's Manual)) and read both. I found this book to be great and it answered most of my questions in regards to the RR breed. It covered the history, how to choose the proper RR for you as a puppy, it talked about how to select a RR puppy and it included training as well as health issues. This book has plenty of pictures and side information which kept me entertained and interested. I leave my book on my coffee table and pick it up once in a while to go over some training tips and I still find it interesting. This book is well written. I highly recommend this book to anyone who owns and especially plan to get a Rhodesian Ridgeback!