Rhodesian ridgeback as a bird dog

TheClash · Post by **TheClash** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:05 pm

hey guys, brand new here...and i am loving all the posts. just a quick question....i have an 11 month old rhodesian ridgeback that is a pleasure to own and he is smart as a whip. i took him birding a bunch of times this last season....and he did ok.....he bumped a lot of birds and would retrieve with a soft mouth for me.....my question is...is there anyone out there activly hunting upland birds with a RR...if so...how is it going. can they be taugh to point?.....thanks guys and gals...

natetnc · Post by **natetnc** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:23 pm

i used to clean pools as a youngster, i don't know about pointing but definitely a guard dog. that sob ran me up onto the outdoor table, i felt like such a wussy

don't know their background but i suspect you have a project on your hands. good luck

TheClash · Post by **TheClash** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:26 pm

well if you tried to break into my house you might get licked to death...or knocked over by a wagging tail...however....heaven help the person the tries to hurt one of my nieces or nephews....

TheClash · Post by **TheClash** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:29 pm

here are a couple of pics of my boy....

natetnc · Post by **natetnc** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:41 pm

they definitely have a bird dog look but like i said, don't know their background. seems like you could teach them though, might be tough but it would be unique to say the least.

WildRose · Post by **WildRose** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:05 pm

Any dog will hunt given an opportunity, and if your dog is smart you can probably train it as a flushing retriever but I wouldn't hold my breath trying to get him to point HA!

He's your dog, enjoy him and have fun.CR

MOOSE · Post by **MOOSE** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:07 pm

I have always liked the looks of the ridgebacks. They remind me of a bird dog type too. Let us know how it goes. He is beautiful.

bobman · Post by **bobman** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:18 pm

WildRose wrote:Any dog will hunt given an opportunity, and if your dog is smart you can probably train it as a flushing retriever but I wouldn't hold my breath trying to get him to point HA!

He's your dog, enjoy him and have fun.CR

Thats my experience also, and if labs can point he might be able to also

.

I had a lab german shepard cross that pointed pheasants about 75 percent of the time when I was a kid, he was a deadly pheasant dog.

TheClash · Post by **TheClash** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:46 pm

their background is as a sight hound. they were bred to hunt lions as well as larger game like antelope and boar. if he sees it he can catch it.

we were at my folks house a few weeks ago and he caught sight of a jack rabbit and ran it down in about 20 seconds.....knocked it over with his paw and then wiggled his butt and tried to get the rabbit to play...haha...the bunny just took off like greased lightning.

hopefully next season he will be a little more calm and start to really work with me.

ohiogsp · Post by **ohiogsp** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:43 pm

bobman wrote: Thats my experience also, and if labs can point he might be able to also .

I have heard if you take a solid liver GSP and breed it to a chocolate lab you can get some real nice pointing chocolate labs.

I trained a pointing lab before, it pointed birds but "not much stlye". I think that one was a pure bred lab cause it was black (wait a minute "black GSP" hmmm).

Disclaimer : lab people, if this offended you "demons took over my body and made me say it". Really though just kidding.

ohiohuntinweim · Post by **ohiohuntinweim** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:50 pm

RR's were bred to find game, even though they were intended as sight hounds, they have hunt in them.

Might make a nice flushing/retrieving dog, most likely not going to be real successful as a pointer (bred to chase). But beauty and usefulness is in the eye of the beholder. ITs going to take time, patience and birds, lots of birds.

Heck that will be one unique bird dog

. Whatever you try to get him doing just make sure he enjoys it and you to!

TheClash · Post by **TheClash** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 11:47 pm

good words ohio.....i already knows he loves the hunt....his but just about wags right off when he sees me grab the scatter gun. i just let him be with me and do whatever came natural for him on his first season. next year we will work on actually working together.

i must say....he was 7 months i think when i took him out first. no hesitation on gun shots...and when i dropped two huns...one i only winged. he dispatched that one quickly...brought it to me...and then took off and retrieved the second. i was pretty shocked and proud of him.

ohiogsp · Post by **ohiogsp** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:38 pm

Most the labs around here do about the same thing your dog does so why not hunt him. I think you could get him to point "I believe any dog will point or just stand there with enough training" but don't know if you would need to put the work in for that if he is in gun range then why worry about it? I am sure he will make a fine hunting dog.

Terry · Post by **Terry** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:30 pm

I'm sure he will hunt, especially as a flushing dog. I actually saw a guy with a great dane out two seasons ago......I would much rather try my luck with a ridgeback than a dane...

TheClash · Post by **TheClash** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:33 pm

i guess my question was a bit unclear..i know he will hunt..as i have been out with him and i know he can do it...i was just wondering if there were any ridgeback owners around...and their experiences....

gar-dog · Post by **gar-dog** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:40 pm

Great pics. Tell me about your camera and lens if you don't mind...

TheClash · Post by **TheClash** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:23 pm

thanks gar-dog. those were all taken with a fuji S20 pro with the standard fijunon lens.....i am a huge fuji fan...they,imho, often get over looked...but their color saturation is amazing..easy to use..and the price is usually right.

TheShadow · Post by **TheShadow** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:52 am

my friend got bit by a rodesian so he is kinda afraid of them today

but i always liked them. There was a european garage near where I worked where the owner used a Giant Schnauzer. One day passing by I had to ask him if it was his pet or a workin dog. He said both but since he's been ripped off so many times at night he adopted this K9 reject dog and got with a good K9 trainer to polish up his skills. I would not want to mess with a Giant Schnauzer. Its a cool looking dog but I have no idea of their tempermant. They do not seem like pet dogs at all.

TheClash · Post by **TheClash** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:16 pm

my RR would only bite you if you were trying to hurt on of the little kids or my wife......other than that he will lick ya till you melt away. i swear he think people are big tootsie pops!!!

SeventhSon · Post by **SeventhSon** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 7:50 am

TheShadow wrote:There was a european garage near where I worked where the owner used a Giant Schnauzer. One day passing by I had to ask him if it was his pet or a workin dog. He said both but since he's been ripped off so many times at night he adopted this K9 reject dog and got with a good K9 trainer to polish up his skills. I would not want to mess with a Giant Schnauzer. Its a cool looking dog but I have no idea of their tempermant. They do not seem like pet dogs at all.

That's exactly how I feel about them. Heck even the little ones are chippy.

tmoneysju · Post by **tmoneysju** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 9:16 am

sure is a nice looking dog, definitely post back with your results in training him. I'm interested to see how that turns out.

TheClash · Post by **TheClash** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 11:10 pm

thanks, i can't wait till next season to get him back out in the field.....

Trigger · Post by **Trigger** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:50 pm

I have a RR mixed with a Catahoula leopard. He is an outstanding hog dog and is not affraid of anyone or anything. I am always receiving gifts from him and his momma at the door step (possums, squirles, and the occasional cat). Now these animals are not mauled or anything...it is almost like they where playing to rough. He also happens to be very protective of our family. Good luck with your training and if yours is anything like mine he is one heck of a quick learner, but my catahoulas are as well.

TheClash · Post by **TheClash** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:30 pm

he is very quick to learn..and also quick to learn how to not do what i ask him...haha.....he has a "soft" mouth as well. he has retrieved two huns for me..and both were unharmed...by him that is....

lblackstone · Post by **lblackstone** » Wed Feb 20, 2008 3:33 pm

hey there

I too have a RR and am considering having him trained as a bird dog this summer. I do in fact know they can and are trained as upland bird dogs (although it is hard to find much about it on the internet) from a trainer I met in Maine who has trained them successfully on ruffled grouse. RRs are known as one of the most versatile hunting breeds on the face of the earth and are in fact both a sight and scent hound. They are actually even relatively easy to teach to point. If you'd like to see a RR holding a rather stylish point there is a video of one pointing a cat of all things on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2FmpMGXARc). If you click on the guy's username that posted that video he has other videos of the same dog bumping pheasants. My RR is only 7 months and every once in a while he'll go on point for a squirrel or song bird in the park without me ever training him to do so.

The trainer I talked to said the hardest thing about training a ridgeback is getting them to hold a point on Ruffled Grouse which tend to run when nervous. As I'm sure you know RR have a very active chasing instinct which can be hard to break. But to answer your original question yes they can are are (although not often) trained as Upland Bird Dogs.