“Strawman” – A person used as a cover for some questionable activity…

The term “Rhodesian Ridgeback Breeder” can be used a bit loosely at times in order to describe anyone that mates a pair of dogs, and then has a litter of puppies – usually multiple times in a dogs life. This is a very basic  definition, and technically speaking it is useful to start here. But is it fair to lump everyone that is involved in this activity as a Rhodesian Ridgeback Breeder just because they have litters of puppies?

Although an extreme example, most people would likely agree that a puppy mill cannot really be classified together with someone that carefully selects dogs based on rigid breeding requirements based on factors such as health, type and temperament. None the less, from a technical standpoint – a puppy miller is considered a breeder, whether we like it or not.

As mentioned earlier, comparing the two examples is a bit extreme, however there are, in fact, varying degrees of breeding practices – and oftentimes it can be very difficult to know for sure what kind of breeder one is dealing with.  For one thing, there are a variety of registries that have come about that attempt to mimic the reputation of the American Kennel Club (AKC). These “knock off” clubs really do not meet the standard that the AKC registered dogs do.

The reason the prospective buyer should know about this state of affairs is that many unscrupulous breeders present their dogs as “registered”, or they often use the term “papered”, when they are not registered, or papered, nor can they be registered with the AKC.

Although this is important, and you definitely want your Ridgeback Registered through The AKC, this is only an initial testing question.

Lets look a little further at this important point.

Many people think that the various associations that form breeds are under the auspices of the AKC. This is not true. The associations are the ones that set the standard. Once the association members go through the arduous process of selecting a standard for the breed they then make the AKC their representative registry.  The refgistry performs certain functions such as record keeping – things like pedigrees, dna testing and litter registration. No other kennel club has this delegated authority given by the various associations of breeds, such as the Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Yes, this is a very important consideration.  It isnt the AKC that determines whether or not the dog meets an acceptable standard, but rather it is the breed club that delegated authority to the AKC to keep records. Therefore, there remains further due diligence on the part of a prospective puppy buyer to go a few steps further than merely asking whether or not a dog is AKC registered. There are many AKC registered dogs that are very poorly bred.

Reputable Rhodesian Ridgeback breeders have a fairly small pool of good, healthy dogs of the right temperament and type to work with. In a way, this can be a good thing. Why? Because reputable breeders only allow dogs with a minimum set of quality standards to be bred.  However, there are people that have tried to circumvent this methodology and have attempted to breed dogs that do not meet the rigid standards set by reputable Rhodesian Ridgeback breeders. There are a great many breeders today that have attempted to gain entrance into the breed for the sole purpose of breeding and selling Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies, but their efforts were curtailed by various breed clubs and savvy people who are trying to protect the breed from such people.

So, the only thing such people could do was go to other less savory types of breeders – or worse yet – they go out of the country and locate people that are involved at a similar level as they themselves are. This means that dogs are obtained from out of the country that have no historical record of their lineage, health or temperament. Often these shysters are very clever and make claims such as “We went out of the country to find dogs that were more like what they were bred for”.  Or “we didn’t want show dogs, but family companions”.

You should question the wisdom of a “breeder” that makes such claims. For example, where did they get the experience to make such statements? Are they experienced in raising conformation champions? Have they bred quality dogs in the US thereby having sufficient research data to be able to make these kinds of statements? Have they bred enough dogs to know more than other renowned breeders?

Think about it. Wouldn’t Breeders here in the competitive minded United States already have made such a move if it were valid?

The fact is – other countries know without a doubt that the United States breeds the best Rhodesian Ridgebacks in the world. This is easy to see, as the top breeders world wide get many of their dogs from here!

So, the moral of the story is this. Be educated before you start looking for a Rhodesian Ridgeback for your family. There are a lot of people out there that make claims that sound really appealing, but in fact it is nothing but smoke and mirrors.  Beware of strawmen.