4. EXERCISE The Rigdeback was bred for mainly two purposes; hunting and guarding. They originate from Africa, and their hunting grounds were enormous lands, so they are used to moving over huge areas. This means they need a lot of exercise daily. No Ridgeback will ever be happy with a twenty minutes walk around couple of blocks – they need heavy, physical exercise to be healthy. 

 3. VARIOUS LIVING SITUATIONS Despite what one might think, the Ridgeback is quite happy to live anywhere with you. As long as they get their physical and mental exercise, they adapt well to apartment life if that’s how you live. So if you enjoy citylife, but still wants to bring your dog along on physically adventurous exercises, the Ridgeback could very well be the breed for you.  So don’t let your lifestyle be a hindrance from getting a Ridgeback, if that’s what your mind is set to. Just remember that if you live in the city, you need to focus extra hard on that physical exercise for your Ridgeback. 

 2. GUARDING DOG Guarding is in the Ridgeback’s genes. That’s one of the reasons they were bred in the first place. No matter if you live in the countryside or in the city; with a Ridgeback by your side, you’ll never feel unprotected. The good thing with these specific dogs is that while they bark to alert, they rarely bark just because they can and feel like it. This is extremely handy, especially if you live in an apartment with people on every side of you.  It’s also quite handy, especially as a woman, to have a dog with the independence and integrity of a dog like the Rhodesian Ridgeback. It is highly unlikely that anyone would approach you on a dark night. And if they did; well, that would be their regret, wouldn’t it.  

1. SOCIALLY RESTRICTIVE If you ever lived with a German shepherd or similar, you know what I’m talking about when I say they can be overly social with people they don’t know. People just have to look in their direction, and they go crazy with happiness over the attention. A Ridgeback won’t do that. They prefer to be social with their own people, and everyone outside their circle of comfort, is completely irrelevant to them. Trust me, that makes life so much easier, especially if you live in the city and have to pass lots of people every day. Your Ridgeback won’t fall out in the lead to greet everyone who passes by, and while it can be very pleasant with a dog who is overly social, it can be equally nice to have a dog who is not.