Rhodesian Ridgeback

Rhodesian Ridgebacks can do well with children who already know how to be calm and gentle. Expect a big dog that is high-energy, sheds a normal amount and needs very little grooming. Fine alone for a few hours.

Source: American Kennel Club breed standard.

Southern African settlers crossed European breeds with the ridged hunting dogs of the Khoikhoi people, producing a dog that could track big game over hard country, handle heat and thorn, and hold a lion at bay until hunters arrived — hence the old name "African Lion Hound". The ridge of backward-growing hair along the spine is the breed's signature and its identifying mark. Temperament-wise a Ridgeback is quiet, dignified and much less demonstrative than a retriever; they are affectionate with family and reserved with strangers, and they are strong-willed enough that training needs consistency rather than repetition. The short coat is almost no work. The independence is the part first-time owners find hardest.

Day to day. High-energy — this is a dog that needs a real outlet every single day, not a stroll. Skip that and you get chewing, barking and digging, which is not naughtiness, it is boredom. On noise, it is quiet.

The coat, honestly. This breed sheds a normal amount and needs very little grooming. A brush a few times a week and the occasional tidy-up keeps it in good order.

Being left alone. Fine alone for a few hours. A few hours is fine; a full working day, every day, is asking a lot.

Training. Needs an experienced handler. That does not mean badly behaved — it means this breed thinks for itself, and it will not do something just because you asked. First-time owners often find it frustrating.

• Someone in the house genuinely wants to run, hike or train most days
• You want a dog whose coat looks after itself
• You have room for a big dog and a car it actually fits in

• Your daily walk is really a quick trip round the block
• You want a dog that does as it is told the first time
• You are in a flat, or nobody can physically hold this dog on a lead

Rough running cost: $$ (middle of the pack) — because it is a big dog, so food, medicines and anaesthetics all cost more.

Those are relative bands, not live prices. For real numbers across every pet we cover, see the pet cost study and the cost calculator.

Rescues do have Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Rhodesian Ridgeback crosses, usually adults whose size, coat and temperament you can see rather than guess at.