lefty's random dog thread.

Originally Posted by Rambo

Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendations and info Lefty. I appreciate it. I was going to ask about the Ridgies next but I see that's covered above. Got a few more for you while we're on a roll:

How big is that Thai RB?
And what's an RB?
What's a gundog?

That Ibizan is a weird looking dog.

I don't know about the Thai ones, but RB= Ridgeback. A gun dog is a hunting dog.

Lefty: do you any experiences or know anything of the Phu Quoc dog? While looking in to the Thai Ridgebacks I found some info on them, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot out there.

Pariah dog similar to the TR? No experience. I did track some Telomians down in Malaysia once.

I like pariah dogs as they always seem very sensible in the head. Are there breeders in the US?

lefty

Nice looking dog, never heard of them before.

Originally Posted by HgaleK

Click to expand...

Lefty: do you any experiences or know anything of the Phu Quoc dog? While looking in to the Thai Ridgebacks I found some info on them, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot out there.

I'm taking thats a vietnamese dog. I rarely saw dogs when I was in Saigon for month.

Originally Posted by lefty

Click to expand...

Pariah dog similar to the TR? No experience. I did track some Telomians down in Malaysia once.

I like pariah dogs as they always seem very sensible in the head. Are there breeders in the US?

lefty

That's the dog. I don't believe that there are any breeders here. I was actually going to ask you if you knew of anyone.

^ Cool breed. Hungarian. I believe there were but a handful left after the war, but that could be romance.

There is also a longhaired type as well as a wirehaired version - the latter being the result of a series of crosses with WH German Pointers).

lefty

Speaking of RB, I saw an interesting variant a little while back at my kids little league game. Her owner said she was a South African Ridgeback and she was in fact ridgeless. Did not look quite like a Boerboel but was thicker and more heavily built than any RB I'd seen and had a deeper red coat. She was an amazing looking dog very strong and athletic looking. I wish I'd gotten a picture, I think her owners has a kid in little league so I might run into him again, if I do I'lll try.

Google does not bring any results for south african ridgless ridgeback, any knowledge of this breed?

You sure it wasn't just a Rhodesian that was born w/o a ridge? Zimbabwe, while not South Africa, is of course in the southern part of Africa. I think I've seen the breed referred to as a South Africa Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Ridgeless backs happen often.

Geneticists studying the ridge have concluded that it is a simple autosomal dominant trait - that is, only one parent needs to have a ridge in order for it to be passed down to offspring.

Ridgeless Rhodesian Ridgebacks don't carry the ridge gene at all, and cannot produce ridged offspring any more than a Chesapeake Bay retriever or Chihuahua can. Ridgeback breeders who are interested in ridge inheritance often forget that not having a ridge is the normative state in dogs. The ridge gene is a dominant mutation that makes our ridged dogs different.

If a Ridgeback has a ridge, he is either carrying two copies of the ridge gene (homozygous), or just one copy (heterozygous). Either way, the dog will have a ridge -- you can't tell if he has one or two copies from just looking at him. You might be able to figure out his genotype (that is, whether he is heterozygous or homozygous) retrospectively based on breeding history.

It is the breeding of heterozygous Ridgebacks that produces ridgelessness.

When two heterozygous dogs are bred together, each puppy has a 25 percent chance of being ridgeless; a 50 percent chance of being ridged and heterozygous (only having one copy of the ridge gene) and a 25 percent chance of being ridged and homozygous (having two copies of the ridge gene, and so never producing ridgeless no matter who they are bred to).

Homozygous dogs -- those with two copies of the gene -- will never produce ridgeless. That's because, when it comes time for homozgyous Ridgebacks to donate one of their two genes to offspring, all they have to pass on is a ridge gene. And because the ridge gene is dominant, no matter what the other parent contributes, the offspring will have a ridge.

When a homozygous Ridgeback is bred to a heterozygous Ridgeback, all the puppies will have ridges, but genetically they can be different. Each puppy has a 50 percent chance of being homozygous (having two copies of the gene, and never producing ridgeless) and a 50 percent chance of being heterozygous (having only one copy of the gene, and so potentially producing ridgeless if bred to another heterozygote).

Unfortunately, without a genetic marker test, we cannot tell the last two apart just by looking at their outward appearance (what scientists fancily call phenotype).

lefty

Interesting, still, the dog did not look typically RB but was much thicker and well built. The more I think about it the more I think it may have in fact been a Boerboel that tended toward a leaner face.
What ever the case she was beautiful and looked like she could actually hunt a big cat if she had to. looked a bit like this but a deeper red.
http://www.saboerboel.com/images/mongo03.jpg

Even given some variance in size and type it would be hard to mistake them. The head and neck would be the most telling feature.

RB


BB



lefty

Originally Posted by lefty

Click to expand...

Even given some variance in size and type it would be hard to mistake them. The head and neck would be the most telling feature.

RB

lefty

I was actually just about to post that picture. The first RB that we had (that I was around for) was 120lbs and very lean. We got him from a very reputable breeder, so we're sure that he was pure, but he was massive, and looked almost like a bb/rb hybrid.

As it stands I'd love to find a breeder who has larger than standard ridgies. Something like this guy:

Some big Ridgeback males are so massive and blocky headed that I think they might be Tosas until I see the ridge.

One time I was hanging around just outside the Beverly Hills Kennel Club dog show (which was being held at Cal State Long Beach) with my red male Tosa Dempsey (29 1/2", about 128 pounds), and a Ridgeback exhibitor actually thought Dempsey was a Ridgeback, in spite of the fact he had too much dewlap and flew to pass a good Ridgeback.

Originally Posted by lefty

Click to expand...

Boxer (look for a healthy line)

Good Luck!

Am Bulldog (there are many out there and it's easy to find a decent one)

Click to expand...

I wonder. One of my most dogwise pals had three (from good, "working"-type lines--no big slobbery Johnson stuff) and got rid of all of them. "Shells of pit bulls," he called them. Another acquaintance of mine has had several, however, and thinks very highly of them. At the moment he has two AB males and a Tosa *****. However, the Tosa very emphatically rules! The first-mentioned guy said to me, when I was considering getting an AB after Dempsey died, that I would probably have all the physical problems of the Tosa combined with the social/legal stigma of the APBT combined!

Bullmastiff (look for a working line)

Click to expand...

I suspect a "working-line" Bullmastiff would be hard to find. Most show-type Bullmastiffs strike me as lazy, slovenly dogs. Tough, athletic Bullmastiffs combine usually combine quite a lot of human aggression with a lot of dog aggression without the gameness or ability of a true fighting dog.

Dogo (if you want something exotic)

Click to expand...

I gather from lefty and others that there are some really fine working Dogos in Argentina. Deafness and dysplasia are major problems in American lines. Quite commonly human-aggressive.

Aus Cattle Dog (will keep you on your toes)

Click to expand...

Inclined to be nippy, but tough, hardy dogs.

Vizsla (cool dog)

Click to expand...

Sweet, but VERY hyper. Might be a questionable choice for condo living unless you are willing to give it a helluva lot of exercise.

Ibizan (great jumper)

Click to expand...

No experience

Dobermann (I can point you in the right direction)

Click to expand...

Some nice, sweet ones out there.

Dogue de Bordeaux (hard to find a good one but chick magnet)

Click to expand...

I somehow have the sense finding a "good one" is like winning the lottery! I did see a positively magnificent one in Long Beach not long ago. Unfortunately I was in my car and didn't get a chance to talk to the owner. If the dog had a good, steady temperament, it sure looked like a dog I'd like to own.

Any hit a nerve?

lefty

Click to expand...

Since you're high on the "molosser" breeds on this list, any good words for the Boerboel or Tosa? When it comes to Tosas, there are few people breeding them these days and fewer yet I'd want to deal with.