Rhodesian Ridgeback Grooming

About the Rhodesian Ridgeback

The Rhodesian Ridgeback has a short, dense, sleek, glossy coat that lies flat against the body and needs about ten minutes a week. There is nothing to cut, nothing that mats, and no schedule to keep.

What the breed has instead of a grooming routine is the ridge: a strip of hair along the spine that grows in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat, forming a raised line from behind the shoulders to the hips. It is the breed's defining feature and the thing everybody notices.

It is also worth understanding rather than just admiring, because the same developmental quirk that produces the ridge is associated with a specific and serious condition, and a groomer running their hands along a dog's back is in a good position to notice it. That, plus the practical business of handling eighty pounds of independent hound, is what this page covers.

The coat, and the ten minutes

Short, dense, flat and glossy, with a light undercoat. It sheds moderately and steadily rather than in seasonal bursts, and the hairs are short and stiff enough to work into fabric, though less punishingly than a Dalmatian.

A rubber curry or hound glove once or twice a week, in circles then along the lie, lifts the dead hair and puts the shine on the coat that the breed is known for.

A bath every couple of months, or when the dog rolls in something, which a hound reliably will. Over bathing dries the skin.

Nails every three to four weeks, thick and fast growing on a dog this size.

Ears are drop and want a weekly lift and smell.

Teeth as with any breed.

That is the whole routine, and there is no professional appointment a Ridgeback strictly needs. Where a salon earns its money is nails on a strong dog and a deshedding bath, and neither is urgent.

Do not clip a Ridgeback. There is nothing to gain, and the coat provides real sun protection on a breed that likes to lie in it.

The ridge, and what it actually is

The ridge is a strip of hair running along the spine that grows forward, against the direction of the rest of the coat, meeting it in a visible line. At the front there are normally two symmetrical whorls, called crowns, sitting opposite each other just behind the shoulders.

It comes from a genetic duplication affecting skin and hair development, and it is dominant, which is why the ridge appears reliably in the breed.

Ridgeless puppies do occur, and they are perfectly healthy dogs. They are not shown, and historically some breeders culled them, which is a practice the breed has largely and rightly moved away from. A ridgeless Ridgeback is simply a Ridgeback without the marking, and it is arguably at lower risk of the condition below.

Ridges vary in width, length and in whether the crowns are symmetrical, and none of that affects the dog's health or comfort.

For grooming purposes the ridge needs nothing special. Curry along the body coat normally and simply follow the ridge hair in its own direction rather than fighting it.

What matters is what can sit underneath it.

Dermoid sinus, which a groomer can find

This is the reason the ridge belongs on a care page rather than only on a breed description.

A dermoid sinus is a tube of skin running inward from the surface, along the midline of the back or neck, sometimes ending blindly in the tissue and sometimes reaching all the way to the spinal cord. It forms when the skin fails to separate cleanly from the neural tube during development, and it is strongly associated with the same genetics that produce the ridge.

It is usually present from birth, and reputable breeders check every puppy carefully. But mild ones are missed, and a dog can reach adulthood undiagnosed.

What it feels like is a thin cord or tube under the skin along the midline, moving with the skin rather than fixed to the bone underneath. There is often a small opening at the surface, sometimes with a tuft of hair growing from it, and it may discharge.

It matters because it is a direct route for infection to travel inward, and one that reaches the spinal cord can cause meningitis, which is life threatening. The treatment is surgical removal.

Practically: run your hands along the midline of the neck and back when you groom, feeling for anything cord like, and look for a small hole or an odd hair tuft in the midline. Anything you find goes to a veterinarian rather than being cleaned or squeezed.

Tell your groomer to mention anything they feel along the spine. On a short coated dog it is genuinely findable.

Skin, sun and handling a large independent hound

The coat is short and the skin shows everything, which is useful. Check the elbows and hocks for pressure calluses, which any heavy dog develops on hard floors, and the answer is thick bedding rather than cream.

Sun matters on a breed developed in southern Africa but now living largely indoors. A thinly coated belly presented to the sky on a hot day will burn, and pale dogs burn on the nose and ear tips.

Then the handling, which is what actually shapes an appointment.

Ridgebacks were developed to track and hold large game and to be independent enough to make their own decisions at a distance from the hunter. What that produces is a dog that is calm, quiet, extremely strong, and entirely capable of deciding it is not going to do something. They are not typically difficult or reactive; they are immovable, and force does not work on eighty five pounds of hound that has made up its mind.

They are also naturally reserved with strangers and physically confident, which is worth saying honestly to a groomer rather than letting them find out.

The way through is the same as with any large independent breed. Handle the feet, ears and mouth daily from puppyhood as an unremarkable event, book short pointless visits early so the salon is familiar, and work with a groomer who is patient rather than firm.

And be careful about other dogs. Many Ridgebacks are perfectly sociable and many are not, particularly with dogs of the same sex, so a busy open salon floor is worth asking about.

What to tell your groomer

Ask them to tell you about anything they feel along the midline of the back or neck, and explain why. Most groomers have never heard of a dermoid sinus and will happily look once they have.

Ask for a deshedding bath rather than a plain wash, and for the nails.

Say honestly how the dog is with strangers and with other dogs, and ask whether it can be kept away from a busy floor.

Point out any calluses on the elbows or hocks so they are worked around.

Say the dog is strong and independent rather than difficult, because that is a different handling approach: patience works, pressure does not.

And mention when the dog last ate, since a deep chested breed carries a bloat risk.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Rhodesian Ridgeback