Malinios owners

[Renee750il]

"Ziggy and the Belgians." Sounds like a really cool band

Oh, and I want that last photo framed for my wall!

[corgipower]

Originally Posted by Aleron

More than two though and they start to want to play "get the bunny".

[puppydog]

I like Ridgebacks, I really do. Paul just feels they are a bit too big. And I am not sure I would like to deal with a hound to be honest. I prefer sharper dogs.
At the end of the day the choice is Pauls and it looks like we are leaning towards an Africanis.

[Romy]

Would a female ridgeback really be all that big though? I'd think they'd be safer around your paps than a mal would. We had one growing up who was the ultimate handy farm dog. He was a total marshmallow with the chickens and my aunt's chihuahuas. He hated when the roosters fought and would break up their tussles.

What are africanis like? I think you need to make a thread about them.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by Renee750il

"Ziggy and the Belgians." Sounds like a really cool band

Oh, and I want that last photo framed for my wall!

That does sound like a band name! That last photo is probably one of my all time favorites

Originally Posted by corgipower

"It's not funny" - Ziggy

[grayada1]

Originally Posted by Romy

Would a female ridgeback really be all that big though? I'd think they'd be safer around your paps than a mal would. We had one growing up who was the ultimate handy farm dog. He was a total marshmallow with the chickens and my aunt's chihuahuas. He hated when the roosters fought and would break up their tussles.

What are africanis like? I think you need to make a thread about them.

A ridgeback does not need to be that big. Henderson is 95 lbs but females can be from 60 to 75 lbs. They are lazy dogs. give them a chance to run a few times a week and daily walks and they will sleep the rest of the time.

Would henderson protect me? probably not. Does he scare people away? definately. His bark is about as intimidating as ive ever heard and he doesnt like strangers. He will bark whenever they move. I think a ridgeback is about the best deterent without having to worry about them doing any harm (this is based on the couple i know) if someone broke into my house with henderson there they would really be insane, he is not the type of dog that barks and then comes over to lick them, he will bark non stop and keep his distance.

With small dogs they can do great hendrson will play as hard as ive ever seen with large dogs, especially other ridgebacks, but with small dog he is incredibly gentle.



We also have two cats that he is gentle with.

let me know if you have any questions about ridgebacks

[stafinois]

Originally Posted by Aleron

There are a good number of not-so-great Mal breeders out there, so you need to be very careful. You don't need to go to a sports breeder to get a good Mal though. A breeder like this would probably suit your needs pretty well: Carousel Belgian Malinois (I don't personally know this breeder but she is an example of someone breeding for versatility more than high level protection sports dogs).

I know her, and have been impressed with all of the dogs that I've met of hers (owned and bred). If I were to get another Malinois, she would be on my short list.

If you are curious about Mals but don't have a lot of one on one experience with them, I'd high recommend getting involved with fostering/transporting for Mal rescue. Mal rescue is kept pretty busy and they even get puppies in fairly often, so you could help out while getting a feel for if this is the right breed for you. Rescue link: ABMC Belgian Malinois Rescue - Rescued Belgian Malinois

Pretty much everything has been said. My Mali (working bred dog) is 7 and still has no off switch in site. I do not trust him with small animals, or any other animals really without supervision.

[JessLough]

Originally Posted by Romy

Would a female ridgeback really be all that big though? I'd think they'd be safer around your paps than a mal would. We had one growing up who was the ultimate handy farm dog. He was a total marshmallow with the chickens and my aunt's chihuahuas. He hated when the roosters fought and would break up their tussles.

What are africanis like? I think you need to make a thread about them.

The president of the ferret rescue has a Rhodesian Ridgeback, and she is AMAZING with the ferrets. Like, ferrets are freeroam around the house and the RR just leaves them alone or looks at them or licks them.

[Danefied]

Originally Posted by puppydog

I like Ridgebacks, I really do. Paul just feels they are a bit too big. And I am not sure I would like to deal with a hound to be honest. I prefer sharper dogs.

The rhodesians I have known have all been *very* sharp - if you're meaning sharp as in "on" and smart. Ours growing up figured out how to open a gate that had two parts - he worked the top latch with his mouth and the middle one with his paws. He was something else

[monkeys23]

My friend has a midget RR male that is about 50lbs and his frame is smaller than my 50lb GSD/Sibe mix girl, so he's got much heavier bone than her. They have about the same energy/drive actually.

He can go all day, but he does have an off switch unlike Mali's.
I'm talking hardcore running + frisbee or whatnot. And you'd better keep him on leash because he is a hound...

Be prepared to have a lapdog. I had him laying along my torso with his head on my shoulder and his big bro under my legs while I was reading on the couch once. Its so totally irresistable.

They are stubborn as *explitive deleted*.

He does not like other dogs all that much, but can live with them. He got along really well surprisingly with her daughter's RR/Lab mix boy. He currently lives with a pug and tolerates that nasty little dog trying to hump him (the pug needs lose his nuggets very badly....).

They will protect without even being trained for it. I've put basic OB training on this boy, but he's had nothing else besides that. Last summer I had to exercise him at night to avoid loose dogs while I was babysitting the RR boys. Some creeper tried to sneak up on us while the dog and I were playing tetherball... um lets just say he did a perfect untrained bark and hold, then returned to me on command.

I would LOVE to do Schutzhund with a RR. But they are very much not for everyone in a lot of the same ways Malinois are.