AKC Hound Group · No. 41 in 2025
How to identify a Rhodesian Ridgeback
The Rhodesian Ridgeback is a wheaten hound from southern Africa, ranked No. 41 by the AKC in 2025. Its signature is the ridge: a strip of hair down the back that grows the opposite way, with two matching whorls near the shoulders. The coat is short and runs from light to red wheaten.
Field marks
These four marks are the ones the game gives you as clues. They paraphrase or briefly quote the AKC Rhodesian Ridgeback standard.
- A ridge on the back where the hair grows “in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat”
- The ridge starts behind the shoulders and holds “two identical crowns (whorls) directly opposite each other”
- “Light wheaten to red wheaten”
- Short, dense coat, “sleek and glossy”; black or liver nose to match; 24 to 27 inches
Tell them apart
Rhodesian Ridgeback or Vizsla?
Check the back and the color. A Rhodesian Ridgeback has a ridge of reversed hair down the spine, and it’s light to red wheaten with a black or liver nose. A Vizsla has no ridge, its coat is golden rust, and its nose always matches the coat.
Rhodesian Ridgeback
- A ridge on the back where the hair grows “in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat”
- The ridge starts behind the shoulders and holds “two identical crowns (whorls) directly opposite each other”
- “Light wheaten to red wheaten”
- Short, dense coat, “sleek and glossy”; black or liver nose to match; 24 to 27 inches
- “Golden rust in varying shades”; white only on the forechest and toes
- Nose, lips, eye rims, and eyes all blend with the coat, never a black nose
- “Short, smooth, dense and close-lying” coat
- Thin, silky, long ears with rounded tips; tail traditionally docked by a third, sometimes left natural
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