Hello all,
A more friendly, personal introduction:
I'm Lachlan and I'm in the awkward position of being a mostly bedridden RR owner, being cared for by my husband who has no prior dog experience of any kind. As you can imagine, there are problems with that, which I'd like to go into in the main body of the forum, but I thought I'd introduce my dog Kim first here.
He arrived on our doorstep (literally) nearly 5 months ago as a 4 1/2 month old pup. We had no idea of his breed (he's ridgeless) or indeed that he was even just a pup at first (he was already nearly the size of a spaniel and so starved that he lacked the giveaway puppy tummy and the puppy playfulness; all he wanted to do was eat and sleep initially).
He had been neglected and abused and was covered in fleas and scared of men. I spent the whole day on the verandah with him. just cuddling him and letting him sleep off the food we were giving him (gradually; he would have eaten ad finitum if we'd let him) to fill that slim, empty belly.
I come from a family who adopted every stray cat or dog that came our way, and I couldn't imagine not keeping him, especially given the state of him. In three months he had doubled in size and looked very handsome and athletic indeed. During that time we had found out some of his history. He had arrived wearing a choker chain with a shred of chewed bailing twine tied to it. We discovered that he had been tied up like that on this short bit of string, with no kennel or shelter other than under the house, all his life, not even taken for walks or allowed to run around the yard (no fence). Our house was the first house he'd ever been inside. Kim had a sister from the same litter who didn't escape, and when the neglectful owner left the area recently, he also left her, just tied up to the side of the house to starve. He lacked even the basic decency to set her loose to find another home. Fortunately she was seen and rescued by a good man who is caring for her. My blood boils to think of that abusive owner.
Needless to say, Kim was very timid and, being scared of men, took to me rather than my 'kids and animals magnet' husband and adopted me as his mum. (I know because he always ran to me for comfort and reassurance, and even tried to lick and suck my nipples for the first few weeks.) Accurately-prescribed homoeopathy quickly sorted out almost all the fear and clinginess (the remedy 'aconite', is a specific for terror and fear and should according to our dog-owning homoeopath (who also prescribes for animals) be given to all abused animals and people – it worked miracles on Kim – and the remedy 'pulsatilla' worked for the clinginess, for any of you who have traumatised, timid rescuees and would like to try this approach. The younger the animal and sooner after the trauma the better it will work, but it's worth trying at any age. It will either work or do no harm, so is safe to try and should be accessible in health food shops; it is over here anyway). But he still has a few idiosyncrasies from that traumatic start in life.
We found out that he'd escaped from a house around the corner by chewing through the bailing twine tying him to the house during the night. When we finally encountered the previous, abusive owner, we made arrangements to become the legal owners and also got an expurgated version of Kim's history. According to this not very reliable source, Kim (as I had named him, after the Rudyard Kipling character who rose from the gutter in India to become a brilliant, strong, successful secret agent) was the offspring of a ridgeless RR mother and a Bull Arab father (
http://www.bullarab.com.au/index.php?page=arab-gallery).
I got chatting via e-mail with Sue Craigie of Imbali RR Kennels, UK, while attempting to purchase her book in PDF form. I sent her some photos of him and also described his behaviour idiosyncrasies and character traits, as he was like no dog I'd ever met before; more like a cat in many ways. Armed with my input, she gave it as her opinion that he might be a purebred ridgeless RR but sold as a first cross to a new 'designer breed' because new breeds such as the Bull Arab can be trendy and there's a 'bandwagon effect', but she also said that he looked 'a bit chunky' for a pure RR.
The idea of him being pure RR had never occurred to me, and was obviously appealing, though I wasn't confident, as he is on the stocky side for a RR, and there is a small but strong cult following for Bull Arabs and Bull Arab crosses amongst wild pig (boar) hunters and people who want to look tough 'Aussie style' by owning an Aussie-bred hunting breed (Bull Arabs were bred in the seventies to be the perfect 'pig dog', and as they grasp and worry the pig rather than just bailing as a Ridgeback was bred to do with lions, they are of necessity a heavier breed, somewhere between a RR and a Rottweiler in size and build).
Three months after his arrival, Kim had doubled in weight and size and at seven months he's a very handsome, impressive dog indeed, always getting compliments on his looks from other dog owners. He is certainly on the 'chunky' side though much closer to RR than Rottweiler. Anyone who would like to see him on YouTube and make a guess as to whether he is a purebred or a cross can see him in action (links in reverse chronological order) at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6hohmq4MhIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwbDF70PsbQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuGAnBc-duo&NR=1You can also search YouTube while you're there to see Bull Arabs in action, if you're curious. They were supposed to have originally been a Greyhound/Bull Terrier/German Pointer with other things added I think, but understandably the breeder's not telling.
My guess is he's probably a cross but takes almost entirely after his mother. (And as the same thing applies to me, I can't fault my own reasoning ;-)
His list of behavioural and character idiosyncrasies is too long to bore you with, though I couldn't resist posting part of it below). It has inclined me, and more importantly Sue Craigie, to the belief that he is pretty much 100% RR between the floppy ears, regardless of whom his father was :-).
Kim's character:
Hardly ever barks, but makes strange, eerie whiny/yawny sounds instead.
Uses front paws like hands, to grasp encircle things the way a cat would
Leaps vertically from standing start, and generally during his play does much more jumping than other dogs
Has a bouncy way of moving and playing. Sometimes it feels almost like taking a Kangaroo for a walk.
Leaps in the air and 'pounces' on sticks or other thrown or chased 'quarry', as a cat would, rather than just chasing and grabbing.
Doesn't really see the point of fetching sticks, although he'll do it if he feels like running and pouncing on something, but he'll often not bring it back to us, and if he does he won't let go of it; usually wants to play tug o' war with it.
Very independent-minded and 'deaf' to verbal instructions when focussed on things. Very stubborn indeed. Can be aloof with strangers on the beach, and even with us, seeming sometimes not to recognise us, though not very often.
Moves his body in a rather sensual, undoglike way, esp. when at rest.
Plays very, very rough, esp. as a now 9 month old 'teenager'
Wrinkles his brows very often, trying to work out situations, problems; very thoughtful, quiet and serious (when not being a big, manic puppy).
Very bright and quick to learn.
Tends to sit, crouched like a lion, and stare at things and people, just watching rather than going up and investigating, making friends or barking. In five months I've only heard him bark a handful of times.
[Not sure if this last one is an RR quality, but it seems to me as if it ought to be if it isn't] Has considerable inbuilt respect for cats; fascinated and attracted and wants to play with them rather than chase them, but respectful and unassertive; is obsessed by our 'time-share' cat from next door and follows her everywhere: maybe a connection with the attitude evolved to seek out lions and 'play' with them to tire them out, but not take lethal liberties with them? Certainly I have never seen any other breed of dog behave this way around cats, especially without any prior exposure and socialising.
Well, I think I've well and truly introduced Kim the forum now. Honestly, I only intended to write a few paragraphs … please forgive the rambling.
Lachlan
