Everything about The Thai Ridgeback totally explained
The
Thai Ridgeback is an ancient
breed of
dog. The breed was formerly unknown outside of
Thailand, but is gaining notice in the western world. The
breed is still very rare outside of
Thailand . The Thai Ridgeback is one of only three breeds that has a ridge of hair that runs along its back in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat (The others are
Rhodesian Ridgeback and
Phu Quoc Ridgeback). They are also known as a Mah Thai Lang Ahn.
Description
Appearance
The Thai Ridgeback is a muscular, medium-sized
pariah-type dog with a wedge-shaped head, triangular-shaped prick ears, and a short, smooth coat. It has a pronounced ridge on its back from behind the withers to the hips. Thai Ridgebacks have muscular thighs and a streamlined body, making them extremely agile. The sickle tail is carried upward. Its forehead wrinkles with enormous expression. The tongue can be black or have black marks. Eyes are dark and almond-shaped. The ears are set low and point slightly outward, and have never been cropped. The back is straight and level. The coat is short, hard, and straight and must be solid colors of blue, black, red/fawn, or beige for show ring. However, brindle and white are also found. For international show and competition, shoulder height should be 22-24 inches (56-61 cm) in males and 20-22 inches (51-56 cm) in females. The weight should be 51-75 pounds in both genders.
Eight distinctive ridge patterns have been identified: needle, feather, arrow, lute, violin, bowling pin, leaf, and saddleback. All patterns are acceptable, but must be clearly defined and symmetrical. The broader the ridge, the higher the value.
(External Link
)
Temperament
Thai Ridgebacks are an intelligent breed. Due to isolation and lack of human contact, the Thai Ridgeback remains an independent and largely undomesticated breed. They are naturally protective of their home and family and can be aggressive with other dogs, as well as people. They are best kept by dominant owners who have a thorough understanding of dog behavior and aggression. Due to its largely undomesticated nature, the Thai Ridgeback isn't recommended for the novice dog handler. They have an excellent jumping ability.
Genetics
The ridgeback is under a control of two groups of epistatic genes. The first determines the existence of the ridge. The other determines the size of the ridge, from none to very large (down to the side). For the latter, the more the genes in the dog, the broader is the ridge. The ridge will appear only if there's at least one dominant allele in both groups.
Coat color is also under a control of two groups of epistatic genes. The first determines the color of the coat if it should be black, brindle, red/fawn or white. The series of dominance is black to brindle to red/flawn to white. The intensity of the coat color is under control; of a set of modifying genes. The other group control the dilution of the colors. Black can be dilute to gray/silver/blue, and Red/frawn will turn beige. The normal color is dominance over the diluted.
Health
Inbreeding depression hasn't observed in the breed due to its small domesticated population for several generations in the past. Thai Ridgeback Dogs are prone to
dermoid sinus. Modern line of Thai Ridgeback, resulting from interpopulation crosses, may also be prone to
hip dysplasia and other genetic disorders.
History
The origin of the Thai Ridgeback is undocumented, but the breed was developed in eastern Thailand. The history of the breed is the subject of numerous hypotheses. It is generally considered a Pariah-type dating back to ancient times. The Thai Ridgeback may have mutated from another form of Thai dog which has similar appearance but with no ridge on the back. Rock art indicated that Thai dogs had accompanied a hunter since the new stone age of the country (over 2,000 years ago). Due to the isolation of Thai villages in the past, the breed had been inbred within the village for centuries. As a result, the appearance of the breed is quite uniform. Most lethal traits had been discarded through several generations of natural selection. The breed has a low level of inbreeding depression. The relationship between the Thai Ridgeback and the
Rhodesian Ridgeback is uncertain, but possibly through
Hottentot Dog or
Ari Dog. There is no scientific proof that they're related.
The third existing breed of ridgeback dogs is the
Phu Quoc Dog of
Vietnam, which is somewhat smaller than the Thai Ridgeback. Based on genetic-based hypothesis, both Thai Ridgeback Dog and Phu Quoc Dog are likely to be descended from Funan Ridgeback Dog which originated over 1,000 years ago in Funan Era of the region. The Hottentot Dog or Ari Dog (as called by the tribe), a known African ridgeback ancestor of the Rhodesian Ridgeback, is now extinct. Its link to the Funan Ridgeback Dog is very likely in a historian opinion. The possible genetic connection among the three remaining breeds is being investigated through DNA studies.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Thai Ridgeback'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://thai_ridgeback.totallyexplained.com">Thai Ridgeback Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
