Hello and welcome to the website for Suhuba Rhodesian Ridgebacks.

My name is Vanessa Henshall and together with my husband, Glynne, we have been involved with the breed since 1997/8 although we did not get our first Ridgeback until 1999.

We, well I, decided that I wanted to show and ultimately breed Ridgebacks having fallen in love with them some 10 years previously but circumstances and a full quota of Black Labs prevented me from doing this until 1999. We chose our male Ridgeback always intending to put him in the show ring, (my mother was very active in showing and breeding Basset Hounds when I was young so I obviously caught the bug off of her!) but I can’t really say what it was about him that made us choose him in particular. We had seen a few litters and whilst all of the pups were really cute and sqwidgy and I would have probably taken them all home, we both knew when we clapped eyes on him that he was the one we wanted. At 14 weeks he was already the size of our remaining Labrador and everyone who saw him said “that’s not a puppy—it’s a donkey!” but he was ours, we loved him and we were hooked.

In 2001 we bought him a girlfriend, although he had to be patient until she grew up. We thought that we were quite prepared for having another Ridgeback having already done it once, but trust me when I say that no two dogs are ever the same! But despite all the mess and chaos and destruction, we are planning on doing it all over again and again! Be warned—Ridgebacks are addictive!

With the exception of documented evidence such as the History of the Breed, the Breed Standard and Health Issues, all other sections are based on our own experiences and any  comments made are our own personal thoughts and observations and do not necessarily mirror those of other Ridgebacks breeders or owners. Although every dog is different and every owner is different and we do not profess to be experts, we have found it quite useful sharing our experiences with other new owners and friends. Whilst I would always recommend that you speak to your breeder about any problems or issues that arise or even just to keep them updated about how your dog (their puppy) is doing, sometimes it might be that they live too far away to see them on a regular basis or you might feel that there is something that you want to talk about but don’t want to appear totally ‘thick’ to your breeder. Give us a call or send an email, if we can’t help you we are sure we know someone who can! All Ridgeback folk like to have a good chat so don’t feel shy about phoning up a complete stranger for help and advice. Everyone was a stranger once.

We hope you enjoy looking at this site, if you have any suggestions on making it better, don’t hesitate to contact us—we are always open to new ideas!

Vanessa & Glynne Henshall.

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