Fun Thai Ridgeback Facts For Kids

The Thai Ridgeback is a pure breed dog found in Eastern Thailand on an isolated island. The Thai Ridgeback dogs have a ridge of hair growing on their back, said to look like a saddleback, leaf, a needle, a bowling pin, an arrow, or a feather growing in the opposite direction. The other dog breeds with the same feature as the Thai Ridgeback dog are Rhodesian Ridgeback and Phu Quoc Ridgeback. Their ridges, however, are not as attractive as the Thai Ridgebacks.

Its coat colors comprise black, blue, red, and brown. Since they have short hair, grooming the Thai Ridgeback dog is not time-consuming. They shed significantly less than other dogs. This breed has a life expectancy of around 12-13 years. The Thai Ridgeback dog is a healthy breed with only two health problems: hip dysplasia and dermoid sinus. The Thai Ridgeback dogs belong to the Foundation Stock Service dog group. Read the exciting and unique facts about the Thai Ridgebacks below.

What type of animal is a Thai Ridgeback?

The Thai Ridgeback is a medium-sized dog breed from Thailand that dates back to 4000 years. Although it is commonly found in Thailand, it is a primitive breed. Thai Ridgebacks are hunting and watchdogs. They have good survival skills, brilliant, and high prey drive instinct. If they are trained well, they can be ideal family dogs. They are protective of their masters.

What class of animal does a Thai Ridgeback belong to?

The breed Thai Ridgeback belongs to the class Mammalia and the family Canidae.

How many Thai Ridgebacks are there in the world?

The Thai Ridgebacks are found in large numbers in Thailand. It is the original dog breed from Thailand, so it is commonly found here. This dog breed is rare in other countries and is challenging to find outside Thailand, but can also be found in the United States.

Where does a Thai Ridgeback live? 

The Thai Ridgeback dog lives in the woods or on the farm, or in a house with their owners.

What is a Thai Ridgeback's habitat? 

We hardly find these dogs outside of Thailand. They enjoy tropical weather and don't do well with cold climatic conditions. They were initially found in Eastern Thailand's wilds on an isolated island. Since the Thai Ridgeback dogs lived in the wild alone for a long time, they have strong prey drive skills. The Thai Ridgeback dog is a free-living dog. They are usually found in Thailand villages, often roaming around independently or as a pet dog on a farm or a house with their master. Its intense hunting and guarding skills are still used in Thailand to keep away from cats, other dogs, snakes, and other animals.

Who do Thai Ridgebacks live with?

The Thai Ridgeback lives on their own, in packs or with people. It depends on the training we provide them since they are pups. They love the companionship of their owners and family members.

How long does a Thai Ridgeback live?

The Thai Ridgeback has a life expectancy of about 12-13 years. Since they have been living on an isolated island for many years, they are considered pure breeds with fewer health problems.

How do they reproduce?

The Thai Ridgeback reproduces by the method of sexual reproduction. During mating, the male dogs leave their sperm on the vulva of the female dogs. The sperm fuses with the ovum or eggs to form a zygote. The zygote fertilizes inside the female reproductive tract to produce its young ones. The average litter size of the Thai Ridgebacks is four to five puppies.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of Thai Ridgeback is Not Evaluated. Their numbers are supposed to have remained the same due to a lack of cross-breeding. One more reason may be that they were found on Thailand's isolated islands, and there was no proper transportation.

What do Thai Ridgebacks look like?

It got its name Ridgeback because it has ridges formed by the hair growing back in the opposite direction. It is only one of the three dog breeds in the world with ridges. It is a muscular, medium-sized dog breed with prick ears, markings on the tongue, wedge-shaped snout, and dark brown almond-shaped eyes. Its coat color comprises black, blue, red, and brown.

How cute are they?

When young, the Thai Ridgeback puppies are adorable. As they grow, they become muscular, medium-sized dogs with prick ears, wedge-shaped snout, beautiful almond-shaped brown color, intense hunting eyes, and ridge of hair. The ridges are found on the back, formed by the hair growing in the opposite direction. The coat colors comprise black, blue, brown, and red. Overall, this dog breed is quite attractive and cute; you will love them as a pet with high intelligence, protective, and hunting skills.

How do they communicate?

The Thai Ridgebacks have a high energy level with excellent hunting and guarding skills. They are very loyal protective about their master. If an unknown stranger or any other animal enters its territory, it can bark excessively. Otherwise, it usually barks to communicate with its owner.

How big is a Thai Ridgeback? 

The male Thai Ridgeback dogs are about 22-24 in (55.9-60.9 cm) long, and the female dog breed is about 20-22 in (50.8-55.9 cm) long. The females are smaller than the males. The Thai Ridgeback is two times larger in height and length than the Rhodesian Ridgeback dog and Phu Quoc Ridgeback dog.

How fast can a Thai Ridgeback run?

Since they have good prey drive skills, they can run very fast. They are good at climbing, digging and have a high jumping ability. If you have kept the Ridgeback as your pet, you need to build a high fence to avoid escaping Ridgeback. The Thai Ridgeback can run as fast as a Rhodesian Ridgeback, which is 30 mph (48.3 kmph).

How much does a Thai Ridgeback weigh?

The female dog breed weighs around 44-55 lb (19.9-24.9 kg), and the male dog breed weighs around 55-66 lb (24.9-29.9 kg). The males weigh more than the females.

What are their male and female names of the species?

The male species is known as stud and the female species is known as 'bitch'.

What would you call a baby Thai Ridgeback?

The young Thai Ridgeback is known as a Thai Ridgeback puppy.

What do they eat? 

The Thai Ridgeback breed feeds on meat like beef, chicken, pork, lamb, turkey, rabbit, and fish. They also feed on vegetarian food like wheat, soy, dairy products, quinoa, brown rice, millet, and green leafy vegetables. They are at risk of getting overweight so watch the calorie count before feeding this breed.

Are they slobbery?

The Thai ridgebacks are not slobbery dogs. Average drooling is common for dogs; they drool at the smell of the food or when excited or playing games, or when stressed out. The Thai Ridgeback puppies also drool when their teeth are growing. However, if they are found to drool a lot, it needs some serious attention. They might be sick. It is best to take them to proper vet care.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, the Thai Ridgebacks are good family dogs. They are very protective about their masters, have excellent hunting and guarding skills, and love to stay in their owners' companionship and play with them. However, the Thai Ridgeback needs plenty of exercises. It has the jumping ability and strong prey drive skills. If lonesome, it can become destructive.

They are brilliant and easy to train dog breeds. Although, training the Thai Ridgeback has both pros and cons. It is easy to train them because they are knowledgeable and intelligent, and challenging to train them because they are very stubborn. People who are experienced and patient in handling aggressive dogs can train the Thai Ridgeback. Thai Ridgeback dogs require early socialization to be not aggressive. Until they are properly socialized, they might act aggressively towards strangers and other domestic pets and animals.

Did you know...

The Thai Ridgebacks date back to the 17th century. Officially, this dog breed was found in 1994 by a man called Jack Sterling from the USA on his visit to Thailand. He loved it so much that he brought this breed with him.

Apart from the ridge on their body, another unique fact is that they have black/blue tongues. And some puppies are not born with the ridge.

It is believed to be the direct descendants of the Asian wolf. That's why the Thai Ridgebacks can survive in the wild, have excellent hunting skills, are strong and full of energy.

Other names of this breed include Thai dog, Mah Tai, Mah Thai Lung Arn, and Mah Thai Lang Ahn.

Characteristics and health issues

The Thai Ridgeback has ridges that look like a leaf or needle on their back. The ridges are formed by the hair growing in the opposite direction.

Their energy levels are very high. As they are found in isolated places in Thailand, much cross-breeding is not carried out with other dogs due to lack of transportation. Because of this, it is considered to be a healthy breed.

The only health problems of the Thai Ridgebacks are Hip dysplasia (which causes pain in the hip joint and leads to disability in walking in severe cases) and Dermoid sinus (a skin disease, the skin cannot close where the spine is located).

Getting your own Thai Ridgeback

Are you thinking to bring Thai Ridgeback as your pet? They can serve as ideal family dogs as well as watchdogs if appropriately trained. They are vigilant, protective, challenging, and active dogs. Training should be given to them at an early age to socialize. These dogs do not allow strangers and other animals to enter their territory and are aggressive towards them.

The average cost of a puppy is around $1600- $3000. You can find the Thai Ridgebacks in Thailand, shelters, and rescue centers.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover!

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one on our dog running coloring pages.