What does each club give for Height at the withers in the Rhodesian Ridgeback?

FCI, Male: 63–69 cm; AKC, Male: 63.5–68.6 cm; UKC, Male: 63.5–68.6 cm; KC, Male: 63–69 cm; CKC, Male: 63.5–68.5 cm; FCI, Female: 61–66 cm; AKC, Female: 61–66 cm; UKC, Female: 61–66 cm; KC, Female: 61–66 cm; CKC, Female: 61–66 cm.

Rhodesian Ridgeback breed standards compared

Each column is one club's published standard. An empty cell means the club says nothing on that point in our records.

Clubs compared: FCI, AKC, UKC, KC, CKC.

Size

Size
Measure	FCI	AKC	UKC	KC	CKC
Height at the withers, male	63–69 cm	63.5–68.6 cm	63.5–68.6 cm	63–69 cm	63.5–68.5 cm
Height at the withers, female	61–66 cm	61–66 cm	61–66 cm	61–66 cm	61–66 cm
Weight, male	36.5 kg	38.6 kg	36.3 kg	No ruling	34 kg
Weight, female	32 kg	31.8 kg	31.8 kg	No ruling	29.5 kg
Skull to muzzle	1	No ruling	1	No ruling	No ruling

Conformation

Conformation
Form	FCI	AKC	UKC	KC	CKC
StopModerate	Standard (“The stop should be reasonably well-defined”)	Standard (“The stop should be reasonably well defined”)	Standard (“The stop is reasonably well defined”)	Standard (“Stop reasonably well defined”)	Standard (“The stop should be reasonably well defined”)
Muzzle shapeSnipy	No ruling	No ruling	Fault (“Faults: Heavy head; round skull; short, snipey muzzle”)	No ruling	No ruling
Muzzle lengthShort	No ruling	No ruling	Fault (“short, snipey muzzle”)	No ruling	No ruling
BiteScissors bite	Standard (“a perfect and complete scissor bite”)	Standard (“Scissors bite preferred”)	Standard (“strong, well-developed, white teeth meet in a scissors bite”)	Standard (“perfect, regular and complete scissor bite”)	No ruling
DentitionFull dentition	No ruling	No ruling	Standard (“A full complement of strong, well-developed, white teeth”)	No ruling	No ruling
Eye shapeRound	Standard (“moderately well apart, round, bright and sparkling”)	Standard (“should be round, bright and sparking”)	Standard (“The round eyes are set moderately well apart”)	Standard (“Set moderately well apart, round, bright and sparkling”)	Standard (“should be round, bright, and sparkling”)
Ear setHigh	Standard (“Should be set rather high”)	Standard (“Should be set rather high”)	Standard (“are set rather high and carried close to the head”)	Standard (“Set rather high, medium size”)	Standard (“should be set rather high”)
Ear carriageDrop (pendant)	Standard (“They should be carried close to the head”)	Standard (“They should be carried close to the head”)	Standard (“carried close to the head”)	Standard (“Carried close to head”)	Standard (“They should be carried close to the head”)
DewlapNone (clean throat)	Standard (“fairly long, strong and free from throatiness”)	Standard (“free from throatiness”)	Standard (“fairly long, strong and free from throatiness”)	Standard (“Fairly long, strong and free from throatiness”)	Standard (“fairly strong and free from throatiness”)
ChestDeep	Standard (“not too wide but very deep and capacious”)	Standard (“not too wide, but very deep and capacious”)	Standard (“The chest is very deep and capacious”)	Standard (“Chest not too wide, very deep and capacious”)	Standard (“not be too wide, but very deep and capacious”)
ChestBarrel	Fault (“never rounded like barrel-hoops”)	Fault (“never rounded like barrel hoops”)	Fault (“never barrel shaped”)	Fault (“never barrel-ribbed”)	Fault (“never rounded like barrel hoops”)
HocksWell let down	Standard (“Hock joint: Strong, well let down”)	Standard (“muscles should be clean, well defined and hocks well down”)	Standard (“the hocks are strong and well let down”)	Standard (“hocks well let down”)	Standard (“muscles should be clean, well defined, and hocks well down”)
Tail lengthMedium	Standard (“It should be of moderate length”)	No ruling	No ruling	No ruling	No ruling
Tail setMedium	Standard (“should not be inserted too high nor too low”)	Standard (“should not be inserted too high or too low”)	No ruling	Standard (“not inserted high or low”)	Standard (“should not be inserted too high or too low”)
Tail setHigh	No ruling	No ruling	Fault (“Faults: Curled tail; set too high or too low”)	No ruling	No ruling
Tail setLow	No ruling	No ruling	Fault (“Faults: Curled tail; set too high or too low”)	No ruling	No ruling
FeetCat foot	Standard (“feet should be compact and round, with well arched toes”)	Standard (“feet should be compact with well-arched toes, round”)	Standard (“The round, compact feet have well-arched toes”)	Standard (“Compact, well-arched toes, round, tough, elastic pads”)	Standard (“feet should be compact, with well-arched toes, round”)

Markings

Markings
Marking	FCI	AKC	UKC	KC	CKC
Mask	No ruling	Alternate (“Clear faced or masked dogs are equally correct”)	No ruling	No ruling	No ruling
Chest patch	Alternate (“A little white on the chest and toes is permissible”)	Alternate (“A little white on the chest and toes permissible”)	Alternate (“small amount of white on the chest and on the toes is acceptable”)	Alternate (“Little white on chest and toes permissible”)	No ruling
Socks	Alternate (“A little white on the chest and toes is permissible”)	Alternate (“A little white on the chest and toes permissible”)	Alternate (“small amount of white on the chest and on the toes is acceptable”)	Alternate (“Little white on chest and toes permissible”)	No ruling

Cropping, docking and other procedures

Cropping, docking and other procedures
Procedure	FCI	AKC	UKC	KC	CKC
Dewclaw removal	No ruling	Alternate (“Dewclaws may be removed”)	No ruling	No ruling	No ruling

The law on these procedures differs by country. A listing here says nothing about whether one is legal where you live.

Rhodesian Ridgeback colors and patterns

What each club's breed standard says about every Rhodesian Ridgeback color and pattern. Point at a ruling to see the club's own wording.

Breed standards describe the Rhodesian Ridgeback in Wheaten. Standard patterns: Solid.

Coat: rulings by club
Color or pattern	FCI	AKC	UKC	KC	KUSA
Wheaten	Standard (“Light wheaten to red wheaten”)	Standard (“Wheaten”)	Standard (“the range from light wheaten to red wheaten”)	Standard (“Light wheaten to red wheaten”)	Standard (“Light wheaten to red wheaten”)
Black	Not recognized	Disqualifying (“Solid black”)	Not recognized	Not recognized	Not recognized
Albino	Not recognized	Not recognized	Disqualifying (“Albinism”)	Not recognized	Not recognized
Brown	Not recognized	Disqualifying (“brown and tan in brown/liver nosed dogs”)	Not recognized	Not recognized	Not recognized
Tan	Not recognized	Disqualifying (“Black and tan, or brown and tan”)	Not recognized	Not recognized	Not recognized
Patterns
Solid	Standard	Standard	Standard	Standard (“Head, body, legs and tail of uniform colour”)	Standard
Sable	Fault (“Excessive black hairs throughout the coat are highly undesirable”)	No ruling	Fault (“Excessive black hairs throughout the coat are highly undesirable”)	Not recognized	Fault (“Excessive black hairs throughout the coat are highly undesirable”)
Tan point	No ruling	Disqualifying (“Black and tan, or brown and tan in brown/liver nosed dogs”)	No ruling	Not recognized	No ruling

Eyes: rulings by club
Color or pattern	FCI	AKC	UKC	KC	KUSA
Dark brown	Standard (“A black nose should be accompanied by dark eyes”)	Standard (“A black nose should be accompanied by dark eyes”)	Standard (“A black nosed dog has dark eyes”)	Standard (“Black nose accompanied by dark eyes”)	Standard (“A black nose should be accompanied by dark eyes”)
Amber	Standard (“a brown nose by amber eyes”)	Standard (“a brown or liver nose with amber eyes”)	Standard (“a brown-nosed dog has amber eyes”)	Standard (“brown nose by amber eyes”)	Standard (“a brown nose by amber eyes”)

Nose: rulings by club
Color or pattern	FCI	AKC	UKC	KC	KUSA
Black	Standard (“The nose should be black or brown”)	Standard (“Should be black, or brown, also known as liver”)	Standard (“The nose has black or brown pigment”)	Standard (“Nose black or brown”)	Standard (“The nose should be black or brown”)
Liver	Standard (“The nose should be black or brown”)	Standard (“Should be black, or brown, also known as liver”)	Standard (“The nose has black or brown pigment”)	Standard (“Nose black or brown”)	Standard (“The nose should be black or brown”)

What the rulings mean

Standard: Described by the club's breed standard.
Fault: Named by the club's breed standard as a fault: the animal can be shown but is penalized.
Disqualifying: The club's breed standard disqualifies an animal of this color or pattern.
Not recognized: The club does not accept this color or pattern for the breed.

Color changes

How a Rhodesian Ridgeback's colors can change over its life.

Blackchanges toSnow nose
Nose · With the season · can change back
Blackchanges toPink
Nose · With the season · can change back

Sources

Each ruling comes from the club's published breed standard or color list.

Published standards

Back to the Rhodesian Ridgeback guide Grooming styles for the Rhodesian Ridgeback