Cynara Rhodesian Ridgebacks

Cynara Ridgebacks is a small Oklahoma kennel founded in 2001 and originally dedicated to owning and showing the most beautiful Rhodesian Ridgebacks we could buy. As our experience with this fantastic breed grew so did our determination to help improve the breed by breeding healthy and intelligent Ridgebacks who meet the standard for conformation and temperament. Our dogs are highly valued by their owners for their individual personalities, intelligence, looks and athletic healthy bodies. Cynara Ridgebacks are multi-purpose dogs who can show in the morning, lure course in the afternoon, play with the family for a few hours in the evening and then crash on the couch until morning. Cynara Ridgebacks is an American Kennel Club (AKC) Breeder of Merit as of 2011.

NEWS: Katie x Akala puppy born Dec. 2, 2011.

Meet Our Ridgebacks - Hunter Chisum Dozer Katie Trouble

CH Zareba Hunt for Red October, SC, CGC (Hunter)

   DOB: September 21, 2001 Pedigree   OFA page
    Sire:   CH Wyndrunhr Red Hot Chili, ROM
    Dam: CH Zareba Tosca Puccini Cayenne, SC, HIC

Hunter has one of the most beautiful heads I've seen on a RR. As a puppy his eyes were so beautiful people joked he was wearing mascara. Hunter easily finished his confirmation championship in December 2003 and promptly retired to chase squirrels, lay in the warm sun and to be adored. His temperament is mellow and laid back except when chasing the ATV around the property. Then he amps up and thinks he is super dog who can eat rubber tires. What a goof ball!!

HUNTER'S HEALTH TESTS - CHIC #23641
Test type	Date	Results
Cardiac - Heart	2004	Normal by cardiologist
CERF (Eyes)	2002, 2003 & 2010	Clear 2002 & 2003. Vision normal with age related nuclear sclerosis 2010.
Degenerative Myelopathy (DM)	2008	Clear/Normal - No genes for DM
Elbows x-ray	2005	Normal - no dysplasia
Hips x-ray	2005	Excellent - no dysplasia
Thyroid	2005	Compensative autoimmune thyroiditis. High (114) TGAA level.

Our original goal was for him to win a coursing Field Championship but he usually outsmarts the lure course designers and runs to where the "bunny" is going to be instead of obediently following behind. Judges don't seem to appreciate this talent and seldom reward Hunters' problem solving abilities.

Hunter suffers from food and skin allergies and has thyroid disease so he was neutered and never bred. Hunter was our first Ridgeback to earn AKC Championship, Junior and Senior Courser titles and a Canine Good Citizen certificate.

On October 29, 2009, shortly after turning 8 years old, Hunter visited the vet to have a couple of new lumps checked out. The lab results confirmed our initial suspicion that the tumors were mast cell cancer. We explored various treatment methods including surgery and neoplasene but ultimately decided against invasive or harsh treatment. We have made some changes to his diet and now mainly feed low-carb Evo. Hunter feels good most days, loves to play and go for rides in the car. We visited the vet in early May 2010 for a check-up. The tumors haven't grown any, at least on the outside, and the vet was pleased with his overall health.

CountyLine Cynara of Revodana, RN, RA, CGC (Chisum)

Chisum outside looking for prey DOB: June 1, 2003 Pedigree OFA page
Sire: CH Mkuzi Ake Ajabu, SC
Dam: DC County Line's Lady Godiva, SC, CGC, TDIAOV, HIC

Chisum has a fabulous pedigree full of show, lure coursing and obedience champions. His personality and type are totally different than my other Ridgebacks. Cautious, watchful and slow to warm up to strangers makes him the perfect guard dog but not necessarily the type of dogs for families who frequently entertain.

CHISUM'S HEALTH TESTS - CHIC #23640
Test type	Date	Results
Cardiac - Heart	2004	Normal by cardiologist
CERF (Eyes)	2005 & 2010	Clear
Degenerative Myelopathy (DM)	2008	At Risk - Has both genes for DM which means it is possible for him to be affected.
Elbows x-ray	2005	Normal - no dysplasia
Hips x-ray	2005	Excellent - no dysplasia
Thyroid	2004	Normal function

In his prime he was 30" height at the shoulder and a solid 105 pounds. Chisum is our largest Ridgeback and considerable over the preferred standard but he is very impressive. When Chisum barks the windows rattle and visitors freeze in their tracks. However, this intimidating Ridgeback is a huge "mama's boy". I seldom can leave the room for more than a minute or two before Chisum comes looking for me.

He earned 7 points toward his show championship but wasn't interested in performing in the show ring so we retired him. Chisum easily completed Beginner, Novice & Trial Procedure obedience classes. We knew he might be talented in obedience when he won Novice First Prize by completing his graduation test with a score of 196 out of 200. For fun and because it is a worthy program we took and passed the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test. It was a close call when his protective instincts kicked in during the part of the test where a male jogger ran directly toward us but training kept him under control.

We decided to try Rally Obedience and took several weeks of classes to learn the rules and practice. The Rally Novice test is done with the dog on a leash. A perfect score is 100. To pass requires at least a 70 score. When a dog passes three different courses or legs he earns the title. Many owners, including me, choose to work toward the next level which is a Rally Advanced (RA) title. The scary part about earning the RA title is the dog must perform off leash. Chisum easily earned Rally Novice (RN) and Rally Advanced (RA) titles. Our first RA leg was ran on 11/3/06. Chisum was simply awesome and scored a 93. His 2nd leg was earned with a 96 on the following day. The 3rd leg and the title was earned with a score of 94. If this sounds easy, think again. Hounds and obedience don't always mix well.

DOB: July 3, 2005 Pedigree OFA page
Sire: Alchemy Oridgenal OneMoreTime, CDX RN AX SC MXJ HIC TT VCX ROM (Falco)
Dam: Am/Can. CH Jendaya's Akiki of Tumomak, SC HIC TT (Gemma)

Katie is Cynara Ridgeback's foundation bitch. She was our first Ridgeback to combine strong agility, lure coursing, obedience and conformation bloodlines. Katie is the dam of Cynara's A, B & D litters. Katie is a versatile athlete and an excellent dam. She earned a Versatility Certificate for winning titles in three different venues -- conformation, obedience and agility. She is the 5th generation in her family to win a VC. It is a amazing accomplishment.

One of the highest honors awarded by the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the U.S. is a Register of Merit (ROM). It is given to bitches for producing 5 show champion offspring. Katie earned her ROM from only 2 litters and three days before her 6th birthday. There are over 10 generations of ROM dog/bitches on her sire's side of the family. As of 12/8/11 Katie has produced 7 champions.

Katie earned her conformation championship with a roar by winning a 4-point major (her 3rd major) to finish with 17 points. Most hounds are not known for their skills in obedience but thanks to strong obedience bloodlines Katie has the genes to want to please. She passed her Canine Good Citizen test and earned three Rally titles and then qualified for a Herding Instinct certificate by herding goats. In January 2010 Katie started working toward her Companion Dog (CD) title. We NQ'd (not qualified) our first two tries in January. We passed and earned 2 of the 3 required legs on Feb. 20 & 21, 2010. She came into season so we took off the month of March. Our next attempt came on April 24. We NQ'd which was totally my fault for giving both a verbal command and a hand signal. The next day I was nervous but Katie did very well. She passed and earned her CD title. It only took 6 trials. A 50% pass rate is excellent.

The AKC started a new title program on 5/12/2010 called a Grand Championship. It takes 25 points with 3 majors plus other criteria for the GCH. Katie hasn't been in the show ring since before she had her first litter of puppies in Jan. 2008 but we believe she is up for the challenge. Show judges seem to pick males Ridgebacks 85-90% of the time for Best of Breed over the bitches so it will take much longer for a bitch to earn a Grand Championship title. Katie's first show going for the GCH was 5/15/10. As of 8/25//10 Katie has earned 11 points -- unfortunately 1 point at a time. This all changed when we finally entered a cluster of shows where majors were available. Starting on 8/26/10 in Topeka, KS Katie went on a huge winning streak. Thursday BOS for a 3 point major, Friday BOS 3 pt major, Sat. BOS 4 point major & Sun. BOS for a 3 pt major. In only 4 shows she won more points as she earned in 10 shows. Amazing. On October 1, 2010 Katie won Best of Breed to earn the last point for her GCH title. She is the first Oklahoma Ridgeback to earn a GCH, VC and a ROM.

To prove Katie is an awesome foundation bitch, she was entered in her first agility trail at age 5 years and 8 months. She ran three qualifying runs in her first weekend and 5 qualifying runs in her 2nd weekend of trials where she earned two agility titles -- Novice Agility Standard and Novice Agility Jumpers. I haven't found anything this dog can't do.

She is a very sweet Ridgeback that gets along with all of the dogs in her pack, male and female. When strange dogs come into the yard she gets protective and tries to sound like a junk yard dog. Size wise -- Katie is perfectly within the Ridgeback standard at 25" height. Females are supposed to be 24-26" tall at the withers (top of shoulder) Judges eyes are fooled by oversize dogs because they look impressive but those dogs are seldom able to seriously compete in agility or lure coursing for very long.

Health Notes: Katie has passed all of her health screening. Her eyes have been tested for cataracts & other eye diseases three times and her thyroid tested twice. Katie has only had two minor allergic reactions. One came right after the first litter started on puppy formula and then it happened again with the second litter. Obviously something in the formula doesn't mix well with Katie's system but after two Benedryl, the hives quickly go down and she is fine.

CH Cynara's Affinity for Intrigue, RN, RA, JC, CGC, JH-S (Trouble)

  DOB: January 23, 2008 Pedigree OFA page
  Sire:   BIF DC Tandiwe's Intrigue'N Mission, MC, CGC (Apollo)
  Dam: CH Jendaya's Mint Julep of Cynara, RE, CGC (Katie)

Trouble is pick of the litter from Cynara's first litter. She is active, spirited, fearless and has lovely conformation. We started puppy classes at about 12 weeks old after the 2nd set of vaccinations. Our goals are socialization, obedience and learning to show in the conformation ring.

Her first show was a fun match held when she was 4 3/4 months old. While riding to the show she chewed up part of the zipper on the soft crate, however she won Best Puppy in Match so all was forgiven. Trouble earned her AKC show championship on Feb. 7, 2010.

Trouble was named Trouble because she seems to attract trouble. She was bitten on the shoulder by a copperhead snake at 5 months old. The bite was very painful but all of the loose puppy skin allowed the swelling to spread out without causing excessive pressure or damage. At 6 months, we noticed that her microchip had migrated from its original location down to about the middle of her left shoulder blade. Her favorite bad habit is chewing up ink pens. If we aren't watching her, she will even jump up on the dining room table and grab a pen and jump back down. She is a huge counter surfer and loves to play tug games and chase squirrels.

Trouble has been learning Rally Obedience skills. Her first Rally Novice trial was at the 2009 Ridgeback Nationals held in May, 2009. The pressure was intense to earn a passing score. I needn't have worried. We scored 84 out of 100 for our first leg of 3. Our next trials were on June 27 & 28, 2009 in Oklahoma City, OK. Trouble did very well, scoring 92 and 91 and easily earned her Rally Novice (RN) title. In April 2010 Trouble earned the 3 qualifying legs to get her Rally Advanced title.

Intrigue's I'm The Bee's Knees at Cynara, RN CGC (Shiloh)

DOB: Novermber 25, 2010 (a Thanksgiving puppy) Pedigree
Sire: MBIF DC Intrigue's Apollo Sun by Jager, MC LCX RN BN FCh CGC TDI TT ET (Titan)
Dam: GCh Intrigue's Madeira Trojan Moon, RN SC FCh HIC (Calypso)

Shiloh is our latest Ridgeback. Her mom is Katie's aunt and her dad is Trouble's 1/2 brother so she related to my favorite girls.

Shiloh is beautiful, fearless, energetic and very healthy. She is passed her AKC Puppy Stars class and a beginner's tracking class. In early July 2011 Shiloh entered the Rally ring for the first time and scored a 93 to earn Leg 1 of 3. She earned her RN title in 4 tries.

At the 2011 RRCUS Nat'l Shiloh was the youngest dog entered in Rally Novice B but managed to win 4th place. She also passed her CGC test at the Nat'l. Shiloh's breeder, Susan Morrill showed her in Puppy Sweeps and in the 9-12 month class where she won 2nd place.

Meet Our Ridgebacks - Hunter Chisum Dozer Katie Trouble

CH Zareba Hunt for Red October, SC, CGC (Hunter)

CountyLine Cynara of Revodana, RN, RA, CGC (Chisum)

CH Cynara's Affinity for Intrigue, RN, RA, JC, CGC, JH-S (Trouble)

Intrigue's I'm The Bee's Knees at Cynara, RN CGC (Shiloh)

Contact Cynara