General Appearance
The Rhodesian Ridgeback should represent a well balanced, strong, muscular, agile and active
dog, symmetrical in outline, and capable of great endurance with a fair amount of speed. The emphasis is on agility, elegance and soundness with no tendency towards massiveness. The pecularity of the breed is the ridge on the back, which is formed by the hair growing in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat. the ridge is the escutcheon of the breed. The ridge must be clearly defined, symmetrical and tapering towards the haunch. Itmust start immediately behind the shoulders and continue to th ehip (haunches) bones. The ridge must contain only tow crowns, identical and opposite each other. The lower edges of the crowns must not extend further down the ridge than one-third of its length. A good average width of the ridge is 5cm (2ins).

Behaviour / Temperament
Dignified, intelligent, aloof with strangers, but showing no aggression or shyness.

Head
Cranial Region
Skull
Should be of a fair length (width of head between ears, distance from occiput to stop, stop to end of nose, should be equal), the skull flat and broad between the ears and the hear should be free from wrinkles when in repose.
Stop
The stop should be reasonably well defined and not in one straight line from the nose to the occipital bone.

Facial Region
Nose
The nose should be black or brown. A black nose should be accompanied by dark eyes, a brown
nose by amber eyes.
Muzzle
The muzzle should be long, deep and powerful.
Lips
The lips should be clean, closely fitting the jaws.
Mouth
Jaws strong, with a perfect and complete scissor bite, ie. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws. The teeth must be well developed, expecially the canines or holders.
Cheeks
Cheeks should be clean.
Eyes
Should be moderately well apart, round bright and sparkling, with intelligent expression, their colour harmonising with the colour of the coat.
Ears
Should be set rather high, of medium size, rather wide at base, and gradually tapering to a rounded point. They should be carried close to the head.
Neck
Should be fairly long, strong and free from throatiness.

BODY
Back
Powerful.
Loins
Strong, muscular and slightly arched, powerful.
Chest
Should not be too wide but very deep and capacious and brisket should reach to the elbow.
Forechest
Should be visible when viewed from the side.
Ribs
Moderately well sprung, never rounded like barrel-hoops.
Tail
Should be strong at the root and gradually tapering towards the end, free from coarseness. It should be of moderate length. It should not be inserted too high nor too low, and should be carried with a slight curve upwards, never curled.

LIMBS
Forequarters
The forelegs should be perfectly straight, strong and well boned, with the elbows close to the body. When viewed from the side, the forelegs should be wider than when viewed from the front. Pasterns should be strong wiht slight spring.
Shoulders
The shoulders should be sloping, clean and muscular, denoting speed.
Feet
The feet should be compact and round, with well arched toes, and tough elastic pads, protected by hair between the toes and pads.
Hindquarters
In the hind legs the muscles should be clean, well defined, good turn of stifle and strong hicks well let down.

GAIT / MOVEMENT
Straight forward, free and active.
Coat
Hair should be short and dense, sleek and glossy in appearance, but neither woolly nor silky.
Colour
Light wheaten to red wheaten. A little white on the chest and toes is permissible, but excessive white hairs here, on belly, or above toes is undersirable. A dark muzzle and ears permissible. Excessive black hairs throughout the coat are highly undesirable.
Size
The desirable heights are:
Dogs: 63cm (25ins) to 69cm (27ins)
Bitches: 61cm (24ins) to 66cm (26ins)
Weight
The desirable weights are:
Dogs: 36.5kg (80lbs)
Bitches: 32kg (70lbs)
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Note:
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.