Troubadour Ranch Rhodesian Ridgebacks

Happy Independence Day!

𝑰𝒏 𝑪𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑼𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 ... 𝑾𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂 𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝟒𝒕𝒉 𝑶𝒇 𝑱𝒖𝒍𝒚!

We always defer to breed experts, so Phu Quoc Ridgeback people, please correct us if we get something wrong here.

All three ridgeback breeds (the Phu Quoc, Rhodesian, and Thai) share an identical mutation responsible for their ridge. Some sources say the mutation likely originated in Asia and spread through via trade routes, or perhaps by migration (as opposed to evolving independently).

The ridge is caused by a duplication of the FGF3, FGF4, FGF19, and ORAOV1 genes on chromosome 18, which disrupts hair follicle development and creates the backward-growing ridge. The ridge allele (R), by the way, is dominant. Dogs with R/R (homozygous) or R/r (heterozygous) genotypes typically display a ridge, but some 5% of R/r dogs may lack a ridge because of genetic modifiers that suppress the trait. Dogs that lack a ridge are r/r (recessive homozygous).

Photo from Wikicommons