I think that these are such fascinatingly beautiful dogs, I just wondered if anybody had any personal experience with them?

I have only ever met one female blue TRD and she was nearing 8. She was a very carefully selected import and was an absolute treasure but when I read up on the breed it came across that they were renowned for being difficult to train and agressive. Now i know as the owner of a Dobermann that the stimga associated with certain breeds is often misplaced so i thought i'd ask if anybody had any experiences with this breed that they could share.

I know they are not recognised in the uk and are increadibly rare so i'm not expecting lots of responses.

A very good friend of mine who has lived in Bangkok for a while now has one. I'll see what I can get from him about the breed, he's had his since a pup, but don't think it's a carefully bred one mind..

Had about 20 of these sharing the camp site we used at the WDS. I find them very interesting as well so did speak to their owners and make a fuss of them. They all seemed very calm, somewhat aloof but not nervous or aggressive in any way. Most of the owners were Eastern European so we did have a bit of a problem communicating but they said they were good house dogs but very stubborn.

Jeff.

There was one of these listed as "missing" on the doglost site, probably over a year ago now. The owner said that it was so aggressive that he convinced the police to be involved in the search, not something easily done I would think. He also did not register it as a Thai Ridgeback for fear of someone knowing what it was. He did get the dog back thankfully as he obviously was totally dvoted to her.

Right,

My friend has got back to me and said his boy is not a Ridgie, clearly as its grown up its become apparent its a mutt... But he loves him all the same..

He did say that they are known to be very stubborn and a very difficult breed to handle and train, clearly not for the the feint hearted.

Just had a google on the breed and again clearly points out not for the novice owner, though the photos aren't that disimilar to my friends boy...
http://thaidog.us/_wsn/page2.html - A breed club from USA, worth a read about temperament.

Hi,

I have been lucky enough to share my life with four of these guys believe it or not 3 rescues and one private rehome. There isn't one person in the UK that is involved with the breed in terms of bringing them into the UK (there are several that say they were the first to do that) or 'breeders' that I would have much to do with.  Unfortunately because of the type of dogs they are the wron kind of people are involved with them and they are breeding unhealthy and nervous dogs.  My first I lost at just over a year old due to the extent of her hip poroblems and being kept shut in a too small crate for the first five months of her life :-(  She was terrified of every thing but had so much courage and spirit, something that I have found out is a breed trait. 

The other have all had health problems, one of them came to me with three ribs dislodged (a lump I found that on investigation and xray showed to be a previous injury, likely from a kicking) he is also very worried if you hold leads in a certain way and think he has had a few whacked at him in his time.  He is not good with other dogs and I think these injuries and problems have likely come about from someone trying to teach him a lesson around other dogs :-( Funnily enough with listeneing to him and graudal introductions and teaching him that dogs are good things but if he's worried he will be listened too he is much better around other dogs and is realising that they aren't so horrible after all.  He is a little shy with peeople but very sociable for the breed, just doesn;t like his space being invaded.

Another came to me after being dumped whilst pregnant and the most terrified dog I have, she has been so badly treated that I wish I could get my hands on the lady who bred her (I know where all these dogs have come from) and know what they have been though and it;s really isn;t pleasant.  This girly will never be a normal doggie but she has made so many strides and again that TRD spirit and strangth amazes and humbles me.  She has gone from a girly that would have eaten me in the first few weeks and was too scared to move or go outside or do anything, a girl that would cower and growl if she has wee, pood or been sick to a girl that has learnt how to play, trusts me, is funny and enjoys a run in the field, she can enjoy a play with one of my other dogs (in fact her sister) who was rehomed to me because they were too aggressive with each other and fought and couldn;t be toilet trained etc etc!  I am currently still the only one that can touch her but she can now cope with other people being in the same room as her which was a complete impossibility to start with.

If not extensively socialised and brought up with kindness and patience you will likely end up with dogs that are nervous and have little tolerance for other animals.  They are if treated kindly and socialised properly amazing dogs that are funny, you have never heard noises like it :-D they are very cat like in the way they play, batting toys about and pouncing on them.  They ahve a very very high prey drive and are classes as sight hounds.  They were bred for hunting and guarding.  They are incredibly loyal doggies but also incredibly indpendant as with so many hounds, I love that about them.  They are trainable but you have to be inventive, they are very bright and have a low boredone threahold for repition.  People in teh breed say you can;t train them to retrieve but three of mine have and the fourth hasn't started working on that as he had absolutely no interest in toys so had to build that up first.  They aften aren't very toy motivated.

I could talk about them all day, they don't compare training wise to Dobes, they are a completely different kettle of fish - Dobes outside have generally a farily strong desire to be with their person and that is the biggest difference, unless you work very very hard to build a strong working bond with a TRD, wehn oputside you will be of itttle consequence and they will be off doing their own things without a backwards glance :-D

I love them but no they aren't a breed for the inexperienced of for those who think they know dogs and just need to put them in their place, they are sensitive dogs but with trong exteriors and very ingrained breed traits that if you don;t work with then you don;t ahve much chance of training.