Bwana Kennel

Zion's intelligence and cheerful personality made him a fast family favorite.  Processing and adapting everything thrown at him, he is a wonderful traveling companion, as well as a loving house pet.  He finished easily in the ring, catching the eye of judges with an effortless ground eating stride.  He adores his "Dad" and is never happier than when hanging out with Bob, watching TV or standing at his side as he drives our RV.  It is highly amusing to watch him fall asleep... on his feet , with his head on the console, leaning gently against Bob's side. 

Structurally he is both sound and elegant.  A large powerful and big boned boy he will bring to our line increased upper arm and that  highly desired bone.  With tight, correct feet and very little white in his deep red wheaten coat he is a flashy presence in the show ring.

The Titles listed after his name are very important to us.  The TT indicating he was tested and passed a Temperament Test, (this is offered less than 100 times a year in the entire country!) This is not an Obedience Test. Rather the dog is put through a series of real life challenges and graded on his ability to handle them, on a loose lead. From simple greeting of strangers to having a gun fired or a "crazy" person coming at you waving a stick and shouting / talking very loudly to themselves.  The dog is expected to move his body between you and this person , all the while watching them and responding to you. You are not allowed to continually correct or hands on reassure the dog, he must read your body language and with very limited words from you understand he must not attack and yet still protect you 100%.  The purpose of this test is fast making it a much demanded addition to the bigger dog shows.  When we began testing our dogs in it 3 years ago it was found less than 50 times a year.  Breeders are beginning to understand how important it is to make sure a dog is mentally solid as well as a fine physical specimen.

 HIC is a Herding test.  The dog , with ZERO training, is put into a corral with 3 wild range sheep.  With only a few minutes to  work and be evaluated he must demonstrate his ability to, gather, move,or hold the sheep in different directions. This is often the first time a dog  He may not terrorize or attack them, and must always respond to you and any command you may give him. And the HRA2 is a newer test that you will find on only a handful of dogs at any given dog show.  It is a test of the dog's Hunting Instinct.  A Judge will watch as you dog is tested in a small group and then singlely on their ability to be interested in small game, find a trail , follow it and then pursue the prey. All while having a gun fired very close by . Your dog can flinch but may not shy or bolt. Showing not simply their ability to track but to handle a hunting situation realistically.  So many of the purebred hunting dogs found in the show rings have little or no real instinct left. The urge to produce a perfect head or specific color has , in many breeds and lines destroyed their original abilities.

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Pedigree - Zion red whtn/ blk nose

Rhodesian Ridgeback, Red Whtn/Blk nose