The Club E.L.S.A. e.V.

Our focus is the high demand of care and breeding

Our association: Our association was grounded in year 1990 and is the second oldest Rhodesian Ridgeback Association in Germany. It is our target to preserve and cultivate the originality of this African dog especially in respect to their instincts, natural social behaviour, high tolerance threshold as well as health, distinctive hunting characteristics and physical capabilities. It is for this reason that we favour a breed based on overall performance rather than beauty. The characteristics of healthy and character strong Ridgebacks will already have been established during a suitability test of the breed due to an accurate triage, which serves as a basis for strengthening the compensatory and positive choice of the breed and its breeding partners. A regular monitoring of each litter supports this way of breeding. A kennel that is run purely for the purpose of profit as well as the multiplication of puppies in a matter that would harm the breed is utterly unthinkable for us. We place quality before quantity!

Our breeders: Amongst our approximately 50 registered kennels, 25 kennels are active in exchange with one another. On this website you can also find the names of the breeders and their kennels, which established Rhodesian Ridgeback breeding in Germany under our governing body the "VDH" (Association of the German Dog Breeding & Keeping) in 1963. All breeders and breed commissioners are trained twice a year in a special breeder's-training. First time breeders are trained and prepared in at least 2 courses previous to their first litter. Topics, such as health, nutrition, upbringing and the shaping of our dogs are of great importance in these courses. Not only the knowledge and the capabilities of the breeders are reviewed but also their potential and personal availability during the upbringing phase. The puppies not only need to be raised in a domestic environment by a devoted family but because of their association to this breed, a suitable moving area of at least 300 square meters as well as adequate accommodations must be provided! An immensely important and time consuming task of our breeders is the choice of potential puppy buyers. Their suitability is as important to us as that of our breeders. You will not be able to find lease-breeding relationships on our website but instead you will find members and breeders as well as owners of puppies or already full grown dogs, who will offer you a pleasant atmosphere of contact amongst each other. Long-lasting contacts and friendships between breeders and dog owners of various ages are the norm!

Our breeding requirements: Our detailed compulsory breeding standards and the always updated and reviewed rules of raising puppies are meant to set good examples and are to be followed through. We reliably prevent the saturation of the mother dogs as well as a commercial "mass production" of puppies, this in turn is fully accepted by our members which is notably important to us. A breeder is only allowed to breed, at a maximum, with 2 bitches simultaneously. After each litter a resting phase of 18 months must be kept before the bitch can be bred again. To avoid the winter upbringing as far as possible breeding bitches after the second part of the year will only be authorized if the complex requirements concerning the moving area of the puppies in bad weather conditions can be maintained. In addition to that, bitches may no longer be bred after a caesarean birth or after a stomach torsion. Even these restrictions serve both the animal protection in regards to the strengths of our litters as well as the quality of our breed. Experienced puppy acquirers know the value of our breeding measures and the quality of our upbringing, thus one should be prepared to wait for a puppy for some time if necessary and/or accept long journeys! According to our Ridgeback owners from overseas a good dog is worth the trouble.

The requirements of our upbringing: Our Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies are thoroughly examined by independent breed commissioners, who are long-time experienced breeders themselves. Along with the puppy, the buyer receives an international certificate of vaccination which testifies the first multiple vaccinations as well as a purebred certificate that lists 30 modified exterior and quality criteria which leaves nothing hidden. The worldwide recognized VDH/F.C.I. certificate of heritage for the puppies will be passed on by the breeder at a later date, as these pedigrees are only issued after certification based on the heritage data. It is absolutely normal for us that the breeders and the club assist you in was of advise and help at any time after the puppy has been passed over. Experienced puppy buyers will recognize the value of our breeding measures and the quality of such an upbringing.

Ridgeback puppies: are nowadays available almost everywhere and at any time but mostly without pedigrees or with issued pedigrees that are not recognized by the VDH/F.C.I., therefore the value of their information is doubtful. Many "producers" of these dogs do not deserve to be called "breeders" and for first time buyers, the sad results are often not recognizable at first sight - the development, health, characteristics and breed type are often of low quality. The thesis of our governing body VDH: "open your eyes when buying a puppy" applies today more than it ever has! The consideration of previous conditions is therefore most important for every puppy buyer willing and most importantly wanting to have a long-time partnership with their Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Our puppy placement service is of course free of charge! If you have a concrete puppy request, please call our placement addresses (see contact) this way, the exchange of information can be handled quicker. Our facilitators will in turn refer you to breeders, will be expecting a litter soon or who currently have puppies, which have not been placed yet. We will try to find breeders that live nearby so that the desired contact to the future member of your family, to its breeder as well as to the upbringing site can be made at earlier stage as possible.

Development/Training: The Rhodesian Ridgeback is registered internationally and in Germany in the F.C.I. Group 6 of the Scent Hounds (Lauf- und Schweisshunde). Club ELSA supports the training of young Rhodesian Ridgebacks as well as their performance and hunting training as an important support for our dog owners. A guard dog training, however is strictly rejected. Please allow us to be of assistance in advising you.

You want to become a member?: Registration form Club E.L.S.A. e.V. (46kb)