Rhodesian Ridgeback
Potjie is being rehomed privately by their owner with support from Ridgeback Rescue. This is not a formal rescue placement, so the adoption process and arrangements may differ from our standard rescue dogs.
POTJIEKOS might just be a first! Often you’ll be told that any mix breed red/tan looking dog is “Ridgeback cross”. And often that simply isn’t the reality. Born on October 24th 2025, Potjiekos, or Potjie as we call him, was born on the one year anniversary that our rescue’s namesake, Pikelet, passed away. The rescue was closed to new intakes, we had just weathered our first (and hopefully last) parvovirus outbreak. But then a call came through, a little red purebred pedigree Rhodesian Ridgeback born with a full hard and soft palate cleft was in need of rescue. How could we say no?! After all, Pikelet was a very deep red (in colour) English staffy. A red boy born on this sad anniversary felt serendipitous. So what is this name “Potjiekos aka Potjie”? In South Africa & Zimbabwe (an colony previously known as Rhodesia) a potjiekos, literally translated “small-pot food”, is a dish prepared outdoors. And so it felt like a good fit, plus the pronunciation of “Potjie” sounds a lot like “Pikey” but with a Kath & Kim-esque accent “Poiii-key” 😂 Anyway, enough about names and kismet happenings, lets get down to business in telling you all about this beautiful, handsome boyo. Aside from the obvious (stunning good looks) Potjie is still just a baby at 5 month old. I’ve spoken extensively with his breeder, and while she breeds for good health, breed standards and for possible dog show quality, she did say that the temperament of her Ridgebacks is closer to that of a Labrador. And, I have to agree. Potjie is not a super instinctual ridgeback, he is all legs and ears still, and while he is a great poser for photos, he isn’t the sharpest tool in the big LoP shed. But brains aren’t everything, Potjie has a very gentle, sweet nature about him. He would make a wonderful family dog with young kids, older kids, no kids, many adults, or just one. He LOVES his crate, mostly because he knows that crate time is treat time. Potjie is very very much food motivated, he has been known to thieve full pieces of toast, sip unsupervised coffee or even wine! He just wants everything in his belleh, and he wants it now! And while it has become difficult to train Potjie in a house full of foster dogs, he has learnt to sit, and as mentioned, he is crate trained. Potjie is not a dominant dog, and he gets a little nervous around full on alfa type canines. He really needs another calm, gentle canine sibling (or 2, 3, 4 etc). He loves to play rumble, but not the full on staffy bite face, he is a bit too sensitive for that. Sometimes this big baby loves nothing more than to be scooped up by his foster mama, legs folded in and snuggled on the sofa. Potjie has a very loving nature about him, he loves one on one human affection.
Macedon Ranges, VIC - currently with their owner, looking for a new home.
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