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| Name: |
Darla
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Age: |
Ten months old
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| Gender: |
Female |
Breed: |
Rhodesian Ridgeback, Hound mix
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| Home: |
Cary, North Carolina, USA |
I
named my new puppy "Darla" for four reasons: 1.) She is so Darling! 2.) I
had a positive association with the name because Darla was my favorite
Musketeer on the old Mickey Mouse Club tv show 3.) Darla was also one of the
"Little Rascals," the song and dance girl that Alfalfa loved, and I was very
attached to all of those characters! 4.) I've never met a dog named "Darla,"
and I thought it would be a unique name and also easy for her to learn.
One of Darla's nicknames is "the Butterscotch Bullet." She is the fastest,
most agile and athletic dog I have ever known/owned. She loves to get up to
full speed and just fly! Wow, have I learned about the power and energy of
the Rhodesian Ridgeback breed! She is only thirty-eight pounds but it is pure
muscle. She is much smaller than most Rhodesian Ridgebacks and this is likely
the hound and whatever else is in her. She is incredibly strong.
I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. I zeroed right in on her. She
was the so called "runt,"of the litter (although I've been told that does not
always mean that a dog will remain smaller than average for life). She was
tiny, sleek, and the most beautiful color--like a Vizsla. She will not get
much bigger than fifty pounds I think. For me she is the perfect size and the
most beautiful color of butterscotch! Some would call her color "red," and
sometimes I call her "my little red dirt girl," because she loves to get
dirty in Carolina red clay. She leaves ample paw prints with her thick black
padded paws (designed to run across the hot desert sands of the African
Kalahari I guess). She also loves water and is an excellent swimmer, but one
funny quirky thing was, when I was first getting her accustomed to the water,
she would not use her back legs, and did not like swimming. When I crawled in
the water with her and got her back legs going, it was like an epiphany, and
she was hooked. She is now a dedicated water hound! She enjoys chasing sticks
back and forth in the creek near my home. (One of the only ways I have found
to wear her out and keep me standing!)
Rhodesian Ridgebacks are a formidable breed. They are also known as "The
African Lion Hound."They were bred to keep lions at bay while big game
hunters loaded their weapons. They were used in packs, and even sacrificed to
"the bagging" of a lion. They were bred to be strong, fast, fearless, and
they are all of those things. They think for themselves and are independent.
But Darla is also the most intelligent and sensitive dog I have ever met. You
can not force her to do things. She cannot be handled roughly. She requires a
firm steady lead, but you must be gentle, have patience and a sense of humor.
She needs her space, freedom. This is not a dog that likes to be on the
leash. She wants to run free. That is the greyhound in her perhaps? These
dogs were a mix of the African Hotntot, greyhound, mastiff, and others. If
you get angry and speak harshly to her, she does not respond; you must
apologize, and she always forgives. She cannot stand for there to be distance
between me and her anymore than I can. In ten months time we are so close!
She literally gives me hugs. She walks up and wraps her front paws around me
and lays her face on mine--like she is trying to cover or protect me. She
does this when she sees that I am upset or crying. Amazing empathy. This dog
reads me better than any human being I know.
Darla has the warmest most expressive golden brown eyes imaginable, and she
has little eyebrows that also make her face so appealing. Just like in
"Wallace and Gromit," Gromit's eyes tell you everything you need to know, so
do Darla's eyes do likewise.
Darla loves to be loved and respected and she likes hanging out with me and
her sidekick, Chancey, my 14 1/2 year old geriatric Pug. They are total
opposites. Chancey hates exercise. Darla loves it. Chancey would eat
everything in sight. Darla is particular, and often needs to be hand fed to
get her started. Chancey is built like a little tank. Darla is built like a
ballet dancer. What can I say? I love my dogs so much. I would be lost
without them. I am thankful for every day that I have to play with them.
Therefore, I put up with the times when she can be stubborn, willful and
headstrong! (I know somebody else like that ... ME!) Those times require
patience and humor - and time outs for one of us or both!
See more images of Darla!
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