history

The Thai Ridgeback Dog is one of the oldest breeds of dogs in the world today. The breed was first recognized by the Dog Association of Thailand, then the Japanese Kennel Club, the Asian Kennel Union and finally, as breed number 338 by the FCI (Federation Cynologinque International) on July 28, 1993. The VDH recognised this breed in 1994.

In October 1993, the Communication Authority of Thailand printed the Thai Ridgeback Dog on four different Thai postage stamps (the Thai Ridgeback comes in four colors: black, fawn, red, and silver blue.)

The Thai Ridgeback is also one of the oldest breeds in Southeast Asia.
There are four different breeds of dogs that are native to Thailand:

Thai dog

Bang-Kaew Dog

The Thai Ridgeback dog has become very popular in Thailand in the past twenty years.

A very old breed...
Years ago a very old book was found with a drawing of a Thai Ridgeback Dog.
This book is about 350 years old. Many Thai people say that the Thai Ridgeback dog is :

"Kon San" (Short-coat)
"Lung Ahn" (Ridgeback)
"Hoo Tang"(Erect ears)
"Hang Dab" (Tail-up like a sword)

These words describe the characteristics of the dog in the drawing shown in this very old book.

This proves that the Thai Ridgeback dog has been in Thailand for at least 350 years.

A few years ago, some Thai people discovered a cave in Uthai-Tanee province.
This cave is named Tum-Pra-Toon and has a lot of ancient drawings.
The drawings show the daily life of that time period.
Some of the drawings show dogs. One drawing of a dog was very clear and it looks just like the Thai Ridgeback dog.
A Thai professor has proven that these drawings are more than 3,000 years old.
There are other caves in Korat, which have many drawings of dogs that look like the drawings in the Tun-Pra-Toon cave.

Prior to 1960, there were no dog shows in Thailand. Thai people just had dogs as pets or to protect their homes.
Rich people would import dogs from Europe, German Shepherds being the most popular breed. Most of the Thai people had the "street dog" or "Mah Thai" (Thai dog - with no ridges.)

Between 1967-1982 there were only a few dog shows, breeders and exhibitors in Bangkok. The Thai Ridgeback dogs were regulars in the show rings and always top winners.
The breeders of the Thai Ridgeback had to travel to all parts of Thailand to find the best Thai Ridgeback dog. They were not easy to find. They were hidden away in areas where there is very poor communication and very few people would travel there because of poor roads. Because these areas were so remote, the Thai Ridgeback dog had bred naturally for a very long time. No other breeds were known to be in these areas except the Thai Ridgeback dog.

From 1988 to 1993 the Thai Ridgeback dog experienced a very "Big Boom". Some Thai Ridgeback dog sold for as much as $20,000.

Today there are only a handful of Thai Ridgeback dog registered with the Dog Association of Thailand (DAT), and only 739 breeding couples registered with The Kennel Club of Thailand. There are many more that have not been registered.
There could be easily be more than a half million Thai Ridgeback dogs in Thailand.

Thailand and China are not very far apart.
Is it possible that the modern Thai Ridgeback dog and the Chinese Shar-Pei originated from the ancient Thai Ridgeback dog?
Many say that the Chinese Shar-Pei came from the Phu Quoc Dog.
Is the Phu Quoc Dog the same as the Thai Ridgeback Dog?

In ancient times, the King of Vietnam fell into trouble with his people.
He fled to Thailand and stayed with the King of Siam (Thailand used to be called Siam).
The King of Siam supported the King of Vietnam in fighting his enemies. He soon regained his kingdom and developed very good relationships with many Thai people.
Many say he brought back the Thai Ridgeback Dog to his country.
Could these dogs have evolved to become the Phu Quoc Dog of Vietnam?

Many travelers from Africa brought back the Phu Quoc Dog to breed with their Hottentot Dog to create the Ari Ridgeback of South Africa, later to be called the Rhodesian Ridgeback.

So, who created the Thai Ridgeback dog? No one really knows. They go back in time before written history.
No one can prove the Thai Ridgeback dog past, for no records were kept - only stories passed on through the centuries.
I can only guess on the history of the Thai Ridgeback Dog.

	the Thai Dog (no ridge on the back - your basic street dog)
	the Boran Dog (a totally hairless dog)
	the Bang-Kaew Dog (a fox-wolf cross dog)
	the Thai Ridgeback Dog (with different ridge patterns on the back.)