Hi Diane,

I just wanted to say it was a Pleasure working with you to bring home our Precious Xola.
This is such a Special Breed! We had spoken to many Rhodesian Ridgeback Breeders but I’ll tell you after speaking with you we felt comfortable, more honed in on what to expect from Training to Feeding and your Continuous guidance since we brought Xola home.
Xola”s temperament and demeanor is a testimonial itself, she came home at 8 weeks and felt like she was almost potty trained scratching at the back door to be let out for her Business.
Time will tell with the little one but I just wanted to let you Know that you were and are an absolute delight to work with and we so appreciate all of your prompt responses no matter what it is!

Respectfully,

The Marfatia's

                       Owner Testimonials

                                                                        Testimonial's
                                             Chioke Rhodesian Ridgeback  Owners

The good Lord managed to have our paths cross for a reason. Chioke’s certainly have provided us with two gifts from God  - Nala and Charlie Brown. When our beloved Sadie and Spanky crossed the Rainbow Bridge, a big piece of our hearts was taken away.  Nala and Charlie Brown have provided us with joy and helped heal our broken hearts.
Charlie Brown (Chioke’s Southern Sweet Boy) has quite the personality that melts your heart.  He’s a gentle giant and definitely a Southern Sweet Boy.  After one week, he is adjusting well and loves to pull the laundry around the house.  Charlie Brown loves walking on the leash and exploring the neighborhood.  He is still timid and barks at strangers, the more exposure he has he will overcome.  We are getting him into our routine and he loves to give hugs and kisses.  The other night, he stole Nala’s (Chioke’s High Queen of Archer) blanket off her bed and it started a staring contest and subsequent tongue lashing by the High Queen.  He is not phased that she is the High Queen of Archer and refuses to bow down to her.
Nala and Charlie Brown get along just fine.  Nala tries to bully him but he stands his ground.  They run around the yard chasing one another and sounds like a heard of elephants.  We got him a special food dish to slow him from wolfing down his food.  Well, it works for the most part. He’s figured out how to flip it over.  He will start AKC training next week.  
Since earning her AKC Trick Dog Novice and AKC Canine Good Citizen, Nala started her beginner Rally course with the goal of competing.  She recently discovered squirrels and now chased them around the yard.  She is high maintenance and very vocal.  Nala has to be the center of attention.  
We love Nala and Charlie Brown and cannot thank you enough for trusting us to provide forever homes for them.  You’ve raised top-quality Rhodesians with strong bloodlines.  The adoption process was easy and our vet is extremely pleased with your record keeping and how well you raised and cared for your puppies.  We cannot be more happy with our new fur babies and we will happily be a reference for any potential adopters.
You will receive frequent updates about Nala and Charlie Brown. Thanks for everything!
Keith & Bob

Nala & Charlie Brown’s Dads 

     

Here is an update on Kito (aka Munchkin) with some pics. The first ones are his fight with the lion...ha ha, and then there are the ones of his first trip to the bay. He did not know what to think of the water, but he will get used to it living in Florida.

He is doing very well. He has quite a personality. Very confident and independent, yet loving and gentle. He constantly tests who is the dominant one, so I have to be on top of my game. I have enjoyed him very much so far. He is going to be a great dog and I look forward to our long lives together. I don't know how I've gotten along without him.

He is currently 27lbs and gets his last vaccines next week. He is very smart, and has already learned various commands/behaviors. During feeding time, he will sit a couple feet away from his food, and only approach it on my command. He already knows how to sit, lay down, stay, and come (though we are currently working on all the commands when he is distracted by other people and dogs and such. Right now, we are working on "drop it" for when he has something in his mouth that I don't want him to leave alone. He is picking that one up, but it is proving tricky.

He thinks he is a lap dog, and I'm often surprised by him plopping down on me when I'm reading or doing other things...ha ha.

He is the talk of everyone who meets him, about what a good looking, fun loving, friendly, confident dog he is. My pet smart instructor said he is his favorite....that's right.

All in all, we are very happy together. I look forward to sharing our happiness with you. Thank you for being such wonderful, ethical breeders, who raise beautiful healthy dogs. I'm so glad I found you guys.
Until next time,
Nikki and Kito

“Diane is everything you want in a breeder ...so professional, friendly and fast. She sent photos of the puppy along with updates to prepare you with the puppy’s arrival. The process was so smooth right down to the delivery and my liver nose pup, Bella seemed to be hand picked just for me. Bella is in excellent health and the absolute epitome of what a Rhodesian Ridgeback should be. If I ever get another Ridgeback, I’m coming back to you!”
Jamil Barrie,
Brand Strategist, Semantix (and Warner Bros.)
Los Angeles, CA

Yes, I went to the vet’s office of the vet I wanted to see and instead I saw a younger new vet in his office. She is the one who sent me to the orthopedic dr. He said the same thing about how young she is and thinks she is awesome. His tech fell in love and almost didn’t give Chloe back to me. Everywhere I take her she is a STAR.

The other day I came home from picking the kids up from school and she was not in the kitchen where we have the puppy gate. She was asleep in the playroom OUTSIDE the puppy gate. I told Robbie “I think we have a climber.” Sure enough, I put her back in the kitchen and she climbed the gate like it was a rock wall, nearly landing on her head on the other side. She will NOT stay anywhere where we are not. She is already showing how smart she is and she has totally stolen all of our hearts – including Jackson. He is GA GA over her.

You know the most important thing to me in a dog was a good temperament and I can’t tell you how pleased I am w/ Jackson. He is SO sweet. That’s why we would not get another dog unless it came from you.
Thanks a million,
Sheri
 

Dear Diane,

Thanks for the email. It was good to hear from you and I have been thinking about emailing you and giving you an update about Sammy.
Ever since we got him, he has been a constant pleasure, even with all of the usual puppy mischief. It seems that during the day he is pretty mellow and at a year and a half, he will chase the squirrels and rabbits with gusto. The deer he just stalks to the point that they will eventually move away. He seems to get along with people and dogs, but at night its another story. If he hears any noises that don’t meet with his approval, he will take off to check it out.
Recently however, Sam has shown his true mettle. We have a deer problem that Sam has helped to curtail this by keeping them away from the house and gardens. The other day I was behind the garage and I heard a grunting sound accompanied by stomping. When I turned around, there was one big buck with a large rack. His head was lowered and he appeared ready to charge me. I turned to move slowly away from him, but he followed. I yelled and that did no good. I had nothing to throw at him and nothing with which to protect myself. I was concerned.
Out of nowhere came Sammy. He got between me and the buck. The hair on his back was raised and he was making noises that I had not heard before. Serious growls along with barking Sam backed him away from me. The deer decided he didn’t want any of this and ran to the other side of the invisible fence line with Sam on his heels and off the property. When you told me that Ridgebacks were protective, you weren’t kidding.
After the rather harrowing event, Sammy seemed his usual self. I, however, viewed him with a new found respect. I thought you might enjoy hearing about this latest event.
Please take care,
Jack Hastings

Hi Diane,
Sending you a few new pictures of Rosie. I can’t believe she’s 3 months old or that we’ve had her for a month now. She is so smart – potty training is just about over. She is such a fast learner but then again she’s a ridgeback and we all know how smart they are! Her personality fits right in with the family and it seems like she’s always been here. Luke is devoted to her and she him. They are already inseparable and he is very protective of her. She has brought the “puppy” back in Luke and he is a much happier dog now. He missed our Maggie so much. I can’t say enough good things about Rosie. When the time comes to add to the family (and we all know THAT will happen, too!), we will be back to see you.
Take care.
Vicki 

Oh Diane this little guy has brought so much joy to our lives! He is adjusting beautifully and is being loved and enjoyed by all! We can't thank you enough for listening to Gods voice and choosing him for us... He truly is a "gracious gift from God". Today would have been our beloved Mr.T's 3rd birthday and we were very emotional this morning but then in trots our little Shane who proceeds to pour out his love on us by licking us to pieces!! The tears dried up and we began rejoicing over our blessings.
You will always have a special place in our hearts! I will continue to update y'all. God bless you abundantly!
Lovingly,
Barbara & Bud Brassell

2/15/14
The vet he said they were very impressed with the breed they said
 that this was the most handsome Rhodesian ridgeback they have ever seen and told me to give their compliments to the breeder. They also informed us he is in perfect health.
Gary and Jacob
 

Hi Diane!
Just a quick email to let you know what our vet said at Hunter's last visit: He was flopped on the floor, half asleep, doing his half-snore thing while the tech petted him (SUCH a wonderful change from when he was a bit younger.. thank goodness for age, neutering, and good training!!!). The vet was telling us that they have a couple of other RRs in their practice and Hunter is VERY different from them! She said that we had an awesome breeder who clearly bred for a good, friendly temperament and knew what she was doing because Hunter is SO WONDERFUL!! (Which, of course, we knew, but it's pretty neat to hear from a professional!) So again, our compliments and thanks to you for bringing such a joy and big ol' lapdog into our lives! Things couldn't be better with the big galoot!
Josh & Sara DuFault


Hey Diane,

Just a note to let you know that Neo is still doing well.
He is magnificent! He holds down several family jobs: he is the greeter at the gym where Linda works; He helps me do security patrols for an old school building that I am rehabbing to be a disaster shelter; and he is a good house dog too He's probably the smartest dog that I have ever had.
Thank you,
Larry Sullivan (Delaware)


Dear Diane and Dom, We have had our Doc for just over a week now. What a joy he is to our world! Let me correct that, it is HIS world and we are just living it it. He has adjusted very well to his new surrondings and has been house trained in only 1 week. He has a fantastic personality and loves all the people he meets. He loves to show his feelings with nice warm licks. He is really very beautiful, smart as a whip and so affecionate we should have named him Romeo! He has gained about 3 pounds and is getting quite tall. His second day of puppy school is tonight. We hope he stays awake he got bored last week and took a little siesta during class. Thank you again for your wonderful breeding practices and great Ridgebacks. In our opinion you are both "BREEDERS OF THE YEAR!
Sincerely, Melinda and Mike Ryan Liberty Township, Ohio

Dear Diane and Dom,
WOW! What a wonderful little dog we picked up at your place July 9,2011.
After our beloved Jack passed away we thought we would never find another with such a sweet disposition. But the little angels that you had were just the right tonic for an aching heart.
When we saw Doc we just knew he was the one!
Your sympathetic ear and wise counsel made our choice in choosing the right Ridgy very easy.
The temperment and health that you insist on in your breeding make it a "no brainer". All we do is add the love and the recipe is complete for a lifelong friendship with the best breed of dog on the planet, from the best breeder on the planet!
You treat your profession as a ministry and that is what sets you apart from others in your field. Thanks for being such a wonderful caretaker for such wonderful breed of dog.

Sincerely,
Mike and Melinda Ryan

Diane,
Hope everything is well. I have attached some recent photos of our beautiful Jack. He has been nothing short of wonderful. The whole family loves him so much. Whenever anyone comes over they just have to play with Jack for a while. He is the most well mannered, friendly and loyal dog I have ever owned. His favorite thing in the winter is to lay in front of the fire. We generally have a fire every night and rest assured Jack plops down right in front. He has also been a great watch dog. He is always the first to let us know when someone is coming up the drive...or if there is a deer, fox, turkey, etc. in the back yard. He loves to watch birds out the window. He will sit and watch them walk around forever. We just received a bird feeder so hopefully in the spring he will have plenty of birds to watch again. He still loves the snow, even though it is up past his shoulders now. I throw his ball way out into the yard and he goes right under the snow to find it. As a whole, we could not be happier with our selection to make a Rhodesian Ridgeback part of our family. He has been the best friend anyone could ask for.

As you told us when we came to pick Jack up, we would eventually want another, and now we are looking to get another RR. I have not even thought of looking for another breeder because you were so wonderful through our first process. Not to mention, the dog that we picked up that day has been nothing but a delight. He is now big, strong and beautiful. We were looking at your website the other day and talking about how closely he resembles his father. With that being said, are you expecting any litters soon?

Thanks for everything,
Rich and Jessica

Hi Diane,

It is Nikki and Kito and it has been way too long since I have updated you. Hope you like to read, because this will be a long one...lol. Kito and I are fantastic! I'm not saying that Kito is the perfect dog, but he is pretty darn close. Ok, he just might be the perfect dog...ha ha. It hasn't been without it's rough times now and then, but he is truly mans best friend. I cannot believe he is almost 2yrs old. He has such a sweet demeanor. Hasn't met a person he doesn't like or anyone who doesn't like him. He will rough house with myself or my boyfriend one moment and stand there while a toddler pets him the next. If he is in a situation that doesn't look right he will be protective until I assure him it is ok. This is why socialization is so important. He has been around other people so much that he knows what is normal and what is not, even the time of day. If we are walking at night time, he is more weary of people, as if to say "why are you out around this hour? You better not be up to any mischief!" I often bring him to a very nice area down town and walk him. He maneuvers his way through the crowds just fine and everyone is so amazed at how well behaved he is. He doesn't like to swim, which is too bad since we live in Florida, but he likes to wade and lay in the water to cool himself off. Never the less, he doesn't fight when I bath him and lets me touch any part of him with no hassle, whether it be cleaning his ears, nose, teeth, eyes, or paws. It's almost as if he knows he needs to remain still so I can do what I need to do. I bath him at my car wash station in my apartment complex, and at one point I even take his collar off so I can clean underneath it really well it. Baths are not his favorite thing, but he is so good that he will stay there, outside, no collar, and let me wash him without putting up a fight or running away.

People who are familiar with RRs are so surprised that I could have one so very well trained...lol. But I like to think that is because Kito and I have such a great relationship and lifestyle. He knows I am the boss and trusts in me 100%. And I love him to death and include him in everything that I can. He is so very, very smart, and for being a breed who is not easy to train he is pretty trainable....lol. He knows the basic commands like sit, down, stay, come, off, etc. But he also knows more difficult commands like drop it, leave it, take it, pick it up, wait, back, out, go to your bed, shake, bark, touch, I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting here. To give you some examples, I can tell him to sit, lay, or stand in any order and he understands what it means. He gets bored of fetch very quickly, but he will fetch an item in the distance even if it hasn't recently been thrown. If I point at an item on the ground and say "pick it up" he will pick it up with his mouth, and then I tell him to "bring it" and he will walk to me and place it in my hand. We are currently working on getting him to understand the difference in picking up the ball vs. picking up the bear. I am optimistic about him catching onto this. When I tell him to wait, he knows that I am going through the door first, or that he can't jump out of the car just yet. If he is too close to the door or the kitchen, I'll tell him "back" and he will back up a few feet. I think you get the idea...: ). We have worked on all of these commands plus more. I really enjoy training him. I believe it further strengthens our bond and improves our communication so we understand each other well. But as you know, an RR is not a german shepherd. It often takes a little convincing to get Kito to do this things but it makes it all the more rewarding when he does them.

He is such a handsome dog. I love his eyebrows and how expressive they are, and I love the wrinkles on his head. I will email you some pics once I get my camera up and running again. He turns heads wherever he goes. If people don't know RRs they always ask what breed he is. And if they ask to pet him he will politely stand there and oblige, and if they are lucky, give them a friendly nuzzle. He is a very fit 105lbs. We Rollerblade almost everyday and as often as I can, I take him to my soccer practices and let him play with my students. he loves this time.

I could go on forever about him and how he is the best dog ever, but I'd be typing all night. I guess I have you to blame for all this. I don't think I will ever own another dog besides a Ridgeback, and I don't think I'll ever buy from another breeder besides you. So I hope you never stop breeding...lol. One day when I have a house, I will be looking to get another. I tell everyone I meet that the Ridgeback is the best dog and that I know the best breeder...: ).

Hope all is well with you and your pack.
Best wishes
Nikki and Kito

This is not a testimonal just a funny ridgeback story I wanted to share.

Diane,

Funny story, I usually have jerky make out of my deer kill each year and always have a bag hid in my desk cuz my two girls will devour it if I let them. For the last three weeks every time I went to grab a piece of jerky for a snack the whole bag has been gone. I keep forgetting to tell the girls to not eat all my jerky literally after the first day I put a package in my desk drawer. I always give Simba a piece of it while he is in my office. I just cleaned his kennel and under his blanket is his personal stash of food. Three empty bags along with Ramen soup bag from our pantry, I have know idea how he got those out of my desk and into his kennel unless he does this on his roaming time.
Sincerely,

Dave

Diane: here's an update for you:
Simba is doing great! He has grown so much! He's very intelligent,
already almost fully house-broken. He understands the commands "no" and
"Stay". He loves his warm, soft, cuddly bed-cushion and cries for it
whenever he can't have it while it's being washed. :) He loves my 21
month old daughter, is very proud to be with my husband (whom he
considers his Ultimate Master), listens to me (strict but loving mommy)
and enjoys hanging out with my teenage daughter. We are also keeping up
with his vet visits.

So thank you very much! I'll send you some pictures as soon as possible.
Of course we have a zillion pictures already. I'll have to pick the best
one!

Gesina

Copper is a "healthy" 108. He is sooooooooo adorable. We love him dearly. He is such a great addition to our family. He is extremely loving and always wants to be near us. He is quite goofy and very playful. We couldn't ask for a better puppy. He's just perfect. Even our 6 year old RR, Nala, has also grown a liking to him as well. She's normally very grumpy but ever since he's gotten here, she's been a lot more playful. He just loves to play ALL OF THE TIME.
Thank you again for everything. We absolutely love Copper and couldn't be happier. I will absolutely check out your website periodically.

Thanks,
Khang    

Greatest decision of my life was to get a pup from Chioke Rhodesian! When we called Diane in the fall she only had two “ridgeless males” left and we chose the one know as the “block head”. Well this block head is now know as Rufus and he is absolutely the most amazing, kind, loving, well behaved dog I’ve ever known and brings me joy each and every day! Thank you so much Diane! Me and my family are so very grateful!

Dom D