NEVER play tug of war with your Ridgeback. You will eventually lose, and they will never forget that. You will be forever lower on the pack ladder if you allow them to win.

NEVER play chase games with your Ridgeback. You will only be encouraging him to run away from you, or worst yet for them to see people as fun prey to chase. Nothing will be more difficult to break when you try to teach him the command come when it’s time to leave the park.

NEVER allow children to play chase with you Ridgeback. This breed has a chasing prey drive, and they will enjoy this game, but the children will either become scared or they will get hurt.

NEVER encourage your Ridgeback to be aggressive or defensive. When your Ridgeback is mature, it will know when that type of behavior will be appropriate. To encourage a Ridgeback to be a TOUGH dog, CAN create a dog that will have to be put to death for aggression. This breed DOES NOT work as guard or protection dogs for a reason, they are NOT reliable for the release command in order to have true control over the dog. Ridgebacks do not do Schutzhund work (personal protection) because they are not reliable like German Shepherd Dogs, Dobermans and Rotties.

NEVER allow your Ridgeback to do something that you cannot live with forever. If you don’t want them in your bed every night, never let them in your bed one night. (This is particularly important with a Ridgeback that is more dominant in nature, set the record straight from the beginning, and do not allow them to take up a place in the bed. This is often the place the owners have the first "button pushing" experience, don’t give in, and don’t allow them to bully you with a growl – use a verbal correction, calmly remove them from the bed)