@Hello

About @Hello

Six weeks after Emoji passed away, @Hello (pronounced Atello, or just Tello for friends 😉 ) came into our lives. He was 16 months young at the time.

We were tipped about the planned rehoming of a Rhodesian Ridgeback male by the owners of his brother, a dog I knew personally and whom I really liked. We were not yet ready for a new dog in our lives, and certainly not an intact, adolescent male. But after sleeping on it (read talking 😉 ) for a night, we decided to go and meet him anyway.

The reason for rehoming was sheer underestimation of the amount of time and energy a growing ridgeback male takes. With a toddler, newborn twins, covid restrictions, and illness, there was just not enough time left for him.

Although he was loved, and well-educated in and around the house, any further training, contact with other dogs, and outdoor activities fell short. And so, with @Hello’s best interest in mind, his owners opted for rehoming. He was still called Otello then.

We made an appointment  to visit him with Cara, and well, he had us “at hello”. And it wasn’t just us, Cara too was almost immediately in love with him. And that was very, very special, since Cara  never liked intact males after she first got into heat. Even brother Sies, whom she loved as a youngster, was no longer playing material after that. But with @Hello she was rolling on the ground within 3 minutes of being released together. They raced across the country in pursuit of each other and drank together from one bowl of water when they returned. We were stunned.

He arrived on 19-05-2022. Livernose Rules Otello.
Otello, he had us “at hello”, sounds like Atello…
1 letter difference from the name he already knew…
And that’s how Otello became @Hello. 🙂

At the time of writing, he has been with us for almost a year. He has adapted wonderfully to our way of life and things are going great between him and Cara.

He’s a quick learner and eager to do so, highly motivated for food rewards but a “good boy” for simple stuff is also appreciated. His favourite position is on his back on the couch, all fours up in the air, head on our lap. 😉 He’s a very playful, happy, outgoing, loving, brave but sensitive (in a good way) boy.  A very typical Rhodesian Ridgeback so te speak, except for the notorious aloofness with strangers, he doesn’t mind strangers at all and is always happy to come say Hello if they ask for his attention. 

Like Daico and Emoji, @Hello has proved himself to be a passionate hunter. In addition to body awareness and show training at the dog school, we have picked up mantrailing with him and we will start the lure coursing in the 2023 season to meet this tracking and hunting passion.

March this year (2023) we had our first show, the very first show not just for him, but for me as well. I had Emoji shown by her breeder at the time because I didn’t have the guts myself. 😉

I entered him in the Spring Karst Winner, a three-day show in Opatje Selo, Slovenia.

Day 1, CAC/CACIB show. Open class. 1Exc, CAC, Best Male, CACIB, BOS
Day 2, CAC show. open class. 1Exc, CAC, Best Male, BOS
Day 3, CAC/CACIB show. open class. 1U, CAC, Best Male, Res. CACIB

@Hello may now call himself Slovenian champion, mister Ch. Livernose Rules Otello 🙂
Super proud of him, and us as a couple, because this really was a personal victory for me. As showing isn’t really my cup off tea, we will probably leave it at this 😉 

@Hello meets all the conditions set by the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club Netherlands (RRCN) to be used as a stud. He is, selectively and sparingly, available for females that seem to be a good match in terms of health, character, exterior and pedigree. Tello has a full DNA profile screened at  Embark

@Hello is born in a litter of 11, 6 males, 5 females. No Dermoid Sinuses, no kinked tails and all boys with descended scrotum.

If you are seriously interested in @Hello as a stud or if you have any questions, feel free to contact us.