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The first Rhodesian ridgeback club formed in the early 1920s and an experienced breeder named Francis Barnes established the modern standard, which the South African Kennel Union approved. The Rhodesian Ridgeback was first recognized in the United States in 1955.

These small dogs have been known to exist in China since the eighth century. Surviving for more than thirteen hundred years, the breed was first referenced in the ancient artwork of the Tang Dynasty. The breed reached the peak of its popularity in the early to mid-1800s, when it was said that thousands of them were kept at various palaces.

There is much speculation about the origin of the Old English Mastiff, also called English Mastiff, or just simply Mastiff. The ancestors of the modern-day Mastiffs were found in what is now present-day Britain by Roman soldiers during the expansion of the Roman Empire. The Romans called these dogs Canes Pugnaces Britanniae, which roughly translated to “British Fighting Dogs.”

Ancient hounds have existed in Irish legends, lore, and literature since the beginning of Ireland's recorded history. They were protectors of kings, defenders of life, and hunters of game up until the fifteenth century. From that point, they were used specifically to hunt wolves, a job that they excelled in.