Thai Ridgeback Dog — questions to ask before paying a deposit
A responsible breeder will have these readily available. Deflection is a red flag.
Dermoid sinuscan shorten life or cause chronic pain
A tubular skin defect running along the dorsal midline towards the spine, present from birth, caused by the same FGF3/FGF4/FGF19/ORAOV1 gene duplication that produces the breed's ridge. It can trap debris, become repeatedly infected, and usually needs surgical removal; dogs with two copies of the duplication are at substantially higher risk than dogs with one.
Ask to see: A DNA 'ridge zygosity' test on both parents, showing whether each carries one or two copies of the duplication (offered for this breed specifically by GenoCan and other laboratories). This predicts relative risk, not presence — it does not replace a physical check of the puppy's back at birth and over the following weeks.
Nature Genetics — Salmon Hillbertz et al. 2007, duplication of FGF3, FGF4, FGF19 and ORAOV1 causes hair ridge and predisposition to dermoid sinus in Ridgeback dogs (https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.2007.4) · Veterinary Record Case Reports — Manzanedo-Delgado et al. 2022, multiple sacro-coccygeal dermoid sinuses on a Thai Ridgeback (https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/vrc2.493) · GenoCan (commercial DNA lab) — ridge predisposition test, lists Thai Ridgeback (https://genocan.eu/product/ridge-predisposition/)