Been so long since I've been on here that they deleted my old account, formerly Ridgley. Yes, I realize this is a 10 year old thread. I stumbled across it while searching for something else and was curious to hear how it worked out. As a Ridgeback owner for 25 years and with a current pack of 9. A few comments obviously come from people with little experience of the breed, so hopefully I can clear that up. They don't use them to decoy lions, they use a pack of them to hold a lion at bay until the guy with the gun arrives. They are certainly not all show dogs, there are many breeders that use them as working dogs, whether that be hunting, herding, search and rescue, blood trailing, etc., they are actually when they have a job to do. Personally I use/have used mine for blood trailing and bird hunting. They have an extremely high prey drive and are nearly uncontrollable when they get on the trail of something. Recall is always a challenge with them. As for the question of using one for a decoy dog, I don't think they would do well for that task because, as mentioned, they have an extremely high prey drive and would likely take off after a yote and completely ignore your commands. Outside of decoying and waterfowl retrieval, they are extremely intelligent and can handle just about any task you put them to. They are also sensitive dogs, believing the punishment should fit the crime. If you use a heavy hand in your training you will ruin the dog.