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At times MaraTana has adoptable, mature Ridgebacks available for placement. Learn more about adoptions and one of our successful adoptions.
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We also occasionally offer our puppies for sale. We are very selective in which homes our puppies are placed in. When we decide to place a puppy in his/her new home, we want to make sure that the home will be the puppy’s FOREVER home. Typically Rhodesian Ridgebacks will live for 8-12 years, so the commitment it takes to live with these dogs is most definitely a long-term one. Please educate yourself about the breed FIRST before you consider buying one of our puppies.
View more information regarding is a Rhodesian Ridgeback right for you, puppy sales and placement and testimonials from MaraTana puppy owners. If you think you might be interested in one of our puppies, please contact us about our next planned litter. View our photo gallery which includes selected pictures of some of our puppies from past litters and our extended MaraTana family. References from our past puppy buyers are available upon request.
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Two Sisters
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View More Puppy Photos in our Puppy Gallery
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Is A Rhodesian Ridgeback Right For You?
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When considering the purchase of a MaraTana puppy, please be sure to learn about the breed and decide whether a Ridgeback is best suited for you and your families lifestyle. We also recommend consulting with your veterinarian for advice.
Puppies are very cute, especially Ridgebacks, so do not buy compulsively. They do grow up to be large, agile dogs who need daily exercise and interaction with their human companions. A fenced yard is required to keep your puppy/dog happy and safe.
Use the following guidelines in determining whether a Ridgeback will make a suitable companion:
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- Exercise and Mental Stimulation. If you simply want a pet for your family and don’t have the time nor inclination to take your dog running, hiking, walking, biking or swimming, or other dog related activities then a Ridgeback is probably not a good choice for you.
- Socialization. Provide extensive exposure that provides them with positive interaction with people and other animals, as well as formal obedience training. All are a must for Ridgebacks so they learn to be good citizens.
- Strong Temperament. You must be able to show them through consistency what is and is not acceptable behavior.
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Prospective Buyer Questionnaire
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At MaraTana we do ask that if you are seriously considering one our our special puppies that you complete our prospective owner’s questionnaire. The purpose of this questionnaire is not to prejudge you but to get to know you better and help us choose just the right puppy for you. There is no one best way to own or care for a dog but at MaraTana we want to be sure that your puppy will be happy in its new home. Print and complete our questionnaire (PDF format or Word RTF format) and e-mail, fax or send it to us by regular USPS mail.
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Puppy Sales Contract/Terms
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We pre-approve all puppy inquires prior to placing people on our puppy waiting list (complete our “Buyer Questionnaire”). Approved inquires are placed on a waiting list and a deposit is requested to secure your name on our waiting list. The final payment for our puppies is due when the puppies are born. In the event we do not have a puppy available after a deposit has been received, we will refund your deposit. Individuals also have the choice of advancing their deposit for a puppy from a future litter. Should a prospective buyer voluntarily cancel their puppy order their deposit WILL NOT be refunded.
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Puppy Care
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Our veterinarian has a good relationship with our dogs. She knows the breed and is one of the first people we contact after the puppies are born. Our puppies receive the required vaccinations and deworming care prior to being placed in their new homes. Dewclaws are removed within the first week of the puppies’ lives.
Puppy socialization is very important to us. Our puppies have lovely temperaments. We attribute that to the time we spend with our puppies during their first three months of life by playing with them, taking them for walks and grooming them. Our puppies enjoy our undivided attention from birth.
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Puppy Evaluation and Selection
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Today, with the increased awareness of pet over population, the question of whether to breed or not has become a concern of ours. Once a litter is born we evaluate each puppy and as the puppy grows we select which puppies we will sell as breeding/show quality and which puppies we will sell as pet quality only.
We base our selection of breeding/show quality puppies on the Rhodesian Ridgebacks traits that we would like to keep within the breed. MaraTana sells pet quality puppies only with a spay/neuter non-breeding agreement and AKC limited registration.
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Puppy Placement
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The placement age of a puppy is between 8 and 12 weeks of age. After a puppy is placed with a family, we appreciate when the family maintains communication with us to keep us informed of the puppy/dogs general development and well being.
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Transportation
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Safe delivery and transportation for our puppies is very important to us. For buyers who live outside the immediate Dallas/Fort Worth area but within the state of Texas, we can make arrangements to meet you half way by road to deliver your puppy. For all other areas within the continental U.S., transportation costs will be the responsibility of the buyer. When it is necessary to ship a puppy to its new home, MaraTana will coordinate the shipping arrangements to maximize the safety and comfort of the puppy during its journey. We ship from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and it is necessary to follow strict government and airline safety guidelines for live animal shipments.
However, it is the responsibility of the buyer to contact the airline about shipping requirements. ALL airlines have information about shipping pets listed on their web sites. PUPPIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR SHIPMENT UNTIL THEY ARE AT LEAST 8 WEEKS OLD. If you are purchasing two puppies, each puppy will travel in his/her own kennel. Wherever possible we ship via American Airlines.
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View American Airlines shipping requirements here.
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MaraTana Testimonials
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We are pleased to provide just testimonials from a few owners who have purchased MaraTana Ridgebacks.
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“Savuti, who has been renamed Finn (based on my phenomenal ability to mispronounce Savuti on a regular basis) is presently sitting next to me enjoying once of the carcasses of his many toys (note: they are all carcasses at this point). He is a beautiful dog, both in terms of his appearance and his temperament - and you will be pleased to know spoiled very regularly. He brings joy to my life every day, and apparently his definition of happiness involves close proximity to me and free reign to chase fireflies. He’s wonderful!”
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M. Benham - Austin, TX
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“Well, we have news, we have just moved back to England with Simba and Lulu who are in quarantine. We hate that thought but they are such a huge part of our family that we had to bring them with us. Mari, Lulu is just the most fantastic, wonderful dog. She is really spunky but the most loving adorable girl. Simba by now is totally mad about Rory and Rory adores Simba. Simba and Lulu are also so very close to each other. Whereas, Simba is really slim and athletic, Lulu is a gorgeous little fatty. Mari, she weighs over 72lbs!!! She loves her food and eats Simba’s as well if she can. Lulu is very laid back and loves our cat. We couldn’t have got more wonderful Ridgebacks and if we ever add to the family you can be sure we’ll fly them from Texas. Please keep in contact.”
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W, Stephen - England
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“Leoa is doing very well and has turned out to be a very sociable, friendly part of the family. Although I am not sure how much she weighs (she is due for a vets visit in the near future, we will know soon), she is strong but trim. She suffered a brown recluse spider bite when she was 4 months old and we were afraid that would scar her, but she came back around very well and you can see the uneven hair on her chest only if you know where to look.
Our experience purchasing her from you, from early contacts to paperwork, to your recommendation of which puppy to select were impeccable. We are also very, very pleased with Leoa herself, especially her sociable personality which allows visitors to feel perfectly at ease with such a large breed.”
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Muir Family - Stephenville, TX
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“When I was researching different Rhodesian Ridgeback breeders, some were very short and sweet in answering questions I had about these wonderful dogs. But when I called MaraTana Rhodesian Ridgebacks, I knew within the first 10 minutes of my telephone conversation with Mari that I would purchase my puppy from her.
While I was waiting for my puppy to be born, I received periodic email updates from Mari describing how the soon-to-be mommy of my puppy was progressing.
I would not hesitate to refer or purchase another dog from Mari, and in fact she is the ONLY breeder I would use. Mari pre-qualifies each potential puppy owner to make sure that her puppies go to homes where they will have a happy home life. The quality of MaraTana Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies is superior.”
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J. Isaacson - Houston, TX
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“P.S. - I wish more breeders took as much time as Mari does with potential puppy buyers, and it is obvious that Mari spends a lot of time with her puppies because my Obie is a wonderful Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy.”
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“We are so fortunate to have two beautiful MaraTana Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies. After months of researching Ridgeback breeders, we came across the MaraTana Rhodesian Ridgeback web site and fell in love with the look of their dogs; however, temperament was just as important to us. We wanted beautiful red wheaten Ridgebacks that would make great family pets for our two young daughters. After corresponding with Mari for months, we knew we wanted to purchase our puppies from MaraTana. Mari was not only open and honest when answering our questions, she also asked all the right ones to make sure her dogs were placed in good homes. That said a lot to us.
After waiting months for our puppies to be born and old enough to fly home to California, we finally met our male, Dakar, and our female Kya. We told Mari we preferred dogs that looked like their parents and that is what we got. Dakar is becoming as handsome as his father and Kya is growing to be big and beautiful like her mother. The dogs love being part of the family and are great playmates for our daughters. While they love to terrorize our garden, they are nothing but loving and playful with our children. Bringing puppies into the family is an emotional and financial commitment. We took our quest to find great family pets very seriously and we are glad we did. Dakar and Kya have already enriched our lives and we look forward to many happy years with them.”
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The Matlock Family - Los Gatos, California
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“Mari - Skylar (our daughter) is almost 2-1/2 (exactly 1 year older than Cinco) and thinks he exists for her personal use. She uses him to lounge on, chases him around the house, and uses him mostly as a step stool when getting up on the couch. He is so tolerant of her, it is amazing sometimes. Take Care - “
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The Matthews Family
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Cinco and Skylar
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“Maile is great, we have her on the best dog food money can buy and she runs regularly with the entire family - dog parks, creeks, etc. She is absolutely beautiful and we’ll get some pictures to you shortly. She stops people in their tracks, she is perfect.
Again, thank you for our precious addition to our family.”
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The Gordon Family - Colorado
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“I will start by saying that Xantes is the best dog I have ever owned. An intelligent, intuitive, protective, obedient (if kept in check), beautiful and the most amazing all-around animal I could imagine having around my home and family. I have several dogs, a lab...two Australian Shepherd mixes... and Xantes. The other dogs may bark at the drop of a leaf, but if Xantes let one out, and it’s distinctive, I know I should pay attention. We have 5 fenced acres he never leaves our property, even when gates are left open. He is sweet to friends and absolutely terrifying to strangers. We have to escort meter readers onto our property. But again, he is ALWAYS under control and at command.”
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The Pinkerton Family - Texas
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“She (LaSimba) has become so much of my life. I love her so much and just enjoy being around her. I have been taking care of my elderly mom for the past two years and have to say that LaSimba too has brought life to my mom. They are so cute together. ...my mom grew u afraid of dogs due to two bad incidents she had with them when she was 5 & 18 years old. She sees the beauty, intelligence plus the teasing and silliness of LaSimba. Floyd, my mom and I love having LaSimba in our lives. Thank you for beautiful LaSimba.”
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M. Landry and Family, Texas
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“A short while ago Savanna and I returned from one of our frequent walks through our neighborhood. Almost without fail, when we encounter other walkers and neighbors, we hear “what a gorgeous dog”, and “what is that beautiful dog?”. We are always happy to tell them she was bred and born by MaraTana Ridgebacks, a breeder near Dallas.
As you recall, we lost our first Ridgeback to old age and Cathy and I debated for a few months whether we wanted to get another. When we decided that indeed we did, we began our search. There was never any question about what kind of dog we wanted, only another Ridgeback would do. We spent several weeks investigating various breeders through their web sites, talking directly to a few, and filing out the required questionnaire. We did not initially find MaraTana. We had begun to get a little discouraged with some of the breeders, a couple did not even respond to our queries. We did see a lot of representative breeder’s dogs on their web sites. Many had various accolades and awards, and indeed had gorgeous dogs However, when we found MaraTana, we almost immediately felt this was where we would get our next Ridgeback, regardless of how long we had to wait. From our initial conversations through the questions and answers, and your generous openness, we felt very comfortable in dealing with MaraTana. While we were waiting for the litter to be born, you kept us well informed of the progress and once the puppies were born, we immediately got pictures. It seemed as though we were getting updates everyday with accompanying pictures. IT was as though we were watching the pup’s progress and growth. We could not have been more pleased with the entire process, from beginning to end. Anyone looking for a Ridgeback puppy could do no better than MaraTana. If there is any question as to the quality of MaraTana’s dogs, check out the accompanying pictures of Savanna.”
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Savanna Update - June 2007:
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“It has been awhile since I updated you on Savanna. As you know she will soon be a year old. We are beginning to see her as an adult puppy. She still has a lot of puppy, but she is beginning to exhibit some adult characteristics also. She is gorgeous. I have lots of new pictures of her, but these five I'm attaching to this email show her off pretty well.
As you might recall we want to try her at lure coursing now that she is almost old enough, but I think we may have to wait for a while. Without distractions she comes pretty well, but with all the excitement and distractions of lure coursing I'm a little concerned she might not remember to come when called. I'm going to talk with the trainer we used to get his advice before we proceed. We have one training lesson coming and I may well use it to try to instill a little better habit in her for this.
We walk about two or three times each week - we've even been walking in this heat, but when it is this hot I limit our walks to about 30 minutes. She loves to come in after a walk on these hot days, get a big drink, and sprawl on the cool ceramic tile floor. She continues to do well and I think she may well be reaching her full growth. We think she is in the 85 pound range now.”
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(Note: See Savanna’s picture in our extended family gallery.)
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R. and C. Crowder
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“Apologies for not replying sooner, but we have had a lot on our plate.
As you know, prior to Mara we have had three other Ridgebacks; two of which we obtained, while we were living in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania. Both dogs, Kumi (dog) and Tisa (bitch), were from Rhodesia and have a dark wheaten red coat with a black nose and a Matebelle head.
When we returned to the U.S., we acquired another female, Dawa and she traveled with us to India and Russia. When Carol first saw your web site she was attracted to your true African dogs, rather than the Americanized version that seems to be increasingly popular. Mara looks exactly like our original two Rhodesians with all the characteristics of the breed. Mara is now six months old and over 80 lbs; she is extremely intelligent, loving, alert, becoming more protective of Carol and is a real "chatty Cathy"!
According to Carol, there is a high likelihood that Mara may require a sister in the not too distant future! Thank you.”
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The Foy Family - Houston TX
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“Well, I JUST arrived home after a fun filled and exciting day of airline travel. When I arrived at the Sacramento airport I went and found the American Airlines baggage claim area and spoke to the folks there to make sure I knew exactly where I was supposed to go and what would be needed to pick "Chula" up on February 19, 2008.
AND... THANK YOU (and Doug) So much for all of your hospitality and patience with my time there in your home. I KNOW you had plenty of other things to attend to and were very gracious with your time allowing me to make what I feel is a sound decision. NOW, I am ALLLLLL excited waiting for the arrival of our new family member...
In case I haven't said it already, I really appreciate all the communications you have provided all through this process. I will certainly keep you bombarded with messages about our puppy with periodic photos to keep you apprised of her growth and well being. I KNOW I could not have chosen a better breeder...
THANK YOU..”.
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The Salinas Family - California
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“Thank you so much for this info. I appreciate your honesty and for keeping us informed on health/environmental risks.
Dakar and Kya are doing great. They are happy, loving, beautiful, and healthy. They still have very different personalities. Kya is very loving to everyone, a hunter, loves water, and stockier than her brother (she weighs 125 lbs. and I have to watch her weight). Dakar is our big baby. He is a slim 130 pounds and is still timid around strangers but fine with them if they are not afraid of him. I keep them locked up when we have company because they are big and intimidating. On the flip side, we saw a mountain lion on our property a month ago so I take comfort that they are always outside when the kids are playing outside. They are gentle giants with my kids.
The two are really attached to each other so I do worry about the impact on the other if we were to lose one. But both are great with other dogs so I think both would welcome another companion. Hopefully I won't have to address this for many years.
Thanks for keeping in touch.
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The Matlock Family
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Reference letter from the VCA DeSoto Animal Hospital, DeSoto, Texas.
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