The greatest game dog I’ve known was Nimrod of the Limpopo. His exploits recovering game and fighting with leopards and baboons made him a legend in South Africa’s Limpopo province. I was fortunate to share the field with Nimrod on three safaris. He was a big dog, a crossbreed with some bulldog, some pointer and probably a little Rhodesian ridgeback mixed in. He was relentless on a blood trail and could bring down wounded game as large as wildebeest. Though I didn’t need his services, I never knew of him to fail when supporting other hunters. Nimrod was a one-in-a-million dog, and I doubt another like him will ever follow a trail.
Game dogs the likes of Nimrod are not used very often nowadays, especially here in the states. Even in Africa, where this type of dog originated and where the Rhodesian ridgeback breed was established, they’re falling out of favor to smaller, easier-to-handle blood-trailing dogs like Jack Russell terriers. Hennie Badenhorst, the professional hunter who trained Nimrod, is not a fan of the smaller dogs
