The Phu Quoc is the smallest of the three Ridgeback dogs (Rhodesian and Thai are the others). A fully grown Phu Quoc is medium sized and will weigh around 30-40 pounds depending upon gender and genes, however, it's not unheard of for them to reach 45-55 pounds. Their most notable feature, of course, is the ridge of hair that grows along the spine in the opposite direction of the rest of the coat; it is even more noticeable when the dog is excited or on the hunt. Other features include a lean but athletic body, long neck and muzzle, webbed feet, and a black/blue spotted tongue! Typical coat colors include the highly coveted solid black or solid yellow along with reddish-brown, and tiger striped; color variety is increasing too.
These dogs are quite intelligent-- add to this their natural obedience and willingness to please (even without being asked) and you have a pet that will be easily trained! Basic obedience and commands are a breeze for most individuals, as is house training so they are good for first time owners. They are natural hunters and protectors and these activities, too, can be enhanced with proper training.
Phu Quocs are notoriously friendly (once they verify their owner welcomes you) and are also very social with other dogs. They are natural hunters that likely retain high prey drive so cats and other small creatures may be out of the question; the best way to mitigate this is to raise them together from puppy age. Also, these dogs make great watch dogs and will alert you to approaching strangers, although they are not aggressive. Separation anxiety and neediness is not so much a concern with this breed.
These Ridgebacks like to put those webbed feet to good use by swimming. They also run very fast and jump very high-- meaning keep them on leash and make sure your fence is secure. Phu Quocs excel at agility activities and sports; they can do most physical exercise better than their owners and are said to even climb trees. All this being said, these are not dogs for sedentary people and they should get an hour of outdoor exercise daily.
