The Right Breed For You?
There's nothing cuter than a Dalmatian pup, except perhaps two Dalmatian pups! The adult Dalmatian is a handsome stylish dog that is sure to attract attention wherever he goes. If you're thinking of buying a Dal, please take the time to consider all aspects of that decision. Each breed has its good and bad points, and no one breed is perfect for all situations. You must pick the breed that has the right characteristics to fit your needs and your lifestyle, then raise and train the dog correctly. Dogs don't just grow up to be great family companions. They require much time and effort on your part, as well as lots of patience. Think it over carefully.
Dals DO Shed, as do all smooth-coated breeds. Dal hair is stiff and abundant and will work its way into fabric. Although it's easy to sweep or vacuum, Dal hair is hard to brush off. If you're bothered by dog hair, the need to groom a dog regularly, or the necessity of extra sweeping or vacuuming, you'll probably be unhappy with a Dalmatian. Shedding is heaviest in the spring and fall, but there are some loose hairs year around. Also, if there are allergies in your family, a shedding breed like the Dalmatian can be a serious problem.
Dals ARE Active, especially during puppyhood (which can last until 18 months or more). You will need a fenced yard, or the time and energy to take the dog for regular walks. A Dal that is confined too much, or that receives too little exercise, may become noisy and destructive. They should never be allowed to run free, without supervision. Dals need to be a part of the family, require lots of time and attention, and do not do well kept outdoors and away from the family. They should always be house dogs.
Dals Are Basically A Guard Dog Breed, and need to be raised with firmness and discipline. Although they are related to pointers, Dals were originally guard dogs in the stables and ran with the horsedrawn carriages to protect them from stray dogs and highwaymen. ALL Dals need basic obedience training and they need to know the rules of the household from the very beginning. If you are unwilling or unable to function as "pack leader", your Dal will quickly step in and assume the role. Dals are smart and stubborn and quickly learn what they can get away with. This can be a very dominant breed, and permissively raised Dalmatians often becomes problem dogs.
Dals Are Clowns, and can be exasperating. You MUST have a sense of humor to enjoy living with a Dalmatian. Adolescent Dals are particularly trying.
On The Positive Side, Dals are delightful and intelligent companions, VERY affectionate, excellent family dogs if raised properly, clean in the house, have very little doggy odor, and are generally quite easy to housetrain. They are not normally barkers, but are good watchdogs. They are easy-keepers, not expensive to feed, generally healthy, and easy to keep neat and clean. They love to ride in the car, run with horses, bikes or joggers and often love to swim. They have enormous amounts of energy, endless enthusiasm, and will play with the kids for hours. They can be taught to hunt game birds and make excellent ratters. Most Dals are quite sensitive to human moods, and will do their best to cheer up gloomy human friends. They can be great fun for the entire family, but they don't just "grow up" that way. It takes time, patience, consistency and a firm commitment to raise any dog properly. Especially a smart, dominant, energetic one with a sense of humor!
A Few Statistics Size normally ranges from 20 to 24 inches, weight from 35 to more than 60 pounds. Females are normally about 22 inches tall and 45 pounds. Males are somewhat larger at 23 inches and 55 pounds. Color is either black-spotted or liver (brown) spotted. Eyes are black, brown, gold or blue (one or both eyes may be blue). Black-spotted dogs have black noses and eye trim and dark (or blue) eyes. Liver-spotted dogs have brown noses and eye trim and gold (or blue) eyes. Patching is quite common, and a large area of color around an eye or over an ear means the dog can't be shown and shouldn't be bred, but can still be a handsome pet. Neutered males make especially good companions, so size is often the determining factor when deciding whether to get a male or a female pup. Dals are normally quite healthy and long-lived, males often living to be twelve or more, and females often at least fourteen.
© 1999-2001 Sue MacMillan. Please request permission to reprint this article.
Dal Info reprinted with permission from Sue Mac
Decisions, Decisions-What will it be?
What Will It Be?
Male Or Female?
Many puppy buyers know exactly what they want, and only a female puppy will do, while others are equally certain they will only consider a male. This is often based on what the family has owned in the past. "We've always had females, and they're the best!" But if they've never owned a male, how do they know? Long-time Dalmatian breeders were polled on which they would choose if they could only have one Dalmatian as a pet. About 65% said they would choose a male, but those who preferred females felt very strongly that females made better pets.
In general, we find that males are sillier, more eager to please, and slower to grow up and act like adults. Females grow up more quickly and are often more likely to become Couch Potatoes - but that's not necessarily a negative trait. It depends on what you want of your dog, and environment influences that to some degree. Males are more likely to do some "testing" as adolescents, pushing to see how far they can bend the rules. On the other hand, they often seem to be more tuned into their owners and are more willing and less independent. Since all responsible breeders sell companion dogs on spay/neuter agreements, the inconvenience of a female coming into heat is not a concern.
Males are generally larger, and may be somewhat more work to raise. A male may require more discipline, exercise and patience, as well as a sense of humor. We feel the end result justifies the effort, and would choose a male Dalmatian, BUT we've owned some wonderful females!
Black or Liver?
Although Dalmatians are generally thought of as black spotted, many Dalmatians actually have liver spots. Liver is a dark chocolate color and is the same color seen on red Dobermans, chocolate Labradors and liver Springer Spaniels. It's just "the other color". Liver Dalmatians have brown noses and gold eyes, rather than black noses and brown eyes. (Either color may come with blue eyes.) Thanks in part to Disney Studios, many Dal owners are not even aware of the fact that liver Dalmatians exist. Although the book "The 101 Dalmatians" by English author Dodie Smith included liver Dalmatians, the Disney animated movie only portrayed them as black and white. (The subsequent movie which uses live dogs includes liver Dalmatians.)
Liver is not new and Dalmatians have always come in either color, but until recently they were rather uncommon. Livers are currently very popular in the show ring (the top winning Dalmatian in history is a liver female) and increasingly popular as pets. We've bred and shown liver Dals for over 30 years and are delighted with the current trend. We also have black spotted Dals, but wait until you see our liver Dals before making up your mind!
Livers and blacks come from the same litters and are routinely bred together, which does not result in black and liver spots on the same dog. Liver is a recessive gene, which means that some black spotted dogs carry the liver gene and can produce liver pups, but liver bred to liver only produces liver. For two black dogs to produce liver, both of them must carry the liver recessive gene. There is no difference in health or temperament, as color is strictly a cosmetic feature. It's a bit harder to breed good liver spotting for the showring, but the best marked livers are quite spectacular. We refer to them as "brownies" and most of our personal dogs are brownies.
Bi or Uni?
The terms "bi" and "uni" refer to whether the dog hears in both ears or only in one ear. Deafness occurs in this breed (and quite a few others) and is related to the white coat color (referred to scientifically as "extreme white piebald"). About 10% of the breed is deaf in both ears. An additional 20% of the breed hears unilaterally - in one ear. These dogs make perfectly satisfactory pets and are not handicapped in anyway. Most owners never notice that their dog only hears in one ear, but if you observe a uni dog closely you will note that he does not have "directional hearing" - he can hear all the sounds and voices, but he can't immediately identify the direction the sound is coming from.
There is a great deal of controversy about whether uni dogs should be used for breeding. The Dalmatian Club of America has been gathering statistics for many years, and the numbers show that unilateral dogs generally produce more deaf offspring than do bilateral dogs. However, deafness is a characteristic that can be identified at an early age (before the pups are old enough to sell), and some of the very best dogs in the breed are unis. This is a subject for breeders, but does not really affect the average pet owner.
Pet or Show?
There is no point in looking for Show Quality unless you actually plan to show your dog. Most breeders expend an enormous amount of time and money to produce their best show prospects and have no desire to sell such pups to homes where they will not be shown. All breeds have a written breed standard against which dogs are judged at dog shows. Responsible breeders are not breeding to produce pet quality dogs as a money-making activity and normally find that raising dogs properly is a losing proposition. They are breeding for Better Dogs. They are trying to produce dogs with perfect markings, superior construction and correct breed type, free from any inherited health problems, and with flawless dispositions. They spend much time planning their breedings, test their dogs to insure that they are free of hereditary health problems, and spend much money on stud fees and shipping to breed their females to the most suitable stud dogs. The goal in breeding is that each generation should be better (sounder, healthier, closer to the standard, more trainable) than the previous one.
The things that make a dog Pet Quality rather than Show Quality are often features that only other show people would notice. Things like a little too much pink on the nose, a few too many or few spots, a tail carried a bit too high, the shape of the foot or the alignment of the teeth might keep a dog from being considered Show Quality, but would not prevent him from being a handsome healthy pet. When a pup is sold as a show prospect, the breeder guarantees that the dog has the potential to win in the show ring and will be suitable for breeding. Sometimes a dog has a flaw that may be outgrown, but rather than keeping the pup long enough to make sure that it happens, the breeder will let the dog go as a pet if there is a good home waiting. The buyer pays a pet price for a dog that may actually turn out to be better than its littermates.
The average "puppy raiser" (as opposed to a responsible breeder) has absolutely no idea what constitutes Show Quality, so do not be taken in by that. Unless a person is involved in showing, they will have no idea what a show potential pup should look like. Remember too, that the term Pick of Litter is relative. The least good dog in a well-bred, carefully raised, top quality litter is usually a far better bet than the "pick" from a poorly bred, badly raised litter which contains absolutely nothing of quality.
© 1999-2000 Sue MacMillan. Please request permission before recopying this article.
Dal Info reprinted with permission from Sue Mac
Show Quality vs Showable
Dog breeders, both novice and experienced, seem to have a real problem differentiating between showable and show quality. A showable dog is one that more or less resembles its breed and has no disqualifying faults. That's all it is. Being showable does not mean that such a dog should be put in a show home, sold on a show contract, or bred from. Most showable dogs should be spayed or neutered and enjoyed as companions.
Show quality dogs are distinctly better than average. Not merely "good enough" to exhibit, they show promise of being QUALITY animals - dogs that the breeder and exhibitor can be proud of and dogs that have something to offer the breed if bred from.
Show rings are full of dogs who are nothing more than "purebred mongrels", and many of them were sold by breeders who should have known better. Anyone can make a mistake when evaluating a puppy, but to intentionally sell to a show home a dog which has absolutely nothing to offer other than a lack of disqualifying faults, is nothing more than a ripoff. If a promising puppy turns out to be of lesser quality than the breeder anticipated, the mistake should be rectified and the dog replaced or the money refunded.
Next time you go to a dog show, ask yourself what potential the breeders could possibly have seen in some of the dogs that are in the ring. It's hard to believe that some of them were ever considered more than pet quality by anyone. The whole point of showing is to display one's BEST dogs, not to have mediocre animals dragged around the ring for years.
If you are a novice, try to get some help evaluating your litter. Lacking a mentor, it's best not to sell any of your pups as show quality. Keep something for yourself to show if you wish, but sell the others as pets. It's hard enough for an experienced breeder to correctly evaluate a litter, and some of them never seem to get it right. The chance of a novice being able to do it properly is very slim indeed, and unless the sire and dam are of top quality it's most unlikely that the litter contains anything worth showing. It's amazing how many novices are heard to say that their litter is all show quality... Make that all showable, and nothing more.
Even the most carefully planned and well-bred litter may contain nothing worthwhile. Some promising combinations just don't work. If that's the case, face the facts and consider it a lesson learned. There are entirely too many dogs being shown who have no place in the show ring. The best dogs are lovely and the breed has improved tremendously during the last 20 years, but many of the dogs currently in the ring should be at home on the sofa. They may be showable but they sure aren't show quality!.
© 1999-2001 Sue MacMillan. Please request permission to reprint this article.
reprinted with permission from Sue Mac
Thoughts on Breeding
Written by Benito Vila and reprinted with permission from the author
On why it is better to breed to a good dog with a glaring fault, than a mediocre dog without a glaring fault.
The first thing a novice exhibitor learns is to spot problems, i.e., faults. Among the most obvious in Dalmatians are lack of pigment in the nose or eye trim, a poor spotting pattern, a snipey muzzle, black ears, high tail carriage and cow hocks. Later, if the exhibitor is very persistent, he or she might learn to discern lack of reach in front, perhaps a shallow brisket, a straight shoulder, a short forearm, "bad feet," light eye color, a sloping topline. Finally, after a lot of exposure, some people are able to spot incorrect front movement, loose fronts, dogs where the front and the rear seem to belong to different specimens, improper length of loin, over-reaching, and certain type problems. As exhibitors are learning these things, one often hears discussions of which fault is really worse than another, as if the whole purpose was to limit those faults considered the worst in one's stock. Rationales are developed and shared, e.g., a high tail "isn't that bad" because there's more than a tail to a dog. Type becomes what you and your friends have - in this day and age, usually a dog or bitch with a square, boxy head, well defined stop, very dark eyes, ears spotted on the heavy side, medium to heavy spotting overall, a little short in leg and a little long in loin, carrying its tail a little high, moderate angulation front and back (more than a 90 degree angle), and moderately let down hocks. New judges encourage this type of learning by emphasizing their ability to identify faults, and, among new breeder judges, quite taken by the results of their labors, dogs that look like what they're used to versus dogs that don't
Unfortunately, none of the above ever does much to "improve the breed," even if it's relatively harmless vs. other more sinister pastimes like politicking judges and treating winning opponents shabbily. First, it leaves a lot out, like what is truly correct for a breed developed to fulfill quite specific functions, like ours is. Second, it sets discouragingly low standards. One of the saddest comments I've ever heard came from sporting and hound group handlers, upon seeing correct Dalmatian rear movement, "I didn't know a Dalmatian could do that." Dennis McCoy, whose winnings are legendary in the non-sporting group, once explained to me, after watching a good Dalmatian rear, "Ben, if that's the way they're supposed to be, there really isn't that big a difference between one BIS bitch regarded as sound, and another with a horrible rear and shoulders - they're both wrong." Third, it trivializes really good dogs as nothing more than "exactly what I already have" with more reach, or more drive behind, or better they might otherwise see, promoting ignorance, and condemning the reproduction of the breed into the hands of people with no eye for quality, just faults. Absent Divine intervention, which can produce a good dog in the most unlikely places, and the continuing ability of a small minority of judges to recognize quality when they see it, a breed can degenerate quite rapidly, as it has in other countries, into a motley collection of animals that look kind of alike, yet utterly lack quality, elegance, endurance, substance or true breed type, despite an equal lack of glaringly noticeable "faults."
The word most often applied to these animals is "mediocre", although I've also heard "common" quite a lot. Frankly, I don't care how many tests they may or may not have passed for hearing, sight, etc., to further eliminate "faults" - if you just breed them to each other, all you can get is more of the same, without an act of God that results in a throwback to one of the several famous ancestors common to most of our dogs. In any pedigree there are so many ancestors of the other, mediocre common kind that the opportunity to come up with something truly spectacular is virtually non-existent, with so-called spectacular specimens resulting with disproportionate frequency from so-called out crosses (a relatively small percentage of matings) where you simply close your eyes, cross your fingers and hope.
To become a breeder, the first thing one must do is seek out uncommon dogs, and make sure you can see the difference, can understand why they are so much better than anything else you've ever seen, and discern why they grew up to be the way they are. Occasionally, some of these uncommon dogs may be top winners, but that's not necessarily the case (eg., neither Ch. Zodiac's Snoopy nor Ch. Buffrey Jobee ever appeared at the top in the Spotter). Once you've found them, talk to professional handlers about them relative to their broad exposure to many different types of structure. Some, like Bobby Barlow, have breed specific information, but all experienced handlers have worthwhile things to teach you. Then, talk to judges, not about your dogs, but the dogs they like, and why, making sure you talk only to capable judges. (The handlers can tell you who they are.) My antennae perk up when Jim Smith, our AKC delegate, or Edd Bivin do something original, particularly if they both do it, as I've never been disappointed in their findings, but there are many others. (Actually good judges talk to each other quite a lot and love to share their delight at finding a new good dog.) Then go see these dogs, study their pedigrees, meet as many relatives as possible. I believe you are more likely to retain quality if you breed to these specimens (or their littermates or their offspring), regardless of the presence of a couple of visible faults, than if you're guided in your selection only by the absence of faults.
To avoid having to do a lot of hard thinking, many people take the position that there are several correct breed types. Logically, this is clearly impossible. There is one correct type, very very hard to define, which all top knowledgeable people put up when they run across it. I've heard experienced people from "rival" families, who concur on a specific Dalmatian, wonder, out loud, how their rivals could possible agree ("since they never had anything like that"). If you're very very lucky, you'll focus on Dalmatians all or most knowledgeable people pick out as most representative (not what you have, nor your friends, nor the new breeder judge down the road), regardless of faults, and stick to those dogs. When you've had several yourself, then you can go a-hunting for some highly desirable qualities you lack, or may want more of - you won't be reduced to worrying about relatively unimportant faults - relative to the total quality required of a good dog.
If you ever do decide to breed a litter, one of the first things I'd recommend is to get a copy of Alfred and Esmeralda Treen's book, The New Dalmatian, and look at some of the pictures. By consensus, the greatest Dalmatian of all time is Ch. Snow Leopard, bottom photo on page 196. The dog with the best show record of all time was Ch. Four in Hand Mischief, top photo on page 131. One of the most influential ancestors of all time, and my favorite picture in the book, is Ch. Reigate's Bold Venture, top photo on page 134, who sired Ch. Tally Ho Sirius, top photo on page 128 (this "family" lives on today in dogs like Ch. Green Starr's Colonel Joe, inside front cover). Look also at Ch. Roadcoach Roadster, on page 74, his grandson, Ch. Colonial Coach Chesire (top picture page 146) and great grand son, Ch. Panore of Watseka (top picture page 151). Finally, look at both pictures on page 157, at Ch. The Lash on page 202 (all three happen to be liver dogs). Chances are, if you started in the mid to late 1980's, you've never seen anything looking remotely like any of the above, and that your newly minted breeder judge down the road wouldn't know what to do if one suddenly walked into the ring unannounced. Well, that's what Dalmatians look like (along with Ch. Fireman's Freckled Friend on page 226, whose progeny are still very much with us), and that is the type of dog really worth breeding to, regardless of faults. The reason you don't see dogs like this around very often is generations of breeders without a clear target, focusing on faults, and bypassing descendants of the above for dogs that look more like what everyone else is showing, until one of a handful of serious breeders comes up with something, has the luck to start out under knowledgeable judges, and then, suddenly, you start hearing, "gee, I didn't know Green Starr, or Watseka, or Coachman was still breeding," or, " I don't know what XYZ sees in that dog (he's so different from what I've got)."
So far I've asked you to look at pictures, talk to handlers about dogs in general (George Alston about sporting breed type, Peter Green on terriers, Carol Petruzzo on Doberman structure), and a few select judges about their favorite dogs. Breeders are often among the hardest people to talk to, particularly if your opening remarks are, like they usually are, directed at getting their opinion of your dogs (they are unlikely to criticize anything not of their own family) and the current crop of top winners (which requires you to know their ancestry as well as the breeder does). Here are two alternative ways that could produce better results: first, ask them to tell you what they are trying to accomplish, why, and their methodology (this will take several sessions with lots of time to look at pictures and/or examine dogs). Then, ask them to tell you what they like the most about each of the several dogs they have (you'll get an earful on what's important). If you and the breeder(s) hit it off, you're likely to start learning about an art form far more important than fault avoidance, i.e., someone's dedicated attempt to actually breed better dogs.
In summary: breed positively, to an absolute (it exists even if you don't see it very often). Only breed dogs who, by type, pedigree, or previous performance, are likely to produce offspring in the direction of the absolute (even if they're patched, hear only out of one ear, come from a litter with lots of lemon siblings, have a blue eye, a deformed foot, a pink nose, or what not). Seek out the absolute by asking knowledgeable people the right questions (questions they are able and eager to answer). Avoid mediocrity as entailing so many little problems you really don't know where to start. Give a preference to tight pedigrees that look deliberate (not just convenient) to avoid mediocre genes. Look at your produce not on the basis of cuteness, or lack of glaring faults (open marking, open ears, nice thick muzzles) but on whether or not you are getting closer to the elements making up a good dog. Don't believe that what you see around you today represents the best and the brightest. Don't seek advice from anyone on a specific crusade (that Dalmatians should be leggier or less leggy, shorter or longer backed, with more or less substance) unless they are able to come up with a reasonable explanation (high tails indicate bad hip placement and structure) and/or have demonstrated they can objectively assess where they stand vs. the pictures in the Treens' book mentioned above.
About the author - Mr. Vila has owned Dalmatians since 1965, has been showing since 1969, and breeding, mostly under the Montjuic suffix, since 1971. This article was written in 1992, and is as true today as it was then.