I am considering (okay, ‘planning on’ is more accurate) getting a dalmatian down the road. This will likely be in a at least year and a half, as I want to finish university before getting a high energy dog, but in the meantime I want to learn as much about them as possible.
Anyway, I’d love to hear the good and the bad experiences you’ve had with Dalmatians. Thanks
I’ve only met one breeder who produced really nice dalmations- her dogs are incredible, both physically and mentally. All the other dalmations I’ve met have been neurotic nutcases. Plus you’ll want to avoid deafness and hyperuricemia. So if you look long and hard for an excellent breeder you can find a really nice dog for an active owner, but the search may be difficult.
The biggest problem with Dalmatians, just like certain other breeds, is the 101 Dalmatians effect. They become the popular animal, and are nonselectively bred for sale to amateurs who don’t know they are high energy, or should be bought from breeders who breed for temperament and health. As with any other breed, there are many bad breeders out there, and you can get taken very badly.
Unless you’re willing to spend money on an EXCELLENT breeder (and that means traveling out of state generally–not an hour away) consider breed rescue. (The Dalmatian Virginia is WONDERFUL…I looked into adopting from them a few years ago but another dog came along.) I do think those that are being bred WELL are universes different than the average breeder.
Save ONE old sweet angel of a dog, every one I see at my job or coming through rescue is aggressive, filled with skin issues, hyperactive, self-mutilating and unpredictable. One in particular gave me one of the worst bites I’ve ever had. There was one in my pup’s obedience classes that was already hyper aggressive at 12 weeks; they were miserable. The occasional deafness in the breed doesn’t really bother me as I love having deafies (another reason why I considered one) but of course thats something to think about.
They are of course glamorous to look at but for high-energy breeds (thats what I prefer too) I wanted something a little more mentally balanced.
I got a liver spot from a shelter back in the mid 90’s. He wasn’t hyper at all. VERY much a people dog. He didn’t have any health problems until arthritis hit in old age. I think he lived to be about 13 or so.
I loved that dog. He had a huge guilty conscience that made for some amusing expressions. I’ll never forget how he came unglued when the toilet was placed in the middle of the family room due to bathroom renovation. Priceless!
This is my experience as well 
When I worked for a vet as a teenager the only dogs that I want not allowed to handle, ever, were a few dalmatians that came in that were downright dangerous to handle. Different owners, and the dogs came from different places.
Thanks everyone! I’m in Ontario, Canada so if anybody has any reccomendations for a good breeder that would be stellar. I’ve found one (so far) who may be a candidate. One of the main reasons I am waiting for after university to purchase is because I want to have the money to get purchase the best temperment and health.
There is a Dalmatian rescue in Ontario, which I will certainly look into when it comes time to get the dog. However, as the stories here have illustrated, Dals can be total whackjobs… I’d prefer to purchase from a GOOD breeder and get the dog GOOD training in order to hopefully avoid the dog becoming impossible to handle.
You also want to contact breeders you’re interested in & put in applications - wait lists for pups may be 1-3 years.
In the meantime, get out & volunteer with your local Dal rescue & get some breed experience.
I had one for years and he was THE BEST!
I’ve had two dals, a female I adopted from a shelter I volunteered with, and a male I adopted about 2 years ago from a breed rescue. Both have been amazing dogs, but I also had the opportunity to get to know both of them before adopting, so I knew their temperaments.
The Bad: They have a lot of energy, and if it is not properly channeled they can be downright destructive. They shed heavily year round, and the white hairs stick to everything, so not the best for neat freaks (although I’m a total clean freak and I still think they are worth all the cleaning). They tend to have sensitive skin.
The Good: Both of mine have been incredibly people friendly, and gotten along with other dogs really well. They are both absolute cuddle bugs, and really REALLY enjoy being around people. And I’ve never had a problem with excessive energy, but I have a fenced in back yard and frequently take mine for walks/runs with me.
It makes me very sad to admit this but a dalmation was the only major dog fail that my family ever had. My parents had just lost our beloved family dog, a red dobie female that we had had for 14 years. My sisters and I had just all left home for college and first jobs so my parents had major empty nest syndrome.
My mother decided that she wanted a dalmation. She did some research but not enough. And it was in the middle of the 101 Dalmation craze of the 90’s. Unfortunately, this beautiful liver spotted dog was the wrong dog at the wrong time for my parents. He was amazingly smart, amazingly, ridiculously high energy. But he was incredibly friendly with a wonderful disposition. It was one of those situations where not enought training or discipline, not enough exercise caused him to have extremely destructive behavior due to a lack of an outlet from all that energy. He would have been a great dog with someone that led an extremely outdoorsey, athletic lifestyle. That was not my parents at the time.
oops! double post.
Ditto the majority here: the ones I’ve met have very poor temperaments, less than predictable, often aggressive, always untrustworthy. Ugh I hate to generalize about an entire breed but I see here many have experienced the same. :no: I would not have one.
Dalmatians (please observe the spelling, no o, the aficionados are adamant about that) have a long history of being bred for independent thinking.
They were used to follow the horse drawn coaches, under the box or near the horses. In charge of protecting the team and clearing the barn of vermin.
They are independent thinking high energy dogs. Not the fastest, but most enduring. Smart to a fault. But very loyal to their human.
Due to the piebald gene that makes them ‘white’ they have the tendency to throw deaf puppies. Responsible breeders test their pups before placing them (BAER test). bi-lateral puppies will generally be euthanized, since they are often up for a sad life in the wrong hands. the overall percentage of a bilateral deaf puppy is around 8% and even with 2 tested bilateral hearing parents you can’t cheat the statistics significantly.
Also, their metabolism is a bit different than most dogs: They are as a breed prone to kidney and bladder stones. There is a list out that lists foods high in uric acids that should be avoided: Innards like liver, certain vegetables etc…the % of protein in the food does not need to be high for Dals either.
Also, seems to be bound to the white color, they have the tendency to food allergies. But high quality food eliminates most problems before they start.
Personality wise, a Dal can be the energizer bunny, but might just as well be a couch potato. Their puppy hood lasts for a couple of years, if not longer.
The DCA offers a performans competition, called Road Trials: you can present from 1 to 6 dogs, either from horseback or carriage. It includes a fitness check, obedience test (down stay recall) and a speed section of 100 yards.
The distance is IIRC 10 or 20 miles, considered the travel distance for a horsedrawn carriage per day. not a race, though time limits apply (3-6h depending on the distance) conditioning is key factor in placing.
Oh
they shed like crazy, all day, every day, year round. The hair seems to have barbs at the end that make it weave itself into fabrics. I had a couple stuck in my skin like a splinter, very painful and odd.
The aficionados call them velcro dogs: Dals are happiest with their people.
careful socializing is needed, and lots of training with positive reenforcement.
Oh, did I mention they are smart?!
They have been used herding, hunting, obedience, protection, I think there is the odd Schutzhund in the books, agility is big with them. but you can always expect your pup to look at you with an expression of ‘I see your mouth move, but I can’t hear you’ while posetivelly mugging you for that piece of candy you unwrapped while he was sleeping 3 rooms over…
highly recommended reading.
Also, go find a club now. make friends and connections.
Right now Dals are not fashionable. Not a bad thing. But you won’t find dogs easily right now (I have checked, 3 years ago we had to put DH’s pupster down after 14 years…petfinder seems to only have mutts)
because of the 101 Dalmatian craze responsible breeders are very hesitant in large parts of whom they let have a pup.
But the majority is also involved in breed rescue and they do place adult show dogs who they don’t use in their breeding program.
naturally you have to have the hip thing in mind, since they are active dogs on the large side.
http://www.thedca.org/
http://www.thedca.org/roadtrial.html
http://www.dalmatianclubofcanada.ca/
lot’s of good stuff.
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk/health/baer-hearing-test.htm
I forgot to add:
The really good breeders have every bit of a year as waiting period. On average a pup costs about 500 bucks (if you can’t afford that, can you afford a pet?!)
I used to talk to the owners of ‘Royal Dalmatians’ in Ca and ‘Flashpoint Dalmatians’ in Atlanta. But it’s been a few years, I got in touch with them via AOL - and who has that these days…
Oh, and if you are interested in horse activities with the dog, it pays to search out a line that has titles in it.
Dals have so many talents, not all run true in all lines.
I adopted one a while back (she has since passed on) from our pound. She was picked up as a stray, and we never were able to piece together her history. She was a great dog around other people and dogs THAT SHE KNEW. Any strange person, she was shy with and any strange dog, she was aggressive towards.
She was about 6 when we got her, so we have no idea how her previous experiences affected her behavior.
There was a Dalmatian at the barn where I used to board. I loved him. He was smart, friendly, and funny. He used to come trail riding with me. He finally died, I think from Struvite crystals. His replacement was a nice Dal, but nothing like his predecessor.
I was talked into adopting one years ago. She was 7 weeks, fat, blue-eyed, and deaf - which is why I was asked to take her. I was pretty seriously into dog training at that point, and my friend thought we’d be a good fit. (My friend worked at MSU’s vet clinic. This puppy and her brother were brought in to be euth’ed because they were deaf. My friend convinced the owner they didn’t have to do that and took responsibility for placing them in appropriate homes)
Tess turned out to be a fantastic dog 
High energy but not psycho, extremely easy to train, mostly because she was focused on me. She learned hand signals very quickly, we played around with Agility, and she passed her CGC test with flying colors. She was intense in a lot of ways, but sweet sweet sweet. She liked people better than other dogs. The only downside is possibly the energy level (depending on your lifestyle) and the fact that they shed like nobody’s business. The hair of course is short, but I swear it’s barbed or something because it could be impossible to get out/off of some fabrics - car upholstery in particular 
Tess lived to just short of her 18th birthday. She was a fabulous dog friend, and I miss her still 
I have met quite a few dals over the years working in a kennel. Of them all 3 stand out. (1 only stand out because she was very old, i don’t understand why people insist on boarding their old larger dogs, no one understands how stressful it is for them :[)
The other two were from the same family, boarding in the same run. They were lovely dogs temperament-wise. They were very friendly when they met me, a couple of days into their board. One was a little shy, but not aggressive or fearful, just wanted to take a little extra time getting to know a strange new person in a strange new place. Once they figured out I would cuddle with them in my down time, brought their food, took them on walks, and played with them in their playtime they were my new best friends. Plus they were very soft :yes:.
I will add on to the people who’ve commented on the shedding! boy do they ever! I would say they’re are only a few cases where dogs shed so much that we hose out their run an extra time to get rid of hair: labs boarded together, GSDs boarded together, and these two dalmatians!
You might want to run a google search on low uric acid or lua dalmatians.
The short version is that every single living purebred dalmatian has a genetic defect affecting the ability to properly metabolize uric acid. One side effect is a tendency to develop urine stones.
A while back someone made an outcross to pointers in an effort to reintroduce a functional uric acid gene into the breed. Much sturm und drang resulted.
I’ve worked with (indirectly) one of the leading animal urinalysis specalists so I know all about dalmatians and their problems. :lol: My mother, who works directly with him can’t fathom why I would ever want a dalmatian.
And as for the shedding - I’ve already got black and white cats, so what’s more black and white hair? Everything is already covered it in anyway!
Alagirl - thank you for all of that! Your post was very helpful. I am interested in having them around horses (though not in a competitive manner) and had not thought about looking for a bloodline that complimented horses.
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