Dalmatian Breed

The Standard

From all the dog breeds recognized by the Board of Management of Dogs in Holland is made up a standard. This standard is a guide-line for all the breeders and judges. It seems to be the perfect construction of the dog. At some pedigree dogs there have already been bred dogs who are perfect and at some of them not yet; there is still a long way to go.
▪ Dutch name :  Dalmatische hond
▪ English name : Dalmatian
▪ German name : Dalmatiner
▪ Nickname : Rice and currant dog
▪ FCI – classification : Group 6
▪ Average age : 12 years
▪ Origin : Croatia or the Mediterranean.
▪ General appearance : A distinctively spotted dog, balanced, strong, muscular and active. Symmetrical in outline, free from coarseness and lumber.
▪ Behaviour and
  caracter		 : They are having a nice character, friendly, not shy or reserved and they are free of nervousness and aggression.
 

▪ Head and skull : Of fair length, skull flat, reasonably broad between ears, moderately well defined in front of ears. Moderate amount of stop. Entirely free from wrinkle. Muzzle long, powerful, never snipy; lips clean, fitting jaw moderately closely. Nose in black spotted variety always black, in liver spotted variety always brown.
▪ Mouth : Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
▪ Eyes : Set moderately well apart, medium size, round, bright and sparkling, with intelligent expression. Colour, dark in black spotted, amber in liver spotted. Eye rims preferably completely black in black spotted, and liver brown in liver spotted.
▪ Ears : Set on rather high, moderate size, rather wide at base, gradually tapering to rounded point. Fine in texture, carried close to head. Marking well broken up, preferably spotted.
▪ Neck : Fairly long, nicely arched, light and tapering. Entirely free from throatiness.
▪ Body   Chest not too wide but deep and capacious with plenty of lung and heart room. Ribs well sprung, well defined withers, powerful level back, loin strong, clean, muscular and slightly arched.
 

▪ Tail : Length reaching approximately to hock. Strong at insertion gradually tapering towards end, never inserted too low or too high, free from coarseness and carried with a slight upward curve, never curled. Preferably spotted.
▪ Forequarters : Shoulders moderately oblique, clean and muscular. Elbows close to body. Forelegs perfectly straight with strong round bone down to feet, with slight spring at pastern joint.
▪ Hindquarters : Rounded, muscles clean with well developed second thigh, good turn of stifle, hocks well defined.
▪ Feet : Round, compact, with well arched toes, cat-like, round, tough, elastic pads. Nails black or white in black spotted variety, in liver spotted, brown or white.
▪ Movement : Great freedom of movement. Smooth, powerful, rhythmic action with long stride. Viewed from behind, legs move in parallel, hindlegs tracking the fore. A short stride and paddling action incorrect.
▪ Coat : Short, hard, dense; sleek and glossy in appearance.
▪ Color : Ground colour pure white. Black spotted, dense black spots, and liver spotted, liver brown spots; not running together but round and well defined. In size one-penny to fifty-pence piece. Spots as well distributed as possible. Spots on extremities smaller than those on body. Patches, tricolours and lemon spots highly undesirable. Bronzing on spots undesirable in adults.
▪ Size / Weight  : Overall balance of prime importance. Ideal height: dogs: 58-61 cms (23-24 ins); bitches: 56-58 cms (22-23 ins). The ideal weight for males is 27 – 32 kg. and for females 24 – 28 kg.
▪ Faults : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
▪ Not for breeding : Big black spots, monocle (big spot around the eye),  tricolor ( black and brown spots at the same dog), lemon spots or other faults with the pigmentation. Blue eyes and glassy eyes. No under or overbite. Deafness. Entropion. Very anxious or aggressive behaviour.
     
Note   Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
 
The Anatomy of the Dalmatian

 
  1. Muzzle, foreface 8.Bottomlip 15. Ear
  2. Nostrils 9. Corner of the mouth 16. Eye
  3. Nose 10. Cheek 17. Eyebraw
  4. Nosebridge 11. Stop 18. Dewlap
  5. Upperjaw 12. Forehead 19. Neck
  6. Top lip 13. Skull 20. Crest of neck
  7. Lowerjaw 14. Occiput  
 

 
 

21. Throatline

33. Belly

 45. Nails
  22. Whithers 34. Croin 46. Croup
  23. Shoulder 35. Underline 47. Upper tigh
  24. Prosternum 36. Chestline 48. Stifle
  25. Forechest 37. Shoulder joint 49. Stifle joint
  26. Brisket, ribcage 38. Upper arm 50. Lower tigh
  27. Back 39. Elbow

51. Hock
  28. Loin 40. Forearm 52. Hock joint
  29. Croup 41. Wrist 53. Rear Pastern
  30. Set on of tail 42. Pastern 54. Hindfoot with toes
 

31. Tail

 43. Forefoot with toes  55. Dewclaws
  32. Flank 44. Paw    
 
The Dalmatian
Dalmatians are happy, curious and active dogs. They are energetic till they get old. They are not satisfied with a small walk just around the corner; they need a lot of exercise! They are capable of great endurance and a fair turn of speed.
 
 

When they are well raised, they are nice, easy dogs at home.
 

A Dalmatian likes company and being around with people. Being alone all day long is not something he likes! He always loves his boss and want to be with him all the time!
 

He is very social to other people, children and dogs, but it is very important to that you give him always the opportunity to be with this people.

 

Dalmatians are having a short, clean coat. You will find the small white hair all the year,because all these white hairs fall off. They do not often need a bath because they are white.
 

Because of their short coat, a Dalmatian is not a dog that you should keep in outside kennels. But that is also not necessary, because they are a good friend of the family for life!

 
The Dalmatian is well known for their “laughing”. When you see this the first time, you might be scared, because you think he is aggressive, but no fear: it is a sign of greeting you or submissive behaviour. Not mad at all!

once a spot…….
 
Did you know that a Dalmatian is born all white? Within 2 weeks their spots are coming trough!
 
They are getting between 6 and 12 puppies, but less or more is also possible.
 
The during of the pregnancy is between the 54 and 70 days, with a average of 63 days. When the puppies are 8 weeks old, they can go to their new owners.
 
In those 8 weeks they are getting weighted, having their vaccinations, being de- wormed, socialized, chipped and registered. When they are 6 till 8 weeks old, they are getting tested at deafness, called the BAER test.
 

Because of their genetics, their is a high risk of getting deafness as a pup. That’s why the have to be tested! That is a rule of the NCDH. When puppies are completely deaf, they should put to sleep, because they cannot live a normal life! Puppies who are only deaf at one ear can do that, bit you may not breed with them! Because of the heredity (genetics).

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