Dalmatians

Well I'm certainly not an expert,but we do own a dalmatian. We also have a doxie and a yellow lab.Our daughter  had a dal and that is when I fell in love with the breed. Hers was a rescue and older,but she was a sweetie,loved to go everywhere with us. She did have allergies as does ours.Hers had to be put down due to kidney failure.When she went to look at some puppies, we went with. The rest is history. We have a female and she has her sister. the sister has no allergies.  They are both sweet, loving dogs.Our daughter has 2 children and the dogs are great with them. Theydo need alot of exercise and love to go everywhere with us. They are very people-oriented dogs' Iguess males are prone to kidney stones and you need to feed dals a diet low in purines and let them drink plenty of water to flush out their system.Some are also prone to deafness. Overall,I think they are wonderful dogs, very intelligent,very alert,very loving . If I could,I would get another one in a heartbeat.  Oh, and by the way, they are big into sitting on furniture and taking up the whole bed.  Be sure to feed them a good quality dogfood also. Hope that helps you.   Oh and another thing,they do not like cold weather,so we have a nice sherpa lined coat for her--nothing is too good for a dal!   Good  Luck!

Thanks for the info! I have heard about the kidney stones as well. As far as the sitting on the couch and taking over the bed....I would expect that! I am fully prepared to share! I have had a hard time finding any breeders or rescue groups on the web. I have found some, but not as many as I had expected. I was sort of surprised that they aren't a popular breed.

You mentioned to feed them good quality dog food, what does yours eat?

Does your doxie play with the dal? Mine just loves to play with my friend's siberian husky, boy what fun it is to watch that!

Dalmatians tend to be one-person one-animal dogs. Some can develop animal aggression (esp males, usualy same-sex aggression), and having dalmatians with other dogs in the house does not always work, I'm not saying it can't, it depends on the individual dog. Many do not like strange dogs (or people), esp strange dogs around their people.

Dalmatians are family-oriented, but they do tend to attach themselves to one person. They respond to others, but they have their favorite, and there is not much you can do to stop that! They are very protective of their family, and wary of strangers.

They are extremely active, and need lots of play time and running.

http://www.savethedals.org/agreatbreed.htm

 http://msucares.com/news/print/cvm/cvm00/001204jh.htm

http://www.dogpage.us/dalmatian.htm

ZBAndMe

 I was sort of surprised that they aren't a popular breed

They are not popular because of their aggression issues. If not raised poperly, these dogs can be very territorial and dangerous - see my links.

I have met many VERY NICE dals, rarely seen a mean one. It all depends on how they are raised. Disney kind of did in the breed with their movie... gave the breed a standard that they don't always live up to...

I'm so sorry,I missed this yesterday and didn't get to answer you.  Our dal is now on Solid Gold Holistique. She has been on California Natural,Eaglepack Holistique,Natures Variety almost any quality holistque food. But she seems to do the best on SolidGold and I add salmon or rabbit.   As far as the doxie, she is fine with her, but any time the doxie gets up to go out or whatever, Maizy will jump up  and make sure that everything is OK. When we go out,we usually take them all in the car and they are fine.  If it's too cold, we leave them home and there never has been a problem.       We did get her when she was 13 wks. old and our daughter took her sister.  Neither of us has ever had a problem as far as children or people.  I don't know about that attaching to one person thing, as it seems whoever has the food or is going in the car,that's where the dal is.  I would not hesitate to get another one,but as they say, you do need to know the breed.   Sorry this is so late.Any questions send me a PM

Forgot to add, we got her thru DalSavers Rescue. T he last link erica1989 sent you has dal rescue sites listed--one being in Calif.   Maizy had har shots and they paid for her to be spayed.

Thanks for the reply! Dalmatians seem like such loving dogs. The more I read about them the more I seem to want one! I will have to check out the DalSavers site. I guess there aren't that many Dal owners on the forums, huh?

Sometimes I think I'm the only dal owner here.  I know on Dogster.com they have every breed listed and there are dals listed.  There are a few owners and pictures there and all kinds of info.I've got to get my daughter here to help me post a picture of Maizy. She is so cute--She has a big black patch over one eye and looks like a pirate. Last Halloween , I tied a fake parrot to her shoulder and put a pirate hat on her--that was a big hit with the trick or treaters. Of course she had to check out everyones trick or treat bag--such a little beggar.  A lot of people comment on her cute face and I'm always buying new, fancy collars for her,cause a dal never can have too many collars.    I also forgot to mention dals usually have lamb and rice, as many have allergies, like ours.  Yet her sister has no problems at all and was the runt of the litter.

I'm far from being an expert also, but my sister used to have one and I believe one of the health issues were blindness and deafness.  Also when 101 dalmations came out they said on the news how alot of families were running out to get one and you had to be careful with them in regards to small children and dogs.  Although, my sister's dog was great with both, I guess it would depend on how they are raised.  All I remember though, is she was a great dog with a tail like a whip!  LOL  She would clear a coffee table in one swoop!  Good luck, and if you're not getting enough information from here, just go the internet and do some research.  We did, when we decided to get another dog (Misty, border collie) and it does help, although you never know what you're getting into until you've experienced it.  LOL 

I also see DogChannel site has rescue dals.

I was just going to ask you to post a picture of Maizy for me!! I am sure everyone just loves her costume for Halloween, sounds so cute! I usually dress my dachshunds up in a hotdog costume...what else?!

As far as the research, I am learning a lot from the internet. There are a lot of rescue groups that provide information about the breed. Thanks to you guys as well for the links. I would really like to get one but I want to give it some time...trying not to get too excited and go dog crazy!

I'd recommend joining the ShowDals list- PM springingpups on here or PM me and remind me and I'll get you the subscription info. I was never a big fan of Dals until I started meeting more well-bred dogs- the ones I have met from shelters varied from 'okay but dumb' to 'psychotically unstable/why on earth did they place this dog?'

 Dals *can* be prey driven but well-bred ones typically aren't, and although there are lines known for animal aggressive temperament, many aren't, and it's atypical in well-bred dogs. They *do* typically respond better to their family- everyone else can pretty much f*-off. :P But they are polite about it. :)

 
One thing to remember about Dals is that they are a guarding breed- despite their pointery appearance, they were bred to guard carriages on the road. Extensive socialization is a must, and most resent heavy-handed training and do very well with clicker or lure/reward training. While they *can* be one family dogs, they're adaptable- Springingpups' Dalmatian service dog Grady didn't come to her until age 3 when he retired from the show ring! They *can* be good with kids, other dogs, and other pets- but it's important to make sure you socialize them well. Dal rescue has, thankfully, come down in numbers considerably from 10 years ago. BYBs are still out there, though. Check out Dashing Dalmatians (Lindsay's adorable Robin is from them), Ravin Dalmatians (who bred Grady and have produced a number of Dals who have gone on to be service dogs), and Paisley Dalmatians (well-known overall) for examples of what health testing and titling reputable Dal breeders are doing. And for folks who don't think dalmatians are trainable or versatile?

 Check out Alvin - http://www.lakeshoredals.com/Alvin.html -

I hope to get my daughter to help me this coming week with posting pictures.   And yes, dals are trainable--stubborn but trainable.  They are Very intelligent and athletic.   I did call FYREHOUSE DALMATIANS in Calif. once and asked her about allergies in dals, but she claimed none of hers have ever had allergies--but than again, her dals started at $1500.00.   Of course, if they are and stay in perfect health, it's well worth it , considering what vet bills cost. My daughters first dal cost her thousands because of testing and allergies. She was a rescue and I think poorly bred.  Very sad for the poor dogs because they are wonderful when properly trained and given LOTSof attention and exercise. They just love being with you.

 Fyrehouse has a good reputation. $1500 is about standard for a well-bred dalmatian puppy, but I think that's for show quality- I don't know anyone who has bought a PQ puppy recently. I know that Grady (Lindsay's Ravin dog) is VERY healthy.