Dalmatian Dog Breed: Facts, Lifespan and Information
The Dalmatian has the general appearance of an active, muscular dog with symmetrical body parts, never obese or heavy set. The head is a good length, with the skull flat and fairly wide between the ears. The muzzle is long and never sharp. The snout is lightly marked and the eyes are medium in size, round, bright and intelligent looking. They are dark in the black-spotted dogs. The ears are attached high on the head and medium sized.
Coat: short, hard, smooth and shiny.
Color: Pure white coat with black spots or smudges. The spots must be small, round, look good and be the size of a coin. Note that there are also brown Dalmatians but they are quite rare.
Size: 56 to 60 cm for the male and 54 to 59 cm for the female.
Weight: about 30 kg for the male and 25 kg for the female.
Dalmatian History
Its origins are controversial and several countries claim rights to the breed, but some organizations have established that the breed is Croatian, although some experts claim that it is oriental and others claim it is English. England, however, is considered the adopted homeland of the breed. It was probably developed for hunting as it seems to have good qualities for it.
Dalmatian Character Traits
The Dalmatian is a very intelligent, sensitive dog, whose strong character includes some troublesome aspects. It must be known, understood and loved for what it is, but it is not a very easy dog to live with and it is not suitable for everyone. It has energy to spare and will run away if it can.
They are rather independent and can become very disobedient if it’s master does not understand them and have a good relationship with them. Despite this, they loves the company of their masters and will be unhappy if you leave them alone too long. Today, they are a companion dog but he can also be a watchdog. They still have some traces of their hunting past. They are a great companion for children, being bold and courageous. It is not easy to educate or to train them because of their strong will and determination.
Health
The Dalmatian is an active dog and quite robust. The problem of deafness characteristic in dalmatians is today very limited thanks to the action of the breeders. In addition a deaf Dalmatian can still be trained so not all hope is lost. This breed of dog has the characteristic of having a higher rate of uric acid than the average which can cause the formation of urinary problems and the appearance of a renal pathology.
Average life expectancy: about 12-15 years
Notes
The breed was made famous by various films but this popularity wasn’t the greatest and made for lots of puppies being born with not enough owners. This makes it necessary only to buy from reputable breeders nowadays.