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PLEASE DO NOT BUY A PUPPY OR A DOG THROUGH FREE ADDS OR LOCAL PAPERS. So you want a DALMATIAN but do you really know what you are letting your self in for ?Oh yes ,lovely dogs to look at and the puppies .. Adoreable.., clean and white with black or liver spots.But as they grow up like ANY other puppies -they get boysterous,scratch the kids, they ”bite” because that is the only way they know how to play,jump up, steal toys and perhaps eat them!! -They grow up fast to become an adult dog of around 25 to 30 KG ,all muscles.They are very strong and powerful strong.They are fairly long living 12 to 15/16 years.They are head strong -meaning that they try to rule the house and do what THEY want to do.They eat anything and everything and are known for being walking dust bins.They loose hair every day of the year so your house will have dog hairs everywhere including places where they are not allowed . I always say to potential puppy buyers- you eat hair- you drink hair and by jolly you spit hair. It is a breed that MUST be taken to obedience training - ( your local VET - should have that information-) as the Dalmatian needs the owner to be in full controle.You must teach him the most important rules.Sit, COME , NO, stay, go to bed and commands like that.Learning to walk on the lead is a must or you will have your arms pulled off.You are the one taking the dog for a walk NOT- DOG walking human....The Dalmatian is a very quick learner and he also learns VERY fast who he shall obey and who he will totally ignore because he has NO RESPECT for that person.It is very important to remember that EVERYBODY in the house hold does and says the same thing.It is also essential that you socialise the dog with lots of other dogs and humans.Do not however forget that even though they are excellent family pets their job was to GUARD the postal coaches and that is something that does crop up on a regulare basis.Their guarding instinct. Some Dalmatians will guard you when you walk them - by running up and bark at people, some will put their hackle (hair up on the back) and show their teeth..These are very frightening things to come across.Therefore the other reason for OBEDIENCE TRAINING by a qualified trainer. Yet others will walk all over you and just wants love..Just remember NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR DOG.. it will still protect home and family -unless you have a real softy..
Ida and Norman sunbathing Victoria and Ida having a cuddle They are however fantastic family members but they can drive you mad as they want your company 24/7. If you get up- they get up.You sit down - they want to sit on top of you. It is very much me and my shaddow.They require a fair amount of excersise - mind you not hours and hours but a good walk once a day and a jolly good free run that same day regardless of weather-If you do not do this - you might find that in the dogs boredom - the dog has shredded your favourite pillow , chewed through the door ,had a go at the walls, ripped up the floor boards. I am so not kidding.Amazing what a bored dog can do ! Having said all this- the DALMATIAN is a super dog.Very clever and totally loyal to his friends.I for one would not like to be without this fantastic breed.What is better than comming home ,being greeted by a super set of teeth - oh yes- did I forget to mention that DALMATIANS SMILE? A wagging tail that will leave your table free of any objects and a good bruising around your legs?The dog hairs..well not really that bad as they are easy to vaccume up or brush off the wooden floors.To keep it under “controle” all you need is a pair of rubber washing up gloves and just stroke your dog.Cheap and easy. ARE YOU STILL KEEN ON THIS WONDERFUL BREED ? THEN PLEASE READ ON. WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING A PUPPY Where do you start? Dog or Bitch ? Liver and White or Black and White ? Family Pet or a dog with THE SHOW POTENTIAL ? click below for advice
People are of the miss conseption that Bitches are much easier to handle and live with than dogs and more placid. How wrong they can be..In many cases they are WORSE than dogs ! Lets talk Bitches.. She comes into season every 6 months (though this varies from bitch to bitch as some can come in every 7,8,9 months or only once a year) -which means bleeding and blood around the floor, So she has to be confined to the house and a VERY secure garden for the next month.A male dog can smell a bitch in season and he will do what ever HE can to get to her.She might also be of the rather “Tarty” kind and will run away/ jump the fence/ dig under the fence or what ever to find a handsome partner.. This is nature talking! ..She can be temperamental -just like ANY female. Sulk, be snappy,clingy and basically have PMS.If she could slam a door she would do so.She will molt - loose her coat quite badly so a lot of hair around the place .If she takes a dislike to another bitch. She will fight till the bitter end.Such is nature that only TOP bitch servives.This also includes bitches that have been spayed. Socializing is an absolute MUST .As somebody who has 3 generations of Bitches living together and socializing with lots of other dogs/bitches I still think they are absolutely fabulous but YOU have to be TOP BITCH not your dog.. Then there is the DOG ( MALE ) to consider. No seasons. Don’t loose the coats as badly as the bitches.The lift their leg on everything to mark their patch /territory. They are Sometimes calmer and more obedient than a bitch. If they do get into a fight it is TYPICAL male.. A quick Punch up to see who is the strongest and then they part. Can be very noise and frightening. Sometimes when they meet again - they will have a go again or totally ignore each other as the dominant dog has already been establised.If you ask me what I would choose ?? Tricky question as I have always had Dogs and Bitches so to me..One is as good or as bad as the other..In Temperament there is NO difference. So the desision is totally in your hands.Which ever you choose..Spay the bitch after her first season and have the male castrated at around 1 year old. To choose the colour is more a cosmetic thing.In or out of the show ring -it makes no differenceLivers are more unusual than blacks. On the whole it comes down to tast.Again I have both colours so I have no preferance.It is the DOG that chooses me and what ever colour he or she has will do for me. There are so many people who advertise their puppies for sale through the local papers and Free advertisements. A reputable breeder will have a waiting list for his puppies.I would rather wait and have a puppy from this person than from one who has litter after litter. Do not be fooled by breeders bragging about their “so called” wonderful dogs in the show ring or their pedigrees .Yes. its great to do well at the CHAMPIONSHIP SHOWS and Open shows and it makes you very proud of your own dogs BUT The most important part for you, the new dog owner, is the dogs TEMPERAMENT not the make and shape of the dog.What is the point of having a “super” looking dog if you or anybody else cannot get near it??Or you are afraid to take your dog for walks because it is so agressive? You are buying a PET a FAMILY dog......if you are looking for a potential show dog YES -then make and shape is extremely important. PLEASE DO NOT BUY A PUPPY AS A PRESENT AS IT MAY WELL NOT BE WANTED Firstly do your research. Borrow books from the library or buy a few books on the DALMATIAN, but buy a book on THE DALMATIANS here in UK, as the American Dalmatians have a different Breed standard.now with the internet have a look around but BE CAREFUL.Do Not be fooled.There are breeders out there trying to sell you a “champion” Be aware of deafness, which is in the breed. Make sure you ask about hearing tests and if the litter of puppies will be hearing tested, also called B.A.E.R.(Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response). This is only Make sure parents are also B.A.E.R tested. Ask to see their certificates too The dogs are graded as follows: Bilateral Normal (normal hearing in both ears) Unilateral Deaf ( normal hearing in one ear, possibly deaf in the other) Important to remember that this dog can still hear MUCH better with his one normal hearing ear than you can with your two normal hearing ears. Bilateral Deaf ( deaf in both ears). It is kindest to have these dogs humanely put to sleep as they are a risk to themselves and others. This is a puppy from SKY litter A with the Vet Mrs J.Skerritt This is what happens at a BAER testing session. The level of hearing is recorded as a graph and depending on it’s reading the dog is then classified as above.This is a totally painless procedure. Chandhally puppies were tested at 6 weeks without any sedation.All micro chipped prior to testing.
Puppies from SKY Litter B being BAER tested The specialist is Judith Skerritt from Cranmore Veterinary Centre.South Wirral Go to dog shows and talk to the Dalmatian owners. See their dogs. They will be delighted to meet you. If they are showing, just remember to wait until they have finished in the show ring or you might find yourself upsetting handler and dog. PLEASE DO NOT BUY A PUPPY FROM THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER OR FREE ADVERTS When you finally do go and see a litter of puppies make sure you see the MOTHER of the puppies, who should be with them while you are there. She should not be guarding them but should be happy to see you and proud of her babies. She should allow you to hold her babies and even sit in with her and her puppies. This shows the true temperament of the bitch.Don’t accept a puppy being handed to you one at the time from a different room to where you are.I would wonder what is wrong with the others and why this “hiding ” attitude.It would certainly have my alarm bells ringing.Why Can I not see the WHOLE litter together
Visitors with Sky’s puppies (puppies are about 2 1/2 weeks old) If for any reason the bitch is kept separate and you can only meet her away from the puppies or not at all, PLEASE GO AWAY. The bitch could be of the nervous or aggressive type. She could be in such POOR condition and state that she should NEVER have been breed from. The bitch will be an excellent indicator of what the temperament of the puppies will be like. Go and see a few litters if possible, as this will also give you something to compare with. WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN YOU GO TO SEE THE BREEDER AND THE PUPPIES. The puppies should be well fed. Well covered and strong boned. By strong boned I mean the legs should appear “thick” and rounded. You do not want matchstick type legs like a whippet. You should not be able to see the puppies’ ribs or any waistline. The Dalmatian is after all nick-named rolly-polly dog. In other words you want to see FAT puppies but not with bloated tummies. This type of stomach will feel HARD. This might indicate Eyes should be clear and clean. There should be no discharge from eyes, and no stains from corner of the eye or along the nose. There should be no discharge from the nose.There should be no coughing or diarehoea (thou the latter can happen when a puppy is wormed or a new food introduced) The puppies should be alert, and running around happily and be active. They should come to you and not shy away. They should be confident. The puppy pen should be kept clean and there should not be any strong odours. There should not be any obviously soiled bedding or newspapers or faeces lying around. How would you like to lie in urine and faeces? Why should the puppies be kept in filth?? Puppies have a sweet warm smell to them (most owners say puppies have the best smell of any dog!) and they should be clean.Any staining around the bottom will indicate loose stools.The dog could have the runs! Why!.. There should be no food or “unsightly” stains covering their body. There should not be old food lying around. They should not be allowed to feed at will.A puppy should have set meal times. There should be toys and other stimulants for them to play with.
The puppies should be kept dry and warm and away from drafts. Although you may feel sorry for it, avoid the “runt” of the litter. Often the reason for being the “runt” is that it suffers from poorer health or nutrition than the others, and this will stay with the dog for the rest of its life.A lot of these dogs do not live long and tends to spend a lot of time at the VET.Stay WELL CLEAR OFF the puppy who tucks the tail between its legs and seems to be frightened of it’s own shaddow.This will most always be a nervous and sometimes agressive dog.Remember that YOU are liable should you decide to have a dog like this. The final advice I have for you is to find out as much as you can about the breeder. 1) How long has he or she had Dalmatians and when did she breed her first litter and why? I would not personally like to buy a puppy from somebody who has been in the breed less than 6 or 7 years before they bred their first litter. They simply do not have the knowledge or the expertise on the Dalmatian as a breed and their welfare. 2) How many litters has she bred ? More than 1 a year if they have 1 bitch ? 2 bitches 2 litters a year. and so on ?? Well that sounds to me a bit much.Why do they need to breed so much? You only have a litter IF you need a new puppy to continue your LINE due to old age or loss of a dog . A well established Kennel with boarding facilities will have the time and space and they tend to SHOW more of their dogs, but a “normal” household? financial gain comes to mind. 3) How many litters has the bitch had? The bitch should have no more than 2 to 3 litters in her lifetime. ( She should not have a litter before the age of 2 and not later than the age of 8) 4) How long time between each litter and I would say here that 2 years is a healthy gap.!! This will give the bitch time to recover and get back into good hard condition.Why does she have to have a litter more often than that.? In these cases all I can think of is the bitch as a production line..Why do they need to breed more dogs? Personally I would ONLY have a litter IF i need to continue my breeding line.And that would not be needed for a few more years.
5) Look around you when you visit a breeder.What is the state of the house or breeding”shed / kennels ” like? Clean? Dirty ? How many breeding bitches do they have.Why do they need so many ? Have they a litter or more every year from different bitches ? Ask yourself WHY !!!! MONEY is the only reason.. 6) Is the Bitch or Sire FREE from any diseases..like ARDS, EPILEPSY, MEGAESOPHAGUS, 7) TEMPERAMENT !!! 8) Is the breeder a member of any of the Dalmatian clubs listed here ? You can contact the 4 UK Dalmatian clubs and ask!! Just remeber that their is still no guarantie that your puppy will be 100 %.But we do have a code of conduct so there is some comfort in that but it DOES NOT make them better breeders or stopping them from over breeding. The British Dalmatian Club. Go to web site www.britishdalmatianclub.org.uk or call the secretary on 01543 490849. The North of England Dalmatian Club or www.noedc.com or call the secretary on 01625 524121. The Dalmatian Club of Scotland , call the secretary 01505 683402. and finally The Northern Ireland Dalmatian Club , call the secretary on 02 89145 7202. These Dalmatian Clubs have what we call a JOINT PUPPY LIST and will have a list of members who have or are about to have a litter of puppies. Remember that the Clubs are here to help YOU in making the right choice.You must also remember that there is NO guarantie that everything will be OK just because you bought a DOG from the puppy list.BUT all the club members MUST abide by our clubs rules and regulations when it comes to breeding practises.(we hope) We do have a code of conduct. My final advice for you is DO NOT BUY ANY DOG - be it a dog or a bitch - ON BREEDING TERMS. The alternative to buying a puppy is to consider e a Rescue Dog. Again go to our web site and find more informations regarding Fostering or taking on a welfare dog
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IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SUPPORTING THE PUPPY FARMER
done at particular clinics, using specialist equipment. A document with a graph is produced indicating the degree of hearing. Do not be fooled by breeders saying their vets have tested them. BAER testing is done at specialised Vets. Testing dogs’ hearing by banging of saucepans and dropping of lids is NO GUARANTEE. The dog FEELS the vibrations. They DO NOT HEAR the sound
that they have worms.
