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DALMATIAN INFORMATION!!!
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The Dalmatian Club of America
A Short History of the Dalmatian
From: The Complete Dog Book
Offical Publication of the American Kennel Club
Eighteenth Edition, 1992
No breed has a more interesting background or a more disputed heritage than that dog from long ago, the Dalmatian. His beginning is buried so deep in the past that researchers cannot agree as to his origin. As to the great age of the breed, and the fact that it has come through many centuries unchanged, investigators are in complete agreement.
Models, engravings, paintings, and writings of antiquity have been used with fair excuse but no certainty to claim the spotted dog first appeared in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Perhaps some of the divergencies in opinion as to the original home of the Dalmatian can be accounted for by the fact that the dog has frequently been found in bands of Romanies, and that like his gypsy masters, he has been well known but not located definitely in any one place. Authoritative writers place him first as a positive entity in Dalmatia, a province of Austria on the Eastern shore of the coast of Venice. Though he has been accredited with a dozen nationalities and has as many native names - he is nicknamed by the English, the English Coach Dog, the Carriage Dog, the Plum Pudding Dog, the Fire House Dog, and the Spotted Dick - it is from his first proved home that he takes his correct name, the Dalmatian. We find references to him as Dalmatian in the middle eighteenth century. There is no question whatsoever that his lineage is as ancient and his record as straight as that of other breeds.
His activities have been as varied as his reputed ancestors. He has been a dog of war, a sentinel on the borders of Dalmatia and Croatia. He has been employed as draft dog, as shepherd. He is excellent on rats and vermin. He is well known for his heroic performances as fire-apparatus follower and fire-house mascot. As a sporting dog he has been used as bird dog, as trail hound, as retriever, or in packs for boar or stag hunting. His retentive memory had made him one of the most dependable clowners in circuses and on the stage. Down through the years the intelligence and willingness of the Dalmatian have found him in practically every role to which useful dogs are assigned.
Most important among his talents has been his status as the original, one-and-only coaching dog. The imaginative might say that his coaching days go back to an engraving of a spotted dog following an Egyptian chariot! Even the practical minded will find no end of proof, centuries old, of the Dalmatian, with ears entirely cropped away and padlocked brass collar, plying his natural trade as follower and guardian of the horse-drawn vehicle.
He is physically fitted for road work. In his makeup, speed and endurance are blended to a nicety. His gait has beauty of motion and swiftness, and he has the strength, vitality, and fortitude to keep going gaily till the journey's end. The instinct for coaching is bred in him, born in him, and trained in him through the years. The Dalmatian takes to a horse as a horse takes to him, and that is to say, like a duck to water. He may work in the old way, clearing the path before the Tally Ho with dignity and determination, or following on with his ermine spottings in full view to add distinction to an equipage. He may coach under the rear axle, the front axle, or, most difficult of all, under the pole between the leaders and the wheelers. Wherever he works, it is with the love of the game in his heart and with the skill which has won him the title of the only recognized carriage dog in the world. His penchant for working is his most renowned characteristic, but it in no way approaches his capacity for friendship.
There is no dog more picturesque than this spotted fellow with his slick white coat gaily decorated with clearly defined round spots of jet black, or, in the liver variety, deep brown. He does not look like any other breed, for his markings are peculiarly his own. He is strong-bodied, clean-cut, colorful, and distinctive. His flashy spottings are the culmination of ages of careful breeding.
His aristocratic bearing does not belie him, for the Dalmatian is first of all a gentleman. He is a quiet chap, and the ideal guard dog, distinguishing nicely between barking for fun or with a purpose. His courtesy never fails with approved visitors, but his protective instinct is highly developed and he has the courage to defend. As a watchdog he is sensible and dependable. He is not everyone's dog - no casual admirer will break his polite reserve, for he has a fine sense of distinction as to whom he belongs. Fashion has not distorted the Dalmatian. He is born pure white, develops quickly and requires no cropping, docking, stripping, or artifices of any sort. He is all ready for sport or the show ring just as nature made him. He is extremely hardy, an easy keeper, suited to any climate. He requires only the minimum of care, for he is sturdy and neat and clean.
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You should avoid feeding foods that are high in purines to your Dalmatian. They can't digest them easily and can cause urinary stones which are painful and dangerous (see next column)! Please see list of foods below. Let me know if you would like more info on avoiding urinary stones, and the BARF diet (Bones And Raw Food).
FOODS HIGHEST IN PURINES
anchovies
brains
kidney,
beef game meats (venison, etc.)
gravies
herring (including roe)
liver (calf or beef)
mackerel
meat extracts
mussels
sardines
scallops
yeast
FOODS MODERATELY HIGH IN PURINES
asparagus
bacon
breads & cereals,
whole grain cauliflower
eel
fish (fresh & saltwater)
legumes (kidney beans, navy & lima beans, lentils, peas)
meat (beef, lamb, pork, veal)
meat soups & broths
mushrooms
oatmeal
peas, green
pork (including ham)
poultry (chicken, duck, turkey)
shellfish (crab, lobster, oysters)
spinach
tongue
tripe
wheat germ & bran
FOODS LOWEST IN PURINES
beverages (coffee, tea, sodas, cocoa)
butter
bread & cereal (except whole grain)
cheese
eggs
fats
fish
roe (including caviar)
fruits & fruit juices
gelatin
milk (including butter, condensed, malted)
nuts (including peanut butter)
pasta (evaluate sauce ingredients separately)
sugars, syrups, sweets
vegetables (except those above)
vegetable & cream soups (made with acceptable vegetables. but not with beef stock)
Adapted from nutrition texts by Carroll Weiss Study Group on Urinary Stones Research Committee Dalmatian Club of America
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EMERGENCY PROCEDURES:
DALMATIAN CANNOT PASS URINE ("URINARY OBSTRUCTION")
RUSH DOG TO YOUR VETERINARIAN OR EMERGENCY CLINIC!
Obstruction of the urinary pathway quickly reaches life-threatening status within 24 to 72 hours as urine backs up into the body system instead of being expelled. It is not unknown for bladders to burst as urine continues to collect!
Have dammed-up urine easily but immediately removed
from bladder either by "cystocentesis" or by catheterization. This may have to be done several times while diagnosis and treatment are being evaluated. Draining urine "buys time."
Have the type of stone identified by urinalysis: abnormal urinary crystals are apparent and identifiable under an office microscope. Urates form in acidic urine (pH below 7.0). Struvite known as "infection" crystals/stones form in alkaline urine (pH above 7.0). Their treatment is different!
Have size of the stones confirmed by x-ray but remind veterinarian the most commonly-seen urate stones in Dalmatians may not visualize under normal x-ray procedures. Urates require skillful "indirect radiography" to be visualized in situ.
Non-surgical clearing of the obstruction can be often accomplished by "hydropropulsion" whereby, under anesthesia, the stones are flushed back up into the bladder. This sometimes must be done two to three times, also under anesthesia, before a free urinary stream is sustained. If stones quickly move and constantly re-obstruct after short periods of time, then bladder surgery may be unavoidable to restore normal urinary flow.
Request "Isofluorane" for the anesthetic if surgery is unavoidable. "Urethrostomy" is not "bladder surgery!" It is a surgical creation of a false urinary opening generally at the base of the scrotal sacs and should be considered A LAST RESORT after all other anti-stone procedures have failed. It should be performed only by an experienced surgeon, preferably one who is "Board certified."
Have Dalmatian started on antibiotics for existing urinary infection or to prevent the onset of one. A bacteriology culture including "antibiotic discing" may point to the most effective antibiotic for the species of bacteria inducing the infection. Shift the stone-former to distilled water, only.
Rush either stones passed or catheterized or removed surgically - or sediment centrifuging out during urinalysis - to one of the two urinary stone centers listed to confirm assay by electron micrography, chromatography and other highly specialized testing procedures. (Minnesota Urolith Center does not charge.)
Carroll Weiss
Study Group on Urinary Stones
Research Committee
Dalmatian Club of America
August 1996
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I have access to lots of information that is not displayed on this page. If you have questions, of any kind, I will certainly do my best to find an answer. A great diet choice for Dalmatians is the BARF diet, since their diets can be so picky. E-mail me for articles about the BARF diet or pick up a copy of Give Your Dog A Bone or Grow Your Pup on Bones by Ian Billinghurst. This link will also take you to his website which might be a good starting point.
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