Dalmatian

The Dalmatian is a medium-sized dog, muscular, active, harmonious in its lines endowed with a remarkable trot. He is calm, quite stubborn but very intelligent and cuddly. Its dress has a pure white base color and has round and well-defined spots, which can be either black or brown (liver). The Dalmatian is an athletic and cheerful dog who needs to exercise. The Dalmatian is illustrated by the practice of sports such as agility, cani-cross as well as obérythmée. Its image is often associated with that of the horse with the practice of carriage dog and coaching dog. Exercise The Dalmatian needs space, exercise and should not be tied down or rushed. He must exert himself and cannot be locked up. If he lives in town, two or three daily outings will be more than necessary. Feeding Up to a maximum of 12 months, give him three or four meals as much as you want puppy food, as he needs it to build and develop harmoniously. In adulthood, it can get bigger. Disadvantages of an unsuitable diet: He may have skin allergies, the skin becomes dark pink, the coat tints first on the skull, and the hair falls out as if the dog is "mitait" without scratching. He can develop pathologies of the urinary system (stones...) without having a history of allergy (especially males). The choice of the puppy The choice of a Dalmatian puppy can be done from six weeks. At this age, it is then possible to detect the major faults which would prevent it from being confirmed and having a definitive pedigree. The puppy has black or liver-brown spots, but the presence of spots of these two colors on the same puppy must not be present, giving a tricolor coat. It should not have “lemon” spots, of a more or less pale yellow. The brown color does not vary with age and the spots are reddish brown when they appear. It must not present a "patch", black plate or liver, giving an entirely black ear or liver and overflowing on the skull, or forming a monocle and present at birth. It should also be kept in mind that the Dalmatian has a changing coat; it must therefore be chosen neither too stained nor too little. One or two blue eyes are a serious fault that will rule the dog out of shows and breeding. It must not have one of the jaws advancing relative to the other. Care must be taken that it is not deaf (unilateral or bilateral). Males must have both testicles descended. A sad puppy that stays away from others is often a sick puppy. He must not present any skin disease, nor show a soiled anus. The state of the mother is also very important as well as her character. A Dalmatian is a purebred dog and must be registered in the French Book of Origins (LOF) managed by the Société centrale canine (SCC) The breeder must submit a birth certificate which gives the genealogy of the puppy over 3 generations, its name, his date of birth, his tattoo number or his electronic identification number and his LOF registration number. The dog will not leave the breeding before its ninth week. If the breeder has not yet received the birth certificates, they must provide the SCC file number under which the litter to which your puppy belongs was registered. The breeder must also provide: The puppy's vaccination record where the primary vaccinations carried out by the breeder's veterinarian are noted (distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, kennel cough); The identification card by tattoo or by transponder, "chip"; A certificate of sale stipulating the various contracts between the seller and the buyer and signed by both parties. It is advisable, if the breeder has not done so and if there is any doubt about the puppy's hearing, to have it tested by PEA at a veterinarian authorized to do these tests. The breeder must also give advice on the puppy's diet so that he does not suffer the disadvantages of a sudden change in diet and on the way to allow him to have a harmonious physical and psychological development. Care and health The Dalmatian is prone to deafness (on average 20 to 30% of puppies are born unilaterally deaf or bilaterally deaf), which is why good dog breeders do not sell deaf puppies. They should perform PEA tests on puppies around 7 to 8 weeks of age. For reproduction, the use of parents free from this handicap is an absolute necessity. When purchasing a puppy, ask the breeder to provide you with your puppy's PEA test result as well as that of the sires. Deafness is not the only possible “blemish”: the Dalmatian is prone to kidney stones and, to a lesser extent, to dysplasia and the much rarer megaesophagus. Deafness Origin of deafness The Dalmatian, along with other races whose undercoat is white, has a significant percentage of hereditary deafness due to a lack of pigment in certain cells of the inner ear. This is due to excessive selection on the white coat, constituting a major break with the ancestral type. Having about 7% SB puppies as candidates for euthanasia is unacceptable. The white coat is determined by the speculative (yet chemically unidentified) gene sw (s for self = totally and w for white = white, named in French "gene de la variegation invasive"; the adjective "invasive" is completely speaking because this gene comes out, so to speak, of the role that was expected of it: it is not limited to determining the mantle but extends its action to the level of the inner ear... Since 1991, the work by Doctor Strain of the University of Baton Rouge show, by the joint statistical study of pedigrees and results of AEPs on large numbers, that deafness is directly linked to the ability of the sw gene to express itself according to the influence, facilitating or inhibiting, that several other genes (polygenes) would probably have on him. must be recognized in breeding. Unilateral deafness An SU (unilateral deaf) dog is not handicapped in his everyday life, it is simply recommended not to use him as a breeder. Dysplasia Dysplasia is a hereditary condition determined by several genes whose expression is influenced by the conditions of the external environment, in this case an overall overeating leading to overweight or a defective mineral and vitamin intake or even a bad exercise regime. leads. Urates (stones) [edit] In the Dalmatian, the metabolism, all the physical, chemical and biological transformations of purine bases differs from other dogs by a reduced elimination of uric acid or urates in the form of allantoin. Only 30 to 40% of the uric acid produced is transformed into allantoin, whereas in normal dogs 90% of the urates are metabolized into allantoin. Uric acid levels (uric acid levels) are higher in Dalmatians (50-80mg/l) than in non-Dalmatians (25-40mg/l). The urates produced in excess are eliminated in the urine in greater quantities than in dogs of other breeds. It is the only breed of the canine species to have a genetic disorder vis-à-vis uric acid. The value of this acid is much higher than that of other breeds, which will lead to the formation of urinary stones and the appearance of kidney pathology in a certain number of subjects. Uric acid excretion per 24 hours is about 10 times higher than in other dog breeds (400 to 600 mg versus 60 mg). Despite this high urate excretion, a small percentage of Dalmatians have one or more urate stones. The megaesophagus The megaesophagus1 is defined as a dilation of the esophagus associated with insufficiency or absence of motricity. A distinction is made between the primary megaesophagus and the secondary megaesophagus. Secondary megaesophagus is a consequence of many conditions (for example, hypothyroidism, polymyositis, etc.). Only the primary megaesophagus, which can appear in puppies (congenital megaesophagus), but also in adults, is of interest to us because its origin can be hereditary. Signs of the megaesophagus Most often these are regurgitation of chewed, undigested food mixed with mucus. In the puppy under the mother, a milk-mucus mixture also rejected by the nostrils can be difficult to detect because of the licking by the female dog. Regurgitation is favored by a change of position and occurs unexpectedly, involuntarily. This helps to differentiate regurgitation from vomiting preceded by frequent salivation and swallowing and characterized by coordinated abdominal contractions. Regurgitation can occur immediately after meals or several hours after. The frequency is not necessarily constant and may vary from week to week. Another common sign is visible swelling of the esophagus from air or food in the lower neck. Eructations are frequently observed.

In the work of Thomas Bewick published in 1792 we find the description and the drawing of a dog whose hair is white and spotted. Berwick calls this dog "Dalmatian" or "coach dog" (because its primary function was to clear the way for the coach and other stagecoach carrying mail). Another Englishman named Vero Shaw wrote the first standard for the Dalmatian in 1882. This standard was made official in 1890. A crew dog and friend of horses, baptized "coach dog", he once ran behind horse-drawn carriages. Its origins are ancient but controversial. In any case, it is represented in many paintings from the 12th century. The mascot of firefighters in the United States The Dalmatian is also known as the mascot of firefighters in the United States. This stems from the fact that in the 18th century the Dalmatian followed in the footsteps of horses towing American fire engines and barked to warn and ward off animals and nearby people.2 Heroic The Dalmatian inherited its name from the fact that it was used in Dalmatia (region of Croatia) as a messenger of war by the English during the Balkan wars to cross the enemy lines. This is how, decked out in a backpack, the dog carried the messages to their recipients. Cinema The race of Dalmatians was made famous by Walt Disney's feature film, 101 Dalmatians (film, 1961)

He educates himself easily if he benefits from a firm but benevolent education. He is playful and does not like loneliness. The Dalmatian is a calm and composed dog. He understands things very quickly, always asking for hugs.