Dalmatians if you could! but before that, your favorite time period of art! (-:
Art is interesting and beautiful but I canβt claim to know much about it.
Please note the disclaimer.These posts are about the breed from a veterinary viewpointas seen in clinical practice, i.e. the problems we are faced with.Itβs not the be-all and end-all of the breed and is not to make ajudgement about whether the breed is right for you. If you are askingfor an opinion about these animals in a veterinary setting, that iswhat you will get. Itβs not going to be all sunshine and cupcakes,and is not intended as a personal insult against your favorite breed.This is general advice for what is common, often with a scientificconsensus but sometimes based on personal experiences, and is not aguarantee of what your animal is going to encounter in their life.Β
Dalmatians get a bad wrap in some circles. Theyβre pretty dogs, and they suffered a popularity surge after the 101 Dalmatians movie, resulting in a lot of people suddenly getting dalmatians, and these dogs being less selectively bred. My first boss used to say they βhave more spots than brain cellsβ.
Deafness might be to blame for the perceived lack of intelligence. A dog that is deaf, or partially deaf, is harder to train and may be less aware of signals in its surroundings. Deafness in this breed is genetic and probably linked to their coat color.
Urate bladder stones are a major issue and point of controversy in the Dalmatian breed. The entire breed lacked the gene to properly metabolise uric acid, resulting in it accumulating in joints (gout) or as crystals and stones in the urine. The Dalmatian-Pointer Backcross Projectaimed aimed to introduce a single gene to correct this defect into the Dalmatian population. And it worked! After 5 generations, the resulting dogs, crossed back to pure dalmatians, looked and acted exactly like βpureβ dalmatians, minus the health defect. Only the dalmatian breederβs community kicked up such a huge stink about these dogs not being βpureβ that they either couldnβt be registered as pure dalmatians, or were registered with a long list of restrictions.
Demodex mange was reported to be more common in these dogs, however with increasing numbers of over-the-counter products that just happen to treat demodex, this may become less common over time.
Glaucoma, cataracts and micropthalmia (malformed eyes) all occur with increased frequency in this breed.
Hypothyroidism is also reported to be more common in dalmatians once they reach middle age, but itβs relatively easy to manage.
Itβs also worth mentioning that congenital eye problems and congenital deafness might be less frequent in dogs which have more colour around their ears and eyes. This is because abnormal melanocytes (pigment cells) within the ear and eyes are associated with these conditions. However, most breed clubs recommend against breeding dogs with solid eyes and ears to preserve the classic spotted coat.
Because of the excessive popularity their personalities have also suffered. Here in the states at least a disproportionate number of these dogs display some sort of aggression or have behaviour that is justβ¦ off. Iβve met a few I trust and many more that i donβt.
They arenβt common where I am so it could just be a small sample size all from the same byb or whatever, but all the ones Iβve met have had a serious screw loose :(
Dalmatians are not soppy Disney dogs! The Disney films did the breed no favours as every kid wanted a "spotty dog" and stupid parents indulged their kids without any thought to the type of dog they were getting. As a result, many Dallies ended up being dumped in shelters. As a former Dalmatian owner I speak from personal experience. Every time that Disney film was doing the rounds taking my dog out was a nightmare, with kids yelling at us across the street and - even worse - stupid parents allowing their kids to chase after my dog even though they could see he did not want their little darlings teasing him. I know from personal experience that Dalmatians often have high aggression, though it is often directed at other dogs.
