Dalmatian   

                                 

 

         

 

The Dalmatian has a very distinctive appearance, being either black spotted or liver spotted, the spots standing out well on the pure white background colour of his coat. As  a puppy he is born pure white and the spots are not apparent, so that is not possible to know whether he will be black or liver.The breed was very popular in Britain during the Regency period, and was known as the carriage dog, as he was used to run under or beside all types of carriages from those of the gentry to the nail coach. An excellent companion and a very good house dog, he has a sporting side to his nature, with a good nose and a soft mouth. An active, agile dog, strong and nuscular, who enjoys plenty of exercise, he is more suited to country life than the town.

 

General Appearance ***  A distinctively spotted, balanced, strong, muscular, active dog. symmetrical in outline, free from coarseness and lumber.

Characteristics ***  A carriage dog of good demeanour, capable of great endurance and a fair turn of speed.

Temperament ***  Outgoing and friendly, not shy or hesitant, free from nervousness and agression.

 

Head and Skull ***  Of fair length, skull flat, reasonably broad between ears, moderately well defined in front of ears. Moderate amount of stop. Entirely free from wrinkle. Muzzle long, powerful, never snipy; lips clean, fiting jaw moderately closely. Nose in black spotted variety always black, in liver spotted veriety always brown.

Eyes ***  Set moderately well apart, medium size, round , bright and sparkling, with intelligent expression, Colour, dark in black spotted, amber in liver spotted, Eye rims preferably completely black in black spotted, and liver brown in liver spotted.

 

Ears ***   Set on rather high, moderate size, rather wide at base, gradually tapering to rounded point. Fine in tecture, carried close to head. Marking well broken up, preferably spotted.

Mouth ***   Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite,i.E. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Neck ***   Fairly long, nicely arched, light and tapering. Entirely free from throatiness.

 

ForeQuarters ***  Shoulders moderately oblique, clean and muscular. Elbows close to body. Forelegs perfectly straight with strong round bone down to feet, with slight spring at pastern joint.

Body ***  Chest not too wide but deep and capacious with plenty of lung and heart room. Ribs well sprung, well defined withers, powerful level back, loin strong, clean, muscular and slightly arched.

HindQuarters ***  Roended, muscles clean with well developed second thigh, good turn of stifle, hocks well defined.

 

Feet ***  Round, compact, with well arched toes, cat-like, round, tough, elastic pads. Nails black or white in black spotted variety, in liver spotted, brown or white.

Tail ***   Length reaching approximately to hock. Strong at insertion gradually tapering towards end, never inserted too low or too high, free from coarseness and carried with a slight upward curve, never curled. Preferably spotted.

 

Gait and Movement ***  Great freedom of movement. Smooth, powerful, rhythmic action with long stride. Viewed from behind, legs mve in parallel, hindlegs tracking the fore. A short stride and paddling action incorrect.

Coat ***  Short, hard, dense; sleek and glossy in appearance.

 

Colour ***  Ground colour pure white. Black spotted, dens black spots, and liver spotted, liver brown spots; not running together but round and well defined. In size one-pence to fifty - pence piece. Spots as well distributed as possible. Spots on extremities smaller than those on body. Patches, tricolours and lemon spots highly undesirable. Bronzing on spots undesirable in adults.

 

Size  ***  Overall balance of prime importance. Ideal height at shoulder; dogs; 58.4-61 cms *.  ( 23-24ins ); bitches: 55.9-58.4 cms ( 22-23 ins ).

Faults   *** Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

Note ***  Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

 

 

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