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Breed Standard Extentions
ANKC BREED STANDARD - Extension for the Dalmatian
General
Appearance
The Dalmatian should be a balanced, strong, muscular, active
dog of good demeanour. Symmetrical in outline, free from coarseness
and lumber, capable of great endurance with a fair amount of speed.
The Dalmatian is a distinctively spotted dog, however, no dog is more
normal in its make up than the Dalmatian. It is free from abnormalities
and exaggeration. Other than its spotting, which will be discussed in
detail later, no features are peculiar to this breed. Balanced in all
proportions, it is an active, medium sized dog, displaying the stamina,
strength and musculation needed to keep up with horses for long periods
of time. In addition, the Dalmatian is elegant and graceful enough to
enhance the appearance of any horse and carriage. BALANCE and proportions
should satisfy the eye and give a sense of perfect harmony both in repose
and action. STRONG, MUSCULAR, ACTIVE. The Dalmatian conveys the impression
of substance combined with elegance and perfect balance, never overdone.
CAPABLE OF GREAT ENDURANCE. With its purpose as a carriage dog so important,
the Dalmatian should have the ability to trot long distances alongside
a coach. FAIR AMOUNT OF SPEED. This is interpreted as meaning an ability
to accelerate with a quick burst of speed when necessary. While it must
have the stamina to go all day, it must also have an action that is
economical in order to conserve energy, Although the Dalmatians purpose
as a carriage dog is obsolete, the standard is written with this in
mind. Stamina is a must for this breed is achieved only with a combination
of soundness, firm topline, correct rib cage, correct boning, good feet,
correct angulation and sufficient exercise to produce good hard muscles
Temperament
Of good demeanour.
Outgoing and friendly, not shy or hesitant, free from nervousness and aggression. The Dalmatian is easy to get along with and loves people. It is intelligent, alert and always friendly. An extrovert, and well known for its characteristic grin.
Head and Skull
The head should be of fair length, the skull flat, reasonably
broad between the ears but refined, moderately well defined at the temples,
i.e. exhibiting a moderate amount of stop, not in one straight line
from nose to occiput bone. Entirely free from wrinkle. The muzzle should
be long and powerful, never snipy; the lips clean, fitting the jaw moderately
close. The nose in the black spotted variety should always be black,
in the liver spotted variety always brown.
The Dalmatian is not a head breed, but the head must be in proportion
to the rest of the dog, clean looking smooth and free of wrinkle. The
topskull and muzzle should be about the same length. The topskull is
nearly as broad as it is long and it is almost flat with a slight. centre
groove starting at the occiput, coming down the stop between the eyes
and extending onto the muzzle to the nose leather. The stop is not pronounced
but a subtle rise where the muzzle blends into the upper head. From
the side, toplines of the skull and the muzzle appear approximately
parallel. The muzzle is never weak nor pointed. The lips are clean and
dry. There are no flews or dewlaps.
Eyes
The eyes, set moderately well apart, should be of medium size,
round, bright and sparkling, with an intelligent expression, their colour,
depending on the marking of the dog; dark in the black spotted, amber
in the liver spotted. The rim round the eyes should be complete; black
in the black spotted and liver brown in the liver spotted.
Please remember that a Dalmatians eyes are "round, bright and sparkling"
A dog with a blue eye should not be shown.
Ears
The ears should be set on rather high, of moderate size, rather
wide at he base, gradually tapering to a rounded point. Fine in texture,
carried close to head. The markings should be well broken up, preferably
spotted.
The ears should be set on rather high. When alert the base of the ear
is level with the top of the skull. They should be of moderate size,
rather wide at the base gradually tapering to a rounded point. The ears
should be fine to touch, carried close to the head. There should be
white breaking up the colour on the ears, sometimes seen as marbling,
though spotted ears are preferred.
Mouth
The teeth should meet. The upper slightly overlapping the lower
(scissor bite).
Any bite other than scissor bite incorrect.
Neck
The neck should be fairly long, nicely arched, light and tapering.
Entirely free from throatiness.
A Dalmatian requires fairly long cervical vertebrae to give it that
graceful arched neck which is desirable. It should have a good flow
of neck into the shoulder to assist in forming the symmetrical outline.
While many Dalmatians have been trained to hold the head high in the
ring, when trotting freely the head is thrust forward to achieve kinetic
balance and is only slightly higher than the topline.
Forequarters
The shoulders should be moderately oblique, clean and muscular.
Elbows close to the body. The forelegs perfectly straight with strong
round bone down to the feet, with a slight spring at the pastern joint.
The standard requires a moderately oblique shoulder. The angle between
the scapula and humerus is slightly more than 90 degrees. shoulders
should be well laid back and also of good length for muscles and tendons
to function properly. With correct angulation the scapula, together
with the humerus act as shock absorbers. the two combined lift the leg,
giving the rhythmic stride called for in the standard. Length of scapula
and humerus should be equal. Front legs should be perfectly straight
right down to the foot, with a slight spring of pastern. They should
be about the width of two legs apart and should be evenly boned the
entire length.
Body
The chest should not be too wide but deep and capacious with
plenty of lung and heart room. The ribs well sprung, well defined wither,
powerful level back, loins strong, clean and muscular, and slightly
arched.
The chest should be viewed from three angles. From the front, it is
deeper than it is wide and it is well filled. From above, it is wider
at the shoulder than at the loin. From the side the pro-sternum is only
slightly visible in front of the forelegs, but the lower portion of
the chest extends to the dog’s elbow. A chest with a long rib
cage is described as "well ribbed back" which give plenty
of room for the lungs to expand, which is necessary for endurance. The
underline of the chest gradually slopes upward from midway along the
rib cage to the end of the ribs. The Dalmatian has only a moderate tuck
up. The back should be level in motion and in natural stance. In a properly
constructed dog with good muscle development the topline from the withers
to the onset of tail remains level whether the dog is standing or moving.
There should be well defined withers, but with no interruption to the
flow of neck into the shoulders and back. The loin should neither be
excessively long nor short. If anything, the Dalmatian is slightly longer
than high from point of shoulder to point of buttock, withers to ground.
The extra length of rib cage, not loin. The arching of the loins should
not be exaggerated and comes from strong musculation.
Hindquarters
Rounded, muscles clean with well developed second thigh, good
turn of stifle and hocks well defined.
Correct hindquarters on a Dalmatian are also important as it is a dog
who must be able to gait for many kilometres up and down hills. It is
a "moderate" dog with a normal front angulation, and therefore
requires a stifle which is moderately well bent. The Dalmatian should
convey endurance and a fair turn of speed. If it had excessive angulation
it would tire itself and without angulation, would not cover the ground.
The hindquarters should be strong. The outline of well developed muscles
should be clearly seen on the buttocks, legs and second thigh. The pelvic
slope should be approximately 30 degrees. The thigh and second thigh
should be long and the hock to the ground short. Muscles should be well
developed in inner and outer thighs as well as the second thigh (calf
muscle). The hock should be vertical to the ground when standing. Hocks
should be well let down to give good endurance.
Tail
In length reaching approximately to the hocks. Strong at the
insertion gradually tapering towards the end, it should not be inserted
too low or too high, be free from coarseness and carried with a slight
upward curve, never curled. Preferably spotted.
It is a moderate tail set. The tail is an extension of the topline,
flowing with the back line after taking into consideration the slightly
arched loin. At rest the Dalmatian may carry the tail low, but on the
move or when alert it is carried with a slight upward curve. A traditional
sabre carriage.
Feet
Round, compact, with well arched toes (cat- feet) and round
tough elastic pads. Nails black or white in the black spotted variety,
in the liver spotted - brown or white.
Good legs and "cat feet" are very important. Strong feet and
thick tough pads are a must for an endurance dog. Feet should turn neither
in nor out.
Gait/Movement
The Dalmatian should have great freedom of movement. A smooth,
powerful rhythmic action with a long stride. Viewed from behind, the
legs should move in parallel, the hind legs tracking the fore. A short
stride and paddling action is incorrect.
Movement tells us much about the Dalmatians structure, which is not
always revealed when it is standing still, for it reflects its physical
co-ordination, balance for the body and soundness. The dog seeming to
exert a minimum of effort to cover the ground. When judging the Dalmatian
in the ring, the length of stride should be in proportion to the dog,
steady in rhythm of 1,2,3,4. Front legs should not paddle, nor should
there be a straddling appearance. Hind legs should neither cross nor
weave. Judges should be able to see each leg move with no interference
from another leg. Drive and reach are most desirable. When a dog moves
away from the judge in a straight line, the hind legs conceal the fore,
the hind foot covering the spot the fore foot has just left, not overreaching.
Coat
The coat should be short, hard and dense, sleek and glossy in appearance.
The coat should be of uniform texture with hair on the ears and head
shorter and softer. It is a single coated dog.
Colour
The ground colour should be pure white. Black spotted dogs have
dense black spots and liver spotted dogs liver brown spots. They should
not run together but be round and well defined, the size of a five to
a twenty cent coin, as well distributed as possible. Spots on the extremities
should be smaller than those on the body.
In both varieties the colour of the spots should be dense and have a
sheen. The black should be a shiny jet black. There is no definite description
laid down as far as the liver colour is concerned, but it should be
a rich liver brown. The ideal is a colour which cannot be mistaken for
black in average light at a reasonable distance (e.g. across a show
ring.) Variations of liver colour on the one dog or greyish markings
on a black spotted specimen are undesirable. Spots should not run together
but be round and well defined. Balance of markings is a feature. Most
dogs have groups of spots close together. A few spots that join are
acceptable, provided they can be seen to be spots. They should not form
a conglomeration of ugly proportions. Clear definition of spots is important.
The edges should not blend into the ground colour so as to appear grey
or have a dark halo. Spots in size FIVE to a TWENTY cent coin. Spots
on the body are larger than those on the head, legs and tail. The ears
should be spotted, but this is not essential just as spots on the tail
are not essential. For some reason many liver dogs have smaller spots
than blacks. Tick marks, or flecks are not spots and are undesirable.
Tick marks are smaller than a one cent piece and are rather more like
flecks appearing on the coat. Optical illusion can be created by uneven
spotting regarding conformation and gaiting. Spotting is the one unique
feature of the Dalmatian and is an essential part of the breed type,
although confirmation should not be sacrificed to spotting alone. However
the significance of good spotting must not be denigrated or this unique
and identifying feature of the breed could be lost. Perfect markings
have never been achieved and it is safe to say they never will be.
Size
Overall balance of prime importance, but the ideal height to
be aimed at is: Dogs – 58.4-61 cm (23-24 ins) or Bitches –
56-58.4 cm (22-23 ins).
Balance is of prime importance and should not be sacrificed to size
alone. Dogs slightly larger or smaller than the ideal standard should
not be excluded from placings if they present a balanced picture. The
belief that the dogs only ran under the axle is incorrect. The Dalmatian
was equally at home alongside, in front of, or behind the coach. Remember,
overall balance.
Faults
Blue eyes. Patches. Black and liver spots on the same dog (tricolours).
Lemon spots. Bronzing and other faults of pigmentation.
Blue eyes, patches, tri-colours and lemon spots highly undesirable.
Patches, Dalmatian pups are born pure white, although shadows of spots may be seen on the skin at birth. A patch is clearly visible at birth and usually found on the ear or face. A patch is an area of solid colour, a rich deep black or liver, usually with a velvety texture. It is sharply defined with an absence of white hairs. To determine between a solidly marked ear and a patch, turn the ear over to see if there are any white hairs. The presence of white hair, no matter how small an amount, would indicate a solidly marked ear. Tri-colours, a black spotted tri-colour is a dog with black spots and tan/brown spots. A liver spotted tri-colour has liver brown spots and light orange or lemon spots. The tri-colour spots generally appear on the front of the neck, chest, inside legs or around the vent.
Lemon/orange spotting. Lemons have black nose and eyerim pigment, where oranges have brown nose and eyerim pigment. Black and liver spotting are the only acceptable colours. Dalmatians with Patches, Blue eyes, Tri-colours or having lemon or orange spotting, should not be exhibited. Bronzing can occur during a "coating out" period. On the black spotted variety it is seen as a bronze tinge around the edges of the spots and/or on the surface of spots. Livers are affected similarly, the spots tending to develop a halo of gingery colour. Bronzing must be assessed in relation to the rest of the dog and should be considered similar to a coated breed being out of coat or having dropped coat temporarily.
NOTE Male animals should have two apparently normal
testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
CONCLUSIONS
JUDGING THE
DALMATIAN.
A good Dalmatian must be of good
breed type, balanced, sound in movement, well spotted and of good temperament.
One of these things on its own is not enough.
Remember the Standard describes a dog free of exaggerations and abnormalities.
Please judge the breed to leave it that way.
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