Anyone who can tell me what owning a Dalmatian is like ?

[strawberrymilkshake123]

I've wanted one since I was a child. Anybody with any real life, ( spots and all), experience ?

It’s not very recent knowledge but a friend of mine had one when we were children! She (the dog, not the friend) had brown spots not black which was supposedly rare. The dog was snappy and unpredictable and I was scared shitless of it!

Do you like canicross?
Do you walk five miles or more a day?

I grew up with a Dalmatian. He was crazy, untrainable (went to numerous trainers including a police dog trainer who all said he was a nightmare) , stubborn, used to run off whenever possible so couldn’t let him off lead and when he was on lead he would pull constantly, unpredictable temperament. He finally settled down when he got old but he was tiresome and hard work for a long time.

My old boyfriend had one when we were teenagers. It was absolutely barmy and had loads of energy.

Fucking bonkers! They were bred to run alongside carriages. They need lots of free running.
Hair. Much much hair.

Loud judging from the ones I’ve seen in our park. I think they are a bit nuts.

I have a 4 year old dalmatian. He's mad as a hatter and does not follow any instructions - stubborn is an understatement! Known for counter and sink surfing and is tall enough to do this with ease so tops needs to be clear at all times. He also sheds non-stop and needs plenty of walks & brain stimulation.
He is however the most affectionate and loving dog and I wouldn't swap him for the world.

I had 4 throughout my childhood , they are absolutely lovely but very very high needs ! You need to walk them for hours a day !
They also 'smile' which a lot of people think is aggression so can freak people out when you are walking them .

There is a Dalmatian charity which rehomes them on fb as I think a lot get given away

They can be crazy but amusing and they need at least two hours walking daily. Big responsibility.

In my personal experience, we had an untrainable unholy nightmare.

But it was lovely when kids got excited to see her.

Madness. An old family friend has had Dalmatians for years, they are lovely & I adore seeing them, as do my husband & dc but I don't think I'd ever own one.

They're a bit mad, are highly energetic & very intelligent. Not for a novice owner!

So many end up being re-sold/returned to breeder/given to dogs homes within the first couple of years. Also the breed itself has health issues (deafness, epilepsy, hip dysplasia to name a few) so, as with many pure breeds, even with a breeder who is doing everything right there's no guarantee there won't be costly health problems at some point.

I have one she's 3. She's super lazy very stubborn and trained when she wants to be. She likes to counter surf steal butter and play with the kids and our other dog however if left to her own devices you will find her asleep on a bed 🤣. She gets walked daily but nothing excessive

Our old stable manager had two. Their endurance was incredible. Anyone who went out on a hack took the dogs with them, they'd run for hours.

Very friendly, would snuggle up with any human or horse.

We had a liver spotted Dalmatian when we were kids/teens and he was the best most filled out dog we’ve ever had. He was amazing!
I don’t know if he was full Dalmatian, he was chunky and his face was slightly more Labrador shaped than the usual pointed nose of a Dalmatian so maybe there was a bit of Labrador in there too. We all loved him so much. He was strong and he did pull on the lead so wasn’t nice to walk, but he didn’t receive any proper training so it’s no wonder.

^ chilled out!

We had them for decades. Wonderful breed. Need masssive amount of exercise. Ours were very good off lead, really loving dogs. Moult like crazy all year round, absolute sods for stealing food, barking and pissing indoors when they fancied it. Really big characters

My future sister-in-law visited my mother for the first time and brought along her very well-behaved dalmatian. Until it threw up a dead blackbird on the prize rug.

Ours had frequent phantom pregnancies as well, very upsetting. Not sure if that was just her or typical to Dalmatians.

Highly strung, requires masses of offlead walks (daily)

Short white hairs stick everywhere to the point you'll never wear navy or black again.

There's a reason you don't see many Dalmatians around

They were bred to run for miles alongside carriages - not to be domestic pets IMO. They also have quite a few health issues, are prone to deafness and often need a specific diet too.

I've never met one who wasn't absolutely bonkers. There are two near to us - both of them are extremely strong, need tonnes of exercise and are dog-reactive.

I think they need specialist homes with owners who are around most of the day and who are strong and fit enough to run them too.

Mad. They are crazily energetic and will need plenty of exercise as well as mental stimulation.

I’ve had a relative that had one and had to rehome because they couldn’t cope with the demands.

They are a working dog and needs to be treated as such.

They are a rare breed as a pet. In the last 10 years I’ve probably only seen 1 or 2

My mate had one as a first time owner

She had 3 daughters but really wanted a son so bought a male Dalmatian

He was a lovely looking dog-but bloody hell,he could be a nightmare-there was her,hubby and 3 kids in a two bed house

He bit 4 people while on walks (and drew blood) and then bit a little girls face when he scaled her front garden fence and she happened to walk past

She did have him put down at this point on advice of the police and swore she’d never have another-she’s bloody lucky she didn’t end up in court

6 months later the next Dalmatian puppy appeared all over social media and she’s having the same issues with this one-I’m praying she has this one ‘done’ but I’m not sure that will make a difference

They are lovely but I’d never have one

Every one I’ve met has been an absolute bellend. I agree with the pp who said there’s a reason why you don’t see many around. They’re absolutely beautiful dogs but they have no off switch and they really don’t give a shit about pleasing their humans

I’ve got a Dalmatian
She’s my third one
First was black spots but the last 2 are brown spots.
Mine is 10years old now and Is absolutely 100% with my young grandsons
Youngest grandson is 8 and she has always been devoted to him
I used to be faster than Usain Bolt when I first started walking her but she’s slowed down a bit now. Does need a good daily walk though
She is gentle and loving but absolutely has a mind of her own. If she doesn’t want to do something then there’s no way she can be made to
Very vocal, she ‘speaks’ lots to make sure I understand what she wants

However, Dalmatians are not for the faint hearted and a lot of hard work
With their ‘demands’