Breed characteristics of the Dalmatian
The Dalmatian is classified by the FCI as Group 6 (Running Dogs, Welding Dogs and Related Breeds), Section 3 (Related Breeds) with Standard No. 153.
The Dalmatian is a medium to large sized dog with a well proportioned, strong build. On average, a Dalmatian male grows to a height of 56-62cm and weighs between 27kg and 32kg. The shoulder height of females is about 54cm - 60cm and they gain an average weight of 24-29kg. In the breed standard it is allowed to exceed the measurements, if the dog is otherwise perfect and balanced. It moves evenly, elegantly and harmoniously. His walk and trot are long, with a strong front and good drive. Seen from the front, the legs move parallel.
The head
The head of a breed specimen must be in proportion and harmony with the body, it must not be too broad in the cranial part. Between the ears it is the widest and at the temples it is well formed. The length from the occiput to the moderately accentuated stop and from there to the tip of the nose is in the ratio 1:1 - or the muzzle is slightly shorter. The skull line and muzzle line are gently divergent and the chewing muscles and zygomatic arch must not be too pronounced. The entire skin of the head, the skull of which is flat with gentle lateral rounding, lies close and does not wrinkle. The frontal furrow is also slightly pronounced.
The muzzle
The straight bridge of the nose leads to a large nose with wide open nostrils, which must be completely pigmented. The color must correspond to the color of the spots. The jaws are strongly developed. Nevertheless, the strong lips, which are desired to be as completely pigmented as possible, should be fairly close to the jaws and must not overhang, or be too thick. The Dalmatian does not have pronounced corners of the mouth.
The breed usually has a scissor bite, which means the upper 6 incisors engage over the lower ones with no space between them, the teeth being perpendicular to the jaws. However, the pincer bite is tolerated in older dogs.
The eyes & ears
The oval eyes of the Dalmatian, whose pigmentation should be in harmony with the spotted color, are set subfrontally at an angle of 10-15°. The eyelids are well attached and not drooping. The rim is continuously pigmented in harmony with the color of the hair.
The ears, on the other hand, whose shape corresponds to an isosceles triangle, are set rather high and are carried close to the lateral part of the head. They reach the inner eye corner or stop, where their tip is gently rounded. They are fine in texture and gentle to the touch. Very importantly, the ears must be spotted, that is, the ears must not be all black or brown, but spotted black or brown, etc. - with spots in harmony with the color variety on the white base.
The body
The neck should be strong and fairly long. It becomes narrower towards the head and has no loose throat skin. The body is right angular, which is given by the ratio 10:9 of the body length to the height at the withers. The withers are well developed, the following back powerful and straight. The loins are short and muscular, the latter is also the croup, which should slope less than 30°.
The chest of the Dalmatian is deep and spacious, not too broad or barrel-shaped; also the ribs are well arched. Their depth should be 45-50% of the height at the withers. The height at the elbows is equal to 50% of the height at the withers. The belly of the Dalmatian is usually moderately tucked up, but not turned in.
Tail
The desirable spotted tail of the Dalmatian is set on very strongly as an extension of the croup and reaches approximately to the hock (or slightly longer), thinning evenly to the tip. It should not be too thick, but in proportion to the body and carried in a sabre shape.
The limbs
The forelegs must be in proportion with the body and stand at right angles. The corner of the shoulder is about 115-120° and the elbow should be close to the body. The forearm consists of proportionally developed, strong (round) bones, which gives the forelimbs straight, vertical legs in position. The strong pastern should be slightly inclined and elastic.
The hindquarters, with parallel limbs and very strong and well developed muscles, are also in proportion with the body. The stifle is strong and well formed and its stifle should be at an inclination of 40 degrees to the horizontal. The hock joint is also strong and its length is about 20-25% of the height at the withers. The corner of the hock joint is around 130°.
Both the front and hind feet are typically "cat feet" with closed toes. The pads are tough and elastic, the claws as pigmented as possible.
The coat
The coat of the Dalmatian is short, glossy, hard and dense over the whole body.
The basic color is pure white and there are black spots in the black color and liver brown spots in the brown color. The spots should be symmetrically distributed on the whole body, clearly rounded and without transition into the white ground color. The size of the spots should be as uniform as possible, with a diameter of 2 - 3 cm. In the brown color variety the spots are slightly smaller, about 2 cm in diameter. Spots on the head and limbs should be proportionally smaller than on the body. It is desirable that the tail also has the spots, which are also proportionally smaller than those on the body. Speckling on the body, on the other hand, is not desirable, nor are color plates or "spots" caused by spots running into each other. In the breed standard, careful attention to ear flecking is mentioned.
Dalmatian puppies are born white. Only after 10 to 14 days the first black or brown spots are visible. These then increase until the completion of the first year of life. From case to case it can be possible that a Dalmatian is already born with isolated large spots. These spots are called plates and are still a breeding exclusion criterion today.
