Our two current dogs (German Shepherd, age 11, & Beagle mix, age 12)
are entering in their sunset years, and we have begun thinking about
our next puppy.

We think Dalmatians are very beautiful, and we admire their
athleticism, so we're thinking that a Dalmatian pup may fit in well
with our active household -- we've got two kids under, 6 and 9 years of
age.

I have reservations, however, in that most of the Dalmatians I meet
tend to be very hyper, and they seem pretty scatterbrained. I've also
met some that were quite aggressive, and I have concerns about that.

I'd welcome some information from Dalmatian owners about what it's like
to live with a Dalmatian, and what are some of the good and not-so-good
aspects of the Dalmatian personality.

By the way, we really love our Shepherd's personaliyty -- she's
incredibly obedient and gentle with family members, while also being a
good watchdog. My wife has some serious issues with German Shepherd
hair (ours is of the long-coated variety) and I'm concerned about the
breed's health.

Any advice or words of wisdom you have would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John Valceanu

On 19 Jun 2006 11:24:17 -0700 whittled these words:
Our two current dogs (German Shepherd, age 11, & Beagle mix, age 12)
are entering in their sunset years, and we have begun thinking about
our next puppy.

We think Dalmatians are very beautiful, and we admire their
athleticism, so we're thinking that a Dalmatian pup may fit in well
with our active household -- we've got two kids under, 6 and 9 years of
age.

If you really like the shepherd personality I don't think you will find a
Dalmatian to be a good fit. While the beagle isn't the most obedient dog
in the world it has a kind of get along spirit which isn't the hallmark of
the Dalmatian.

I don't know about "hyper" but Dalmatians were created to run long
distances and they prefer an active life style. If you daily jog for
several miles then you might start to come close to meeting the needs of a
Dal.

Short coat is not a synonym for low shedding. Dalmations shed, often
quite heavily, and the shorter stiffer hairs don't float on top the way
the fluffy undercoat of the GSD does. The hair tends to weave itself into
fabrics.

With children in the household the best bet is usually an adult dog rather
than a puppy. Puppies bite, jump up and chase children. Children often
have difficulty in responding appropriately and tend to scream, run and
wave their arms further exciting the puppy.

An adult dog also has the advantage that you are better able to evaluate
its activity level and how it responds to people.


--
Diane Blackman
There is no moral victory in proclaiming to abhor violence
while preaching with violent words.
http://dog-play.com/ http://dogplayshops.com/

On 19 Jun 2006 11:24:17 -0700, "
wrote:

Our two current dogs (German Shepherd, age 11, & Beagle mix, age 12)
are entering in their sunset years, and we have begun thinking about
our next puppy.

We think Dalmatians are very beautiful, and we admire their
athleticism, so we're thinking that a Dalmatian pup may fit in well
with our active household -- we've got two kids under, 6 and 9 years of
age.

I have reservations, however, in that most of the Dalmatians I meet
tend to be very hyper, and they seem pretty scatterbrained. I've also
met some that were quite aggressive, and I have concerns about that.

I have two daughters, now 8 and 10, and I've owned and fostered
dalmatians. I first got interested in dalmatians when researching the
breed when my daughters loved the Disney movies and wanted one. What
I found was that there are tons of badly bred dalmatians out there
because people just wanted to make money off the movies. Even the
better bred dogs end up in shelters a lot because they are an athletic
and exuberant breed that doesn't do well with young children unless
you are very diligent about supervision and training of both kids and
dog. Two of our favorite dogs ever were dalmatians, and we had them
from the time that my kids were even younger than yours. But I got
them as adults, one from a shelter and one from a woman who was unable
to keep the dog she had had since it was a puppy. That makes a huge
difference. I wouldn't take a chance on a dal puppy unless it was
from an impeccably responsible breeder who could tell me all about the
health and temperament considerations for generations back for that
particular puppy. When you have alert, protective, athletic and
energetic as breed characteristics and you mess them up with breeders
who don't know what they are doing, you get neurotic, aggressive, dogs
that run kids down and knock them over. If you get an adult dog, you
can see the temperament and energy level before you take the dog home.
That works out much better for ensuring that the kids and dog work
well together and you don't end up taking home a dog that will drive
you crazy as it grows up. OTOH, with solid training and decent
temperament, dals are great dogs. They generally like people and love
to play with the kids. They don't always like other dogs. I noticed
with the ones I had there was a trend for many of them to dislike all
dogs or to just like other dalmatians. If you get an adult from
rescue, they can tell you if it has been fostered with kids and other
dogs so you can be sure you are getting an idea of how the dog will do
with your kids and your dogs.

I just recently adopted a German Shepherd from rescue. I have to say
that the temperament between GSD's and dals in general is very
different. So if you are looking for another GSD personality, a dal
probably wouldn't be a good choice. That being said, my favorite dal
of all time and my current GSD had a lot of similarities. But the dal
only got there with a lot of intensive work and even then was a much
more neurotic version. Very loyal, protective, eager to please and
obedient goes for both of them, but Molly, my GSD is solid and calm
while Diva, the dal, was much more nervous and neurotic, a more hyper
version of even the good traits. And while I know a lot of GSD owners
who have similar dogs to Molly, people with a lot of experience with
dals were more surprised that Diva had those qualities. They aren't
bad dogs, but they just weren't bred to be GSD's, and what they were
bred for has been pretty messed up by bad breedings since dals became
popular. So if you do get a dal, look for an adult with a set
personality that has the traits you love in your GSD and you may find
it, but don't just get a dal pup and think it will end up like that.
The odds are definitely against.

As for the hair... Although I am amazed by the amount of fur
tumbleweed we can have around the house since we got a GSD and we
never saw that volume from our dals, the GSD hair is actually easier
to deal with. It floats around and comes off pretty easily. Dal
hairs stick in everything. You can vacuum up the GSD hair on carpets
or rugs. That doesn't happen without a lot of work with dal hair and
even then you tend to find them stuck in there here and there. Same
with clothes.

If you want a dog that is really good with kids and easy on the
carpeting, we got a miniature poodle for my youngest daughter that has
been a fantastic dog. He has enough energy to play with the kids as
much as they want to play, is smart and eager to please so training
has gone well, and athletic so we don't worry so much about his
smaller size being a problem, although if your kids are really
rambunctious, that might not work. They don't shed, too, which I
love. You have to brush them regularly or they mat and you have to
have them groomed unless you learn to do it yourself, but you can let
him on any of the furniture and don't have to tape roll every five
minutes. Of course, since our other dogs do shed, we still have
plenty of opportunity to tape roll and pull hairs out of everything in
the house, but at least it isn't Sammie's fault. The other bonus is
that he is very entertaining for my kids, and a charmer, too, which is
a kick. I understand being the house clown is a very poodle thing.

We also have a chihuahua mix (the older daughter's dog). I wouldn't
recommend them for young kids. She does well with my older daughter
because she is very calm with her, but chis in general have trouble
with the energy and movement of kids. They are also much more fragile
and not as easygoing.

Our lab has been very good with kids and adults, but those are also
some bad hairs to deal with (though not as bad as dal hair). Labs
need good training, too, because they have a lot of energy and can be
exuberant, but they are not as flighty as dals.

I had a bouvier des flanders dog before that was a great dog. Poodle
type hair and GSD type personality. Great great dogs!

All in all, I think there are a lot of better options than dals for
your situation, though I agree that dals are gorgeous looking dogs.
You do have to live with them, though, so unfortunately, looks alone
just isn't enough. If you do find one in rescue that has the
personality you are looking for, that would be great, though, because
they sure do need all the help they can get finding good homes.

--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay

By the way, we really love our Shepherd's personaliyty -- she's
incredibly obedient and gentle with family members, while also being a
good watchdog. My wife has some serious issues with German Shepherd
hair (ours is of the long-coated variety) and I'm concerned about the
breed's health.

Any advice or words of wisdom you have would be appreciated.

Based on what you said above, you ought to look into getting a Dobie. You
won't get more athleticism, obedience, intelligence or sensitivity in any
other breed of dog. And when raised with them, you won't find a dog that's
better with kids either.

And btw, your wife will like that a Dobie's shedding is pretty minimal
compared to a GSD.