Feeding, vaccination schedules, spay/neuter and training your Dalmatian goes hand in hand. One does not work without the other and the more you read in our Dalmatian 101, the more clear it will become that it is the whole package of feeding, training health- and every day management of your Dalmatian, which will make or break your relationship and HEALTH.

Expert Advise on keeping Dalmatians

Your neighbour who, has owned Dogs for many years, is unlikely to have kept up with modern research and may not be your best resource for advise. Local veterinarians take care of many different animals and species in a wide variety of health concerns (unlike human specialists) and therefore cannot be expected to be experts in all topics from mouse to elephant or even individual breeds of canines.

Online discussion boards for Dalmatian owners

Users of Online discussion boards or Facebook groups range from self-announced experts who's knowledge extends to having owned one badly managed dog in their life to control freaks who may or may not have the expertise to help out. This is why your knowledge matters to help you make informed decisions on how you can best manage your new Dalmatian puppy. This is why we decided to write down years of experience in the successful management of many different animals.

How you manage your Dalmatian dog has a large impact on its health. All Dalmatians (except LUA/NUA Dalmatians) have crystals in their urine. The crystals are due to their high uric acid levels. For this reason it is vital, that you feed and manage your Dalmatian correctly.

The most important factors of Dalmatian Management:

1. If you must feed dry dog food, add one cup of water to each feed. This reduces the risk of stone formation by 70%!

2. Allow your Dalmatian to urinate frequently. During the daytime every two hours, would be ideal. If the bladder is flushed frequently, crystals are unlikely to turn into stones.

3. Do not spay or neuter your Dalmatian before full maturity (three years). This will allow your Dalmatian to develop its full body mass and assure that “exits” are large enough for crystals to pass.

Why not all Dalmatians can be bred to LUA Dalmatians

Hopefully in many years to come, there will be more and more LUA/NUA Dalmatians, who are not at risk of uric acid stone formation. It is important to understand though, that not all Dalmatians can be bred to LUA Dalmatians right now. Since all LUA Dalmatians go back to the same combinations from the 70’s. the gene pool would be drastically reduced, creating a bottle neck for the breed, which could in itself produce problems, that are currently easily managed.

is definitely more of a topic in the United States than in Europe. In part this can be explained with the amount of kill shelters in the country. If I was a Vet or if I was involved in animal rescue full time, I would rather take any risk than to be responsible for one more produced litter or one more unwanted dog, that has to die due to societies shortcomings.

Your Dalmatian puppy

has been bred by a reputable breeder, who will not be responsible for filling shelters and you are a responsible owner whose primary attention should be given to the welfare of your Dalmatian. It is not advisable to spay or neuter any dog before the age of three (the age of full maturity for a medium to large dog), if ever.

Why should you not spay or neuter your Dalmatian

Under breed specific health issues we mentioned the fact that Dalmatians suffer from high uric acid count. This does lead to crystals in the Dalmatians urine and means that it is vital that the bladder is flushed frequently. Early spay or neuter will prevent the OS-Penis in the male Dalmatian from developing to its full size and therefore directly impact the ability to do so, providing your Dalmatian with a higher risk of a blockage.

The impact on skeletal development of Dalmatians

Recent studies have also confirmed that the development of bones and cartilage are impacted by early spay and neutering as well as increasing the risk of certain types of cancer. Canine behaviour is also directly affected by the procedure, stopping your dog from maturing and developing its full confidence.

The impact on mental development of Dalmatians

Just like physiological development, the psychological development in a medium sized dog is not completed before the age of three years. If you spay or neuter before full maturity, it will increase your chances of mental instability, leading to a problems of your Dalmatians interaction with other canines as well as increasing the chances of fearful behaviour. Each dog will go through different phases of development and spaying or neutering will keep your Dalmatian trapped in this stage. Just think of the behavioural pattern of a two and a half year old Toddler or a Teenager. Would you want your Dalmatian in this state of mind for the rest of his life?

Exceptions to the rule

Almost nothing that is likely to occur in a young Dalmatian should ever persuade you to have her spayed or neutered before full maturity is reached. Up to this date I have not owned or bred a single Dalmatian who has suffered from pyometra or canine mammary tumors, but I have bred three male Dalmatians who blocked – all neutered early and all where fed a commercial diet!

Considerations

I would consider spaying or neutering a mature Dalmatian if the female Dalmatian suffered from severe phantom pregnancies or the male Dalmatian lives in an area with multiple, unaltered females and he suffers to an extend where he will refuse his food or keep his family awake. For a Dalmatian there is rarely a different excuse as spaying and neutering does not make training your Dalmatian easier, a good training program does!

We are very fortunate in Northern California as no preventative care is needed. The climate takes care of matters. We have however lived in different countries and also in regions where limes disease was prevalent. We still opted against spot on treatments as they can and have caused serious side effects. Fleas where never an issue for us and ticks where simply collected off the dogs after each walk, before they could bite.

Spot on treatments

are nerve acting agents and are highly toxic. They became so much of an issue that In April 2009, the EPA issued an advisory about spot-on products after receiving over 44,000 reports of adverse reactions during 2008, including 600 deaths. This represented a very disturbing 57 percent increase in reported incidents in a single year -- incidents ranging from mild skin irritation to seizures and death.
To me it does not matter so much if the EPA has changed the labelling rules for spot on treatments. I will not use these toxins on my dogs. There are natural options out there for you and some of them are discussed on Video. The link to the Dalmatian Tutorial Video's can be found below this text.

Worming your Dalmatian Puppy

When deworming pets, a large portion of people immediately turn to chemicals, under the assumption that something toxic is needed to kill parasites. What you need to understand is the fact that worms are everywhere in the environment and that a Dalmatian puppy, which has just been chemically dewormed is more likely to pick up new worms faster, as the gut flora has been damaged by the chemicals.

Natural wormers will keep your Dalmatian puppies gut healthy

Using a natural substance, cats and dogs can be more effectively dewormed, at any age, and without risks. Diatomaceous earth is a white powder made from fossilized diatoms, a type of algae. It is a fine, abrasive powder (like baking soda) that absorbs large amounts of water. When the powder touches parasites, its microscopic, razor-like edges grate against them and dehydrate them simultaneously. This means that it will likely destroy even blood-borne parasites.


How much and how often should the natural wormer be given to your Dalmatian puppy
Based on our research, we suggest following the deworming regimen for 10 days. During this time, animals will usually drink more, due to the dehydrating effect of the diatomaceous earth. Only purchase food-grade diatomaceous earth. Otherwise it may contain harmful chemical impurities.

Dosage: Dogs under 50 lb 2 teaspoons Dogs over 50 lb 1 tablespoon

Vaccinations are one of the hottest topics discussed in general health management for both humans and animals. I will not go into too much detail, other than the fact that there is plenty of research out there, which speaks against annual vaccinations and limiting the kind of vaccinations, which you’re Dalmatian will receive. Vaccines – if applied incorrectly have a direct impact on your Pet Dalmatians health.

Are we against Vaccinations for Dalmatians

No, not at all but they need to be applied with eyes wide open. There are a number of scientific publications available which proof just that and in November of 2013 the World Small Animal Association of Veterinarians finally updated their guidelines. Unfortunately not all Veterinarians will take these into consideration so please feel free to print the following PDF off, to take along at your first visit.

The changes applied by the WSAVA

are halfway where Veterinarians, who take a holistic approach, would like them to be. It will not come as a surprise to you that we personally opt for an even more minimalistic approach. We will vaccinate our Puppies against Parvo and Distemper at the age of eight weeks (9 weeks would be preferred), they do not receive another Booster unless an Anti-Titre test has shown them not to be protected.

Rabies vaccinations for Dalmatian Puppies

We will then wait until the Dalmatian Puppy has completed its teething process before vaccinating against Rabies. Up until the Dalmatian Puppy has completed its teething process, the stress on the body due to many changes and vast amount of growing, is large enough. NO Rabies Boosters are applied, unless we have to, when moving to yet another country. Many countries will except an Anti-Titre test in place of a vaccination certificate on application.

Follow this Link to view the PDF of the WSAVA on Vaccination Schedules