- The ground colour is pure white.
- Black spotted variety with black spots, liver spotted variety with brown spots.
- The spots should be symmetrically placed all over the body, clearly defined and without intermingling into the white ground colour.
- The size of the spots should preferably be even, with a size of 2 – 3 cm in diameter.
- In the brown variety the spots are a little smaller, around 2 cm.
- The spots on the head and on the legs should be proportional smaller than on the rest of the body.
- Preferred: It the tail is spotted too, with spots also proportional smaller that those on the body
- Undesirable: Splashes on the body and should be penalised
- The spots must not intermingle, i.e. forming large patches.
- Undesirable: Patches and coloured areas
- The spots on the ears should be especially noted
About the Dalmatian
Origin: Croatia
- Typical life span
- 11-13 years
- Size
- Large — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 25-32 kg
- Female
- 20-27 kg
- Height
- Male
- 58-61 cm
- Female
- 56-58 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Scent hounds and related breeds
- Origin
- Croatia
- Also called
- Dalmata
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Dalmatian?
Medium-sized, athletic dog with distinctive black or liver spotted white coat and elegant build, originally bred as a carriage dog with exceptional endurance
Dalmatian history and origins
Ancient breed with roots in Dalmatia, Croatia, originally bred as carriage dogs to run for miles alongside horse-drawn coaches, guarding horses and coaches. Also served as circus performers and iconic firehouse mascots, particularly associated with American fire departments. Recognized by AKC in 1888.
Dalmatian appearance and size
Males typically weigh 25-32 kg and stand 58-61 cm at the shoulder; females 20-27 kg and 56-58 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Hunting dog. Companion dog, family dog, suitable to be trained for various purposes
- Behaviour and temperament
“Pleasant temperament, friendly, not shy or hesitant, free from nervousness and aggression. Lively kind, loyal, independent and easy to train. The Dalmatian likes water and outdoor activities. It has a marked hound instinct”
Quoted from FCI standard n°153. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Large
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- —
- Grooming needs
- 2 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Dalmatian
What you get with the Dalmatian
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Hunting dog. Companion dog, family dog, suitable to be trained for various purposes”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Pleasant temperament, friendly, not shy or hesitant, free from nervousness and aggression”
- Low grooming needs, fitting for a busy owner — the coat is “Short, shiny, hard and dense all over the body”
What you are taking on
Nobody has written this side yet. It is a judgement rather than data, so it waits for a person — not for a missing source.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Dalmatian
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged preferred and undesirable.
Coat
Short, shiny, hard and dense all over the body
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°153 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Dalmatian down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Converging head line.
- The lack of more than 6 premolars, the lack of M3 is not noted and will not be considered as a fault.
- Entropion, ectropion, wall eye, eyes of different colours (heterochromia), blue
- eyes, partially blue coloured iris.
- Lack of nose pigment.
- Curled tail.
- Monocle (patching around one or both eyes) or patching elsewhere.
- Tricolour (black and brown spots on the same dog), brindle coloured spots, lemon coloured spots, orange coloured spots, blue spots and pure white colour without spots.
- Wirehaired or longhaired
- Deafness
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Dalmatian in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Dalmatian
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Dalmatian on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Dalmatian owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Dalmatian breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.