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Dalmatian breeders

The Dalmatian’s origins are uncertain, and The Royal Kennel Club notes there is little evidence that the breed came from Dalmatia on the Balkan coast.

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Advertise your Dalmatian puppies, litters and stud dogs

Do you breed Dalmatians? List your kennel on caninebreeder.co.uk so buyers searching for Dalmatian puppies for sale, and owners looking for a Dalmatian stud dog, can find you. You can advertise Dalmatian puppies for sale, planned litters and stud dogs, and show your BAER, HUU, hip and elbow results. A basic listing shows your kennel name, location, website, social media and categories, and paid plans unlock more showcase features. Add your listing or see pricing.

No breeders are listed here yet, so the first profiles get the page to themselves.

  • Free basic profile: your breeder or company name, website, social media, location, breeds and industries.
  • Litters and stud dogs advertised in their own sections, never mixed with puppies for sale.
  • Premium showcase for your services and prices, previous customers, awards, video, gallery and health certificates, with your phone and email shown to buyers.
  • Sponsored articles about your breed or industry, written and published by our team.
  • Featured placement at the top of this page, labelled as sponsored.

Create your free breeder profile Advertise a litter Advertise a stud dog

Is it free to advertise here?

Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.

Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?

In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.

Is my listing already here?

We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.

About the Dalmatian

The Dalmatian's origins are uncertain, and The Royal Kennel Club notes there is little evidence that the breed came from Dalmatia on the Balkan coast. In the late 1700s a spotted white type called the Talbot Hound travelled with horse-drawn carriages to guard passengers and cargo, and in 1791 Thomas Bewick gave this type the name Dalmatian. During the Regency period (1795 to 1837) well-marked coach dogs became a status symbol, earning the name Spotted Coach Dog; they also guarded stables at night and ran ahead of horse-drawn fire engines to clear the way. The RKC places the breed in the Utility group (RKC breed profile). The British Dalmatian Club, founded in 1925 as the Southern Dalmatian Club, records that Ch Fanhill Faune won Best in Show at Crufts in 1968, the only Dalmatian to have done so. Browse other utility breeders, or, if you want an outlet for an active dog, explore dog sports and canicross.

Size and build. The RKC classes the Dalmatian as a large breed. The breed standard gives an ideal height of 58 to 61 cm for dogs and 56 to 58 cm for bitches, and describes a balanced, muscular, active carriage dog built for endurance, with reasonable speed.

Coat and grooming. The coat is short and dense, hard to the touch and glossy. The ground colour is pure white, marked with round, well-defined black or liver spots about 2 to 3 cm across. The RKC suggests grooming once a week, but the British Dalmatian Club points out that Dalmatians shed steadily all year and more heavily when moulting. The RKC records lemon and orange spotting as non-breed-standard colours.

Exercise. The RKC suggests more than two hours of exercise a day, a large house and a large garden. The club advises gradually increasing regular road walking from five or six months, and notes that a Dalmatian may not finish growing until 12 to 15 months.

Temperament and suitability. The standard asks for an outgoing, friendly dog that is neither shy nor nervous nor aggressive. The club describes a powerful, strong-minded dog that needs firm, patient training and thrives on human company, and advises against leaving one alone for more than two or three hours. The RKC gives a lifespan of over 12 years.

Dalmatian health tests

The Royal Kennel Club lists five Best Practice tests for the Dalmatian: a DNA test for hyperuricosuria (HUU), BAER hearing tests including litter screening, hip and elbow scoring under the BVA/KC schemes, and a DNA test for disproportional dwarfism (DD-PRKG2). In dogs affected by HUU, uric acid forms crystals and stones in the urinary tract; the RKC says problems most often appear between three and six years of age, and blockages are more common in males. The British Dalmatian Club names deafness, urinary stones and epilepsy as the main health issues in the breed, with some dogs showing allergies. The RKC links congenital deafness to the extreme piebald gene behind the white coat, and its BAER testing page says litters are best tested at around five and a half to six and a half weeks. The breed is in Breed Watch Category 1, with no breed-specific points of concern flagged for show judges. Because a pairing of two liver-spotted dogs can only give liver-spotted puppies, the RKC has, since 7 July 2008, registered the offspring of such matings as liver-spotted only.

Choosing a Dalmatian breeder

A responsible Dalmatian breeder will have every puppy BAER tested and will hand you the printed result when you collect; the British Dalmatian Club requires members to BAER test all the puppies they breed. The club's hearing advice warns that clapping or other noise tests cannot be relied on, and says buyers need not be put off by a puppy that hears in one ear only. Ask to see both parents' hearing certificates, HUU DNA results and hip and elbow scores, and check them on the RKC Health Test Results Finder. The club's breeding guidance says a bitch should not whelp before two or after eight, should be bred from no more than four times, and should have at least 12 months between litters. Expect searching questions about your time, garden and routine. In England, anyone who breeds three or more litters in 12 months and sells any of the puppies, or breeds and advertises dogs for sale as a business, needs a council licence. Read our buyer safety guide before paying a deposit.

  • Can I see the BAER result for this puppy and for both parents?
  • What are the parents' HUU DNA results, and have urinary stones occurred in your lines?
  • What hip scores and elbow grades do the sire and dam have?
  • Has deafness or epilepsy appeared in closely related dogs?
  • Will you help rehome the dog at any age if my circumstances change?

Dalmatian questions

How much exercise does a Dalmatian need?

The Royal Kennel Club suggests more than two hours a day. The British Dalmatian Club advises gradually building up regular road walking from five or six months and notes that a Dalmatian may not be fully grown until 12 to 15 months.

Are Dalmatians often deaf?

Congenital deafness occurs in the breed, and the RKC links it to the extreme piebald gene behind the white coat. The British Dalmatian Club reports that in some testing roughly one Dalmatian in 12 was deaf in both ears. It recommends the BAER test, because clapping and similar noise checks are unreliable, and says a dog that hears in one ear can still be a good pet. Ask to see the printed BAER result.

Do Dalmatians shed a lot?

Yes. The coat is short and the RKC suggests grooming once a week, but the British Dalmatian Club says Dalmatians shed steadily throughout the year and more heavily when moulting.

Why are Dalmatians tested for urinary stones?

Hyperuricosuria (HUU) is an inherited condition in which uric acid forms crystals and stones in the urinary tract. The RKC lists a DNA test for HUU as Best Practice and includes it in its Dalmatian DNA package. It lists blood in the urine and difficult or painful urination among the signs, and describes a complete blockage of the urethra as serious.

More for Dalmatian owners and breeders

Official sources