FCI Standard

FCI-Standard N° 153 / 14. 04. 1999 / GB

DALMATIAN
(Dalmatinac)

TRANSLATION : A.J.E.Beekes and Mrs.R.Binder.

ORIGIN : Dalmatia, Croatian Republic.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 14.04.1999.

UTILIZATION : Companion dog, family dog, suitable to be trained for various purposes.

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. :   Group 6 Scenthounds and related  breeds. Section 3 Related breeds. Without working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : The origin of the Dalmatian dog is still obscure and rests solely on suppositions.  From illustrations, discovered in the tombs of ancient Pharaohs and similar to paintings dating back to the period from the 16th to the 18th century, one can suppose that the Dalmatian has been in existence for some thousands of years.  Church chronicles from the 14th century and from the year 1719 definitely suggest that the breed originated in the Mediterranean region and especially in the neighbourhood of the Dalmatian coast.

The earliest illustrations of the breed can be found in pictures by Italian painters of the 16th century and in a fresco in Zaostrog (Dalmatia) that can be dated back to the year 1710 approximately.

A work by Thomas Bewick, published in 1792, contains a description and the drawing of a Dalmatian, which Bewick refers to as « the Dalmatian or coach Dog ».

The first standard for the Dalmatian was written by an Englishman named Vero Shaw in the year 1882; in 1890 this standard was transferred to the official breed standard.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : The Dalmatian is a well balanced, distinctively spotted, strong, muscular and active dog.  Symmetrical in outline, free from coarseness and lumber, and as a former « coach dog » capable of great endurance at a fair turn of speed.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS :

Length of the body : height at the withers = approximately 10 : 9.

Length of skull : length of muzzle = 1 : 1.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Outgoing and friendly, not shy or hesitant, free from nervousness and aggression.

HEAD : Of fair length.

CRANIAL REGION :

Skull : Flat, fairly broad between the ears, with well defined temples.  Slight frontal furrow.  Entirly free from wrinkle.

Stop : Moderately well defined.

FACIAL REGION :

Nose : Nose leather in the black spotted variety always black, in the liver spotted variety always brown.

Muzzle : Long, powerful, never snipy.  Nasal bridge straight and parallel to the upper outline of the skulll.

Lips : Clean, fitting the jaw rather closely, not pendulous.  A complete pigmentation is desired.

Jaws/Teeth : Jaws strong with a perfect and regular scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.  Desirable is a complete set of 42 teeth (in accordance with the teeth formula).  The teeth are evenly proportioned and white.

Eyes : Set moderately well apart, medium size, round, bright and sparkling with an intelligent and alert expression.  Colour dark brown in black spotted, light brown to amber in liver spotted dogs.  Eye rims completely black in the black spotted, and completely liver brown in the liver spotted dogs.  Eyelid close to the eyeball.

Ears : Set on rather high, moderate size, rather wide at base.  Carried close to the head, gradually tapering to rounded point.  Fine in texture, marking well broken up, preferably spotted.

NECK : Fairly long, nicely arched, tapering to the head, free from throatiness.

BODY :

Withers : Well defined.

Back : Powerful, level.

Loins : Clean, muscular and slightly arched.

Croup : Very slightly sloping.

Chest : Not too broad, but deep and capacious.  Brisket should reach to the elbows.  Forechest well visible in profile.  Ribs well proportioned, long, nicely sprung, never flat, barrel-shaped or malformed.

Flanks : Narrow.

Lower line : Belly distinctly tucked up towards the loin.

TAIL : Reaching approximately to the hock.  Strong at the base, evenly tapering towards the tip; free from coarseness.  Inserted neither too low nor too high.  At rest carried pendent with a slight upward curve in the lowest third of the tail.  When moving carried higher slightly above the topline, but never upright (gay) or curled.  Preferably spotted.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : Forelegs perfectly straight, with strong round bone down to feet.

Shoulders : Moderately oblique, clean and muscular.

Elbows : Close to the body, neither turned in nor out.

Pastern joint : Strong, with slight spring.

HINDQUARTERS : Rounded, muscular, clean.  Viewed from the rear hindlegs vertical and parallel.

Stifle : Well bent.

Lower thigh : Strong.

Hock joint : Strong, well bent.

FEET : Round, compact with well arched toes (cat feet).  Pads round, tough and elastic.  Nails black or white in black spotted variety; in liver spotted brown or white.

GAIT/MOVEMENT  : Great freedom of movement.  Smooth, powerful, rhythmic action with long stride and good drive from hindquarters; viewed from the rear legs moving parallel, hindlegs tracking the fore.  A short stride and paddling action are incorrect.

COAT

HAIR : Short, hard, dense, sleek and glossy.

COLOUR : Ground colour pure white.  Black spotted variety with black spots, liver spotted variety with brown spots; not intermingling  but round, well defined and as well distributed as possible.  Size 2-3 cm in diameter.  Spots on the head, tail and extremities smaller than those on the body.

SIZE AND WEIGHT  :

Overall balance of prime importance.

Height at withers :  For dogs:  56-61 cm.  For bitches:  54-59 cm.

Weight :  For dogs approximately :  27-32 kg.   For bitches approximately:  24-29 kg.

FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.

·      Bronzing (tempory bronze-like discolouring of the black spots).

ELIMINATING FAULTS :

·                      Aggresive or overly shy.

·      Definitely over-or undershot mouth.

·      Ectropion, entropion; wall eye, eyes of different colour (heterochromia).

·      Blue eyes.

·      Deafness.

·      Limited patching around eyes (monocle) or elsewhere, yet acceptable for breeding).

·      Tricolour (black and brown spots on the same dog).

·      Lemon (lemon or orange spots).

·      Very timid or aggressive behaviour.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

RECOMMENDATION :  In order to reduce the incident of deafness in Dalmatians (20-30%).

·      Bilaterally deaf Dalmatians and blue-eyed Dalmatians should be discarded from breeding, ideally unilaterally deaf dogs likewise.

·      Dogs with limited patching around eyes (monocle) or elsewhere should be accepted for breeding.

·      Dogs with pigmented scrotum should be preferred.

AKC Breed Standard

General Appearance
The Dalmatian is a distinctively spotted dog; poised and alert; strong, muscular and active; free of shyness; intelligent in expression; symmetrical in outline; and without exaggeration or coarseness. The Dalmatian is capable of great endurance, combined with fair amount of speed. Deviations from the described ideal should be penalized in direct proportion to the degree of the deviation.

Size, Proportion, Substance
Desirable height at the withers is between 19 and 23 inches. Undersize or oversize is a fault. Any dog or bitch over 24 inches at the withers is disqualified. The overall length of the body from the forechest to the buttocks is approximately equal to the height at the withers. The Dalmatian has good substance and is strong and sturdy in bone, but never coarse.

Head
The head is in balance with the overall dog. It is of fair length and is free of loose skin. The Dalmatian's expression is alert and intelligent, indicating a stable and outgoing temperament. The eyes are set moderately well apart, are medium sized and somewhat rounded in appearance, and are set well into the skull. Eye color is brown or blue, or any combination thereof; the darker the better and usually darker in black-spotted than in liver-spotted dogs. Abnormal position of the eyelids or eyelashes (ectropion, entropion, trichiasis) is a major fault. Incomplete pigmentation of the eye rims is a major fault. The ears are of moderate size, proportionately wide at the base and gradually tapering to a rounded tip. They are set rather high, and are carried close to the head, and are thin and fine in texture. When the Dalmatian is alert, the top of the ear is level with the top of the skull and the tip of the ear reaches to the bottom line of the cheek. The top of the skull is flat with a slight vertical furrow and is approximately as wide as it is long. The stop is moderately well defined. The cheeks blend smoothly into a powerful muzzle, the top of which is level and parallel to the top of the skull. The muzzle and the top of the skull are about equal in length. The nose is completely pigmented on the leather, black in black-spotted dogs and brown in liver-spotted dogs. Incomplete nose pigmentation is a major fault. The lips are clean and close fitting. The teeth meet in a scissors bite. Overshot or undershot bites are disqualifications.

Neck, Topline, Body
The neck is nicely arched, fairly long, free from throatiness, and blends smoothly into the shoulders. The topline is smooth. The chest is deep, capacious and of moderate width, having good spring of rib without being barrel shaped. The brisket reaches to the elbow. The underline of the rib cage curves gradually into a moderate tuck-up. The back is level and strong. The loin is short, muscular and slightly arched. The flanks narrow through the loin. The croup is nearly level with the back. The tail is a natural extension of the topline. It is not inserted too low down. It is strong at the insertion and tapers to the tip, which reaches to the hock. It is never docked. The tail is carried with a slight upward curve but should never curl over the back. Ring tails and low-set tails are faults.

Forequarters
The shoulders are smoothly muscled and well laid back. The upper arm is approximately equal in length to the shoulder blade and joins it at an angle sufficient to insure that the foot falls under the shoulder. The elbows are close to the body. The legs are straight, strong and sturdy in bone. There is a slight angle at the pastern denoting flexibility.

Hindquarters
The hindquarters are powerful, having smooth, yet well defined muscles. The stifle is well bent. The hocks are well let down. When the Dalmatian is standing, the hind legs, viewed from the rear, are parallel to each other from the point of the hock to the heel of the pad. Cowhocks are a major fault.

Feet
Feet are very important. Both front and rear feet are round and compact with thick, elastic pads and well arched toes. Flat feet are a major fault. Toenails are black and/or white in black- spotted dogs and brown and/or white in liver- spotted dogs. Dewclaws may be removed.

Coat
The coat is short, dense, fine and close fitting. It is neither woolly nor silky. It is sleek, glossy and healthy in appearance.

Color and Markings
Color and markings and their overall appearance are very important points to be evaluated. The ground color is pure white. In black-spotted dogs the spots are dense black. In liver-spotted dogs the spots are liver brown. Any color markings other than black or liver are disqualified. Spots are round and well-defined, the more distinct the better. They vary from the size of a dime to the size of a half-dollar. They are pleasingly and evenly distributed. The less the spots intermingle the better. Spots are usually smaller on the head, legs and tail than on the body. Ears are preferably spotted. Tri-color(which occurs rarely in this breed) is a disqualification. It consists of tan markings found on the head, neck, chest, leg or tail of a black- or liver-spotted dog. Bronzing of black spots, and fading and/or darkening of liver spots due to environmental conditions or normal processes of coat change are not tri-coloration. Patches are a disqualification. A patch is a solid mass of black or liver hair containing no white hair. It is appreciably larger than a normal sized spot. Patches are a dense, brilliant color with sharply defined, smooth edges. Patches are present at birth. Large color masses formed by intermingled or overlapping spots are not patches. Such masses should indicate individual spots by uneven edges and/or white hairs scattered throughout the mass.

Gait
In keeping with the Dalmatian's historical use as a coach dog, gait and endurance are of great importance. Movement is steady and effortless. Balanced angulation fore and aft combined with powerful muscles and good condition produce smooth, efficient action. There is a powerful drive from the rear coordinated with extended reach in the front. The topline remains level. Elbows, hocks and feet turn neither in nor out. As the speed of the trot increases, there is a tendency to single track.

Temperament
Temperament is stable and outgoing, yet dignified. Shyness is a major fault.

Scale of Points

Disqualifications
Any dog or bitch over 24 inches at the withers
Overshot or undershot bite.
Any color markings other than black or liver.
Tri-color
Patches

Approved July 11, 1989
Effective September 6, 1989

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