Did you know that Dalmatian puppies are born white? When they are first born and they are still wet from the mother’s birthing process, you can see the spots on their skin but as they are licked clean by the mum and they start to warm up, the fur brightens up and the spots disappear into the coat. Except of course for patch puppies. A patch is a big spot, mostly located on the head of the pup; the pup is born with this big spot and it is there forever. Sometimes puppies can have a double patch! Patch puppies are not able to be shown as a patch is considered to be a ‘fault’ in the show ring. They usually sell first though! The spots begin to appear through the coat and by the time the puppy is about two weeks old you can see how nicely spotted it is.
I bred and showed Dalmatians in Australia for twenty years (1981-2001) although I wasn’t very good at showing! My Kennel name was Luckywood Dalmatians and I registered 38 puppies during that time.
