British Dalmatian Club

[MarkS]

Hello. signed up on here for some advice..

Me my partner and two young daughters (7 & 4) have decided its time to make the big commitment of getting a family dog, after looking (arguing) and researching we have decided and already picked a dalmatian pup, a chocolate spot called charlie.

charlie is currenly 2 week old and won't be with us for another 6-8 week, he is full pedigree had his first health check and due his hearing tests soon.

althught i have been researching online and looked in to diets,behaviour and training there seems to be a lot to learn compared to most dogs which is hopefully where you guys will come in and help me.

which are the best off the shelf foods to feed for a low purine diet? i already know they can't have red meat or organ meat but from what i have seen on the shelfs this really limits the foods.

we want him to be a well behaved loved family member (and hopefully my best companion ) to help with this im going to look in to puppy classes but have also read making the learning fun and bribery works best? im also thinking of crate/cage training him but have never used this method before so all new to me.

i have noticed some members invite new owners round to take a look at their dalmatians as adults? i would be intrested in doing this if anybody is willing as have only seen the mum to the pups, she is however a very well behaved dog but i get the impression not all of them are?

thank you for any help in advance.

[Spotalot]

Hi MarkS
Welcome to the forum.
Have just read your other post about the hearing test .
I'm afraid I'm with Jeangenie and take the deposit back. Better for everyone to be dissapointed now than later. I can't understand by any breeder worth its salt wouldnt be having the proper tests done.
Sorry.
_________________
Carol and Daisy X

[MarkS]

Hi Spotalot, i have already told the breeder we would take the deposit back but now shes even being funny over that so looks like we will loose the £50

i have already emailed a few of the breeders with litters due on here so will make a short list and start looking again, i would rather pay more for a pup that i think has been looked after and had all propper checks.

[alanhinchcliffe]

as far as behavior is concerned positive reinforcement is essential only reward good behavior and ignore bad behavior. i was in the camp of crating a dog was cruel and close to putting the dog in prison (16 years ago when we got our first dally) all dogs get anxious when left alone and even more so when left loose in a large house and our first dally was no exception he once was left in our lounge and found a black printer ink cartridge which he chewed up all over our beige carpet. once he was an adult i'm certain we would never have been able to crate him. we now have two new puppies 7 months and 11 months old both have been crate trained and now actually go to their crates on their own if they just want a quiet moment (don't expect this to happen often as puppies). dogs don't see the crate as a prison more as a place of safety, it makes the world they need to protect much smaller and reduces exponentially the number of perceived threats whenever there is a bump or a bang in the house or outside. so if you are considering crating your new puppy its best to start as soon as possible

one thing i have noticed is dallies are incapable of concentrating on more than one thing at once, they are however very clever animals and are actually quite easy to train with patience, we didn't do puppy classes last time but this time we have and i have to say they have helped a great deal. however anyone who says they have never been embarrassed by their dally i'm fairly sure is not telling the whole truth. they certainly have selective hearing and the main trick is to get and keep their attention most dallies will work for food and its a good idea to have tasty treats handy when out and about the best thing i have found in small quantities has been cheese cut into small cubes and left on a plate to dry out and go hard (ill probably get told off for this as dogs are lactose intolerant but in small quantities we have had no problems and they can smell it from miles away) in fact the tricky thing with cheese is getting them to leave you for long enough to do something worth rewarding them for

the main thing is enjoy your new family member they make awesome pets

[Maggi]

Hello Mark and welcome. I'm just down the road from you in Alfreton. At the moment I've only got one dalmatian - Caper - but you would be very welcome to meet him and I can bore for England on the subject having been owned by the spotted beasts since 1978. Send me a PM if you'd like to meet up. If you want, I'll bring him to your house so you cna see what a fully grown adult male looks like indoors!
_________________
Maggi, Caper & Poppy (Hon. Spot)- Banjoliers, Faithful Followers and Forum Wanderers.