History

the Dalmatian over the years

The history of the Dalmatian dog is surrounded by riddles and ambiguities. The name Dalmatian wasn’t used until the end of the 18^th century, but the origin of this name remains unclear to this very day.
In that era, people had a coronation mantle, called “dalmaticus”.

Even further back, people called a group of hounds that hunted deer a Dama-chien.
Through this track we can find references to white dogs with black speckles much further back than the 18^th century.

Even on murals in the tombs of the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs we can recognize a white hound with specks all over his body. The gypsies that roamed the area of the Mediterranean had hounds that were white with speckles.
The region Dalmatia is also located in this area.

It has been established that the appearance of our current Dalmatian is due to the breeding of the English nobility. They started using these dogs from the beginning of the 19^th century as companions of their carriages and the Dalmatian dog thus became a noble appearance with a great endurance and less passion for hunting than perhaps his ancestors.
The Dalmatian at that time wasn’t a housemate yet and was kept in the stables with the horses, where he served as a catcher of rats and mice. The position of the Dalmatian fundamentally changed with the advent of dog shows at the end of the 20th century.

Besides breeding for their special purposes, they were now also bred for their outer beauty and for obtaining the most beautiful spotted pattern as possible. The birth of our current Dalmatian dog was a fact.

Currently, old English lines are bred, combined with Scandinavian bloodlines. The Dalmatian dog has improved significantly over the last years, mainly due to a group of steadfast breeders that have been taking care of this breed for years. The standard of the Dalmatian dog continues to evolve over time. You can find the most recent version here !