Jake
Dalmatian
Acquired: Breeder (hobby breeder)
Gender: Male
Training: Attended conferences / shows
First & Last Dalmatian
We bought Jake from a hobby breeder when he was just 6 weeks old. He was a beautiful & cuddly little puppy. At first we thought he was stubborn & just ignored our calls & commands but we soon discovered that he was totally deaf. From research we should have done before we got him we found that this is a common problem in the breed partly due to overbreeding. It seems that thanks to the Disney Dalmatian movie there is a lot of demand for these dogs. Jake was very smart though & he did learn hand signals quickly. We loved him & cared for him for his entire life, however, two recurring problems would make me hesitate to get another dalmatian. He had an insatiable appetite for food. Unlike other dogs, I have owned this could not be trained out of him. Set out lunchmeat for a sandwich & turn your back...it's gone. He once ate an entire bag of peanut M&M's even though it was inside a holiday tin with a secure lid. His other issue was kids. He hated kids. He was fine with my son who was seven when we got Jake but if any other child anywhere near his own height came near him he would try to attack them. This meant that he had to remain on a leash when outside. Of course, every kid when seeing a dalmatian wants to run over & pet them. I've since been told that those two problems are not common in this breed, but I have my doubts.
