CHAPTER XXXIII 

 THE DALMATIAN 



THE origin of the Dalmatian is not quite as obscure as that of 

 many other breeds. There appears to be no valid reason to reject 

 the origin suggested by his name, and, with no arguments against 

 it that bear investigation, and suggestions to the contrary appearing 

 to be mere fancies unsupported by proof, it is reasonable to assume 

 that he is a native of Dalmatia, on the eastern shores of the Gulf 

 of Venice, where, we have been assured, by some of the older 

 writers on dogs, this variety has been domesticated for at least 

 two hundred years. Such a good authority as " Stonehenge " treats 

 this dog as a Pointer ; and although it is probable that Dr. Caius 

 may have referred to the Dalmatian when he mentions " a newe 

 kind of dogge, brought out of Fraunce, and they be speckled all 

 over with white and black," the suggestion is strengthened by the 

 probabilities of the case, our intercourse with France, in peace or 

 war, having been constant, and the introduction of dogs from France 

 frequent. On what authority Youatt called him the Great Danish 

 dog is not clear, as the Great Dane is a much larger variety, and 

 in many respects different from our Carriage dog ; and his claim 

 to be a Bengalese Harrier seems to rest on the single fact that a 

 spotted dog, resembling our modern Dalmatian, was once brought 

 from Bengal to Spain. That he originally came from Dalmatia 

 his name indicates, and this view seems strengthened by the recorded 

 fact that, for some two centuries, he has been one of the sporting 

 dogs of Italy, a country so near to his reputed native home that 

 we can easily imagine his being familiarised there long before he 

 reached this dog-loving isle. It is impossible with accuracy to 

 determine when the Dalmatian first became known in England. 

 He was a favourite with the wealthy in the last century, and, far 

 into the present, continued to be considered an absolutely indis- 

 pensable appendage to the elaborately magnificent equipage and 

 stable establishments of the great, to which his highly ornamental 

 appearance added distinction, and his natural habits and love for the 

 horse so well fitted him. A very popular name for the Dalmatian 

 is Plum-pudding Dog. 



