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CHAPTER XI. 



THE DALMATIAN OR COACH-DOG. 



IN spite of the meagreness, in point of numbers, of the entries in the Dalmatian classes at most 

 shows, few breeds attract more attention, simply we believe on account of the peculiarity of the 

 markings, which are indispensable to success on the bench. It is so seldom that a really well- 

 marked dog is seen following a carriage, that those unacquainted with the few really good ones 

 which appear at shows invariably express great surprise and admiration at the regularity and 

 brilliancy of their colouring. Of the antecedents of the Dalmatian it is extremely hard to speak 

 with certainty, but it appears that the breed has altered but little since it was first illustrated in 

 Bewick's book on natural history, for in it appears an engraving of a dog who would be able to 

 hold his own in high-class competition in the present day, and whose markings are sufficiently 

 well developed to satisfy the most exacting of judges. Indeed, the almost geometrical exactness 

 with which the spots are represented by Bewick impresses us with the idea that imagination 

 greatly assisted nature in producing what he thought ought to be ; his ideal, however 

 exaggerated, is at the same time a standard worth breeding up to in that most important 

 feature in this dog, the brilliancy and regularity of his markings. In former times it was the 

 invariable custom to remove the ears by cropping, as is the case in the present day with Bull 

 and English Terriers ; and in many cases the whole flap of the ear was cut off entirely, 

 exposing the cavity, as was the custom of the time to deal with Pugs, making the dog, to our 

 modern notion, hideous, and laying him open to attacks of inflammation and canker in one of 

 his most delicate organs, which frequently ended in deafness ; but this barbarous and utterly 

 useless practice at last died out, and the dog now appears as nature formed him. One 

 decided argument to be used against the use of the cropping-knife in the case of Dalmatians is 

 that the colour and shape of the ear are matters of some considerable importance. A heavily- 

 marked or badly-formed ear would, of course, tell against a dog in competition, and when these 

 are manipulated by cropping it is impossible to decide how they would have naturally appeared. 



A change has come over the opinions of breeders of late as regards which other breed of dog 

 the Dalmatian most resembles ; a little time back it was the Bull-terrier, and now it is the modern 

 Pointer which claims the honour. We cannot ourselves see any similarity between the former and 

 the Dalmatian, as the heads are so totally distinct in shape and character, but our readers can have 

 the opportunity of comparing these two breeds without difficulty, as they appear in the same 

 illustration in this work. 



A very general, but erroneous, impression is prevalent that the Dalmatian is a dog which is 

 devoid of intelligence, and incapable of being employed in any other manner than following a 

 carriage, or accompanying its master's horses at exercise. In its native land it certainly has been 

 used in the field, and though we have never ourselves seen one thus employed, we can give no 

 reason for doubting that, if carefully broken, the Dalmatian would be found a useful companion in 

 a day amongst the heather, as from his similarity in shape and build to a large-sized Pointer, he 

 should be well qualified to undergo the fatigue of a hard day's shooting. 



