Theories are just that – theories.
As scientists have started poking into the DNA of our dogs, mapping what genes various breeds share, they’ve been able to piece together how they’re related.
But when it comes to Dalmatians, all that scientific evidence comes to a screeching halt. Though genetically they’re grouped among retrievers, Dalmatians don’t line up strongly with any established modern breeds. (“Might be that they’re really cats,” one researcher quipped to me.)
All this head-scratching in laboratories confirms what Dalmatian fanciers have known all along: theirs is an indisputably unique and ancient breed.
So Where Did Dalmatians Really Come From?
Distinctively spotted dogs have been documented across cultures and continents – not to mention millennia. As far back as 3700 BC, Egypt’s King Cheops, who built the Great Pyramid, was said to have owned one. Some 2,000 years later, Greek frescos depicted both black- and brown-spotted dogs, their dotted coats meticulously painted, chasing a boar.
Bringing these two ancient sources together, some canine historians point to records of a 400 BC breeding between a Cretan Hound (which survives to this day on the Greek island of Crete) and a Bahakaa Dog, or White Antelope Dog, a likely reference to its color and swiftness. That cross resulted in offspring that hunted deer and worked so well with horses they were naturally inclined to run alongside them – a tantalizing preview of the Dalmatian’s later role as the world’s pre-eminent carriage dog.
Adding to the breed’s air of mystery, its very name is a source of umpteen theories. Some argue that it’s a time-smoothed version of “Damachien.” This is a portmanteau of “dama,” the Latin term for fallow deer, and the French word for dog. Others point to Jurji Dalmatin, a 16th century poet from Serbia who mentioned the breed in correspondence. Another possibility is the cloaks of “dalmaticus” fur, which were worn by monks in a 14th century painting by the Florentine artist Andrea Bonaiuto, which also depicted spotted dogs of Dalmatian type.
Finally – and probably most unlikely – the name is attributed to the Croatian province of Dalmatia, where the breed surfaced in the mid-1800s. Here, it was often associated with the Roma people. Still, it certainly didn’t originate there. Just like those itinerant travelers alongside whose brightly colored wagons it trotted, the Dalmatian was a jack of all trades. They were able to herd, retrieve, guard, and control vermin. Any breed that can work as a messenger during both world wars, as well as star as an eye-catching circus performer, is nothing if not versatile.
Athletic, Polka-Dotted Dogs
The first stirrings of the modern Dalmatian trace back to the 16th century, when well-heeled Englishmen returning from the continent brought some of these attractively polka-dotted dogs with them. The breed’s strong yet streamlined body made it a natural athlete. Plus, its affinity for horses – shades of those Egyptian chariots its ancestors accompanied – soon led it to be used as a carriage dog.
In the days before automobiles, those who could afford to travel did so by horse-drawn coach. Some dogs needed to be small enough to trot beneath the axles. This is likely one reason why the Dalmatian standard includes a height disqualification – no head bumps, please! But not all the dogs ran under the carriages, with some trotting alongside, behind, and in front of them. Some research suggests that these positional preferences are actually inherited tendencies.
Tireless in their endurance, the dogs wouldn’t hesitate to protect both the horses and the passengers from any strangers. To further strengthen the canine-equine bond, Dalmatians would be kenneled in the stables, growing up there from puppyhood.
Why Do Firefighters Use Dalmatians?
When firefighters began to use horses to pull their water pumps, the Dalmatian was a natural choice to run alongside their brass-outfitted fire engines. The dogs acted like living sirens, barking ahead of the firemen so pedestrians would clear out of the way of the clattering hooves. They milled around the horses while the firemen worked. The Dalmatians ensured that no one would take the valuable horses. They also kept them calm in an atmosphere where fear and tension hung in the air just as heavily as smoke and ash.
The Dalmatian’s connection with firemen was particularly strong in the United States. Long after the arrival of the automobile led to the horses being supplanted by shiny red engines, the spotty white dogs continued to have a place of honor in the firehouse. Though they no longer had any interest in following the newfangled trucks.
Since the 1950s, Dalmatians have also accompanied the famous Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales whenever the beer company’s wagon-pulling horses make an appearance. But instead of running beside the red beer wagon, the dogs sit atop the wagon next to the driver – not a bad gig.
A Spike in Popularity
The Dalmatian really entered the American consciousness, for better or worse, with the 1985 re-release of Walt Disney’s 1960s-era classic “101 Dalmatians” and the various sequels that followed. The perils of Pongo and Perdita as they tried to safeguard their growing brood of puppies from the coat-craving Cruella de Ville led to a huge spike in popularity for the breed. Some owners who reflexively acquired a Dalmatian after being smitten by those precocious pups didn’t understand that art did indeed imitate life. The living, breathing dogs are also high energy. They require an outlet for their enthusiasm and an owner willing to set clear boundaries.
Today, Dalmatian breeders strike a careful balance — the breed’s dramatic appearance shouldn’t be the only reason for acquiring one. Prospective owners also need to appreciate the Dalmatian’s lively and intelligent character, which is just as important as their beautifully spotted coat.