HU

About Breeding

Science or art? (Or both?)

Today’s dog breeders have to consider an enormous number of things, as science is advancing at great speed in the field of genetics and the study of inherited traits.

Now, regarding my dogs, I have to take a position, because they too can already be examined from a genetic point of view, and I am sure that many similar tests will be developed. We all have to find the balance between scientific knowledge and emotions, and it seems that this divides breeders into two main groups: those who want flawless litters, and those who insist on the natural method and accept faults in certain litters. For me, the idea that every dog should be flawless seems like an impossible task—especially because science keeps making newer and newer tests possible. These can include hip dysplasia screening, elbow screening, hearing tests, or perhaps the lemon gene, etc.

We can agree that it is hard to find a good stud dog. Our bitch also has her faults, or characteristic features, that we would like to improve, and we want a partner in whom these faults are not present. Such faults can be, for example, an incorrectly carried tail, an uneven back, legs that are too long (or, conversely, too short), etc. Then there is one of the most important visible traits of the Dalmatian: its spotting. So if our bitch has too many spots, it is not a problem if we choose a stud that is less heavily spotted. There is a chance that two very heavily spotted dogs will produce less heavily spotted puppies, but in reality, in such a case we can expect the puppies to be born with strong pigmentation as well—that is, densely spotted. After months of research one finds a suitable candidate and begins to examine him.
One must be very tactful when questioning the owner, otherwise they will take offense.
And then there are the health issues.

The hips must be suitable and screened. In Hungary, over the past 25 years only a few breeders have screened their breeding dogs, and yet over the past 30 years I have not heard of many dysplastic Dalmatians.
In Hungary, to my knowledge, more and more breeders are carrying out screenings of their breeding animals for these traits, but unfortunately there are also those who do not spend money on these costly things. I have not yet read any breeder’s regulations where breeders were required to do this; it is something that every Dalmatian owner who considers themselves a breeder does—or should do. What I can say is that every bitch and male I have taken into my breeding program has these screenings; thus the bitches I breed are screened for dysplasia, elbows, and hearing. Of course, this does not mean that deaf or one-sided hearing puppies cannot be born. Many countries require that the dog’s hearing be 100%, even though they do not know how deafness is inherited. At present, only a negligible percentage of puppies are deaf. Interestingly, it can happen that two parents (with hearing test results) that have bilateral 100% hearing produce an offspring whose hearing is one-sided (-/+) or who suffers from bilateral deafness (-/-). In a one-sided hearing dog, you cannot tell that it only hears on one side, and it can live a full life, while with a deaf dog it is not so simple.

By sending in a simple blood sample, we can find out whether our dog carries genes that can lead to an undesirable color. In another case, a certain gene can pass on dwarfism.

Besides the faults mentioned above, we must not forget questions such as scissor bite, complete dentition (without missing teeth), nice spots, or good looks.

I think the more requirements we set for dogs, the fewer will be suitable for breeding, and this can lead to such a limited gene pool that we will have to face new problems that today may still be unknown among Dalmatians.

We have not even said a word yet about the large patch. We also call it a “plate.” This color fault also often occurs in various litters. These dogs can also live full lives; only the standard and breeding regulations say that individuals with this trait must be excluded from breeding. I have seen a litter (I think it may have been born in Germany) where the mother had a plate patch and none of the offspring did. And there have also been many cases where neither parent had any visible patch, yet it appeared among the puppies. I would be very interested in how this patch is inherited—what is happening genetically.
Every new mating is a new experiment, because we can never be sure of anything in advance; we can only hope that nature and genetics create something that, to our human eyes, is pleasing. This is about like the lottery. Surprises can occur even if we tend a bit more toward closer linebreeding.
As consolation I might add: “In dog breeding, what can we be 100% sure of?” Nothing!!! We cannot be sure of anything in advance. I do not have much knowledge about breeding other breeds, but in my opinion the Dalmatian is among the top 10 most difficult breeds to breed. Even if we only take this special coloration as a starting point—the deafness associated with this gene, or the possibility of inheriting blue eyes…

At home, in our country, and in Europe as well, to my knowledge we have been working with a very small gene pool over the past 20 years. I am absolutely certain—and no screenings have been carried out for this yet—that almost every Dalmatian descends from the same dogs, and that today our dogs carry the same genes. I will list a few iconic stud names (Spotnik’s Special Selection, Perdita’s Inside Information, Perdita’s Right On Time, Jilloc’s Man In The Mirror, Knight of Gold at Theakston, Beaumore Night Owl of Olbero, Bell-A-Mir's Elegant Envoy, or, if I want to go further back in time, the dogs of the English Olbero kennel), and I am sure everyone will find them somewhere in their breeding dog’s pedigree when looking back through several generations. This means that almost every Dalmatian inherits nearly identical genes, so it is difficult to filter out genes that pass on certain traits.
I respect those who find it interesting to study the theoretical problems of breeding, but please keep it to yourselves until you have more evidence. As things stand today, it causes more harm than benefit, because many do not have the necessary theoretical knowledge.
The fact that the Dalmatian breed has again gained greater popularity may perhaps help a little with selecting breeding stock, because it gives us more opportunity when choosing breeding pairs. Thus there is more hope that the offspring of mating individuals with similar phenotypes may resemble their parents. I have spent a great deal of time studying the pedigrees of various winners, or Dalmatians I considered beautiful, to try to discover some genetic regularity; I admit I did not achieve much in this respect. However, I did establish that common structural faults seen today were already present 100 years ago in the stock of that time. This means that eliminating such traits from the current population today is almost impossible, because genetically it contains them.

For a long time I planned for this website to finally appear on the World Wide Web, but I also wanted to be able to share my thoughts. Many websites mostly publish lots of pictures of dogs’ results achieved at various shows. On very few pages can you find any writing from breeders who are truly devoted to this breed and can share the experience they have gained. My goal is that as many people as possible find my writings interesting. I hardly dare to dream that a dialogue might even develop with someone. And yet how good it would be if we could exchange our experiences, perhaps discuss our breeding-related matters and insights. Nowadays, sadly, division is characteristic in our country, and so it is in the dog world as well. You can register membership in two associations in order to participate in shows and breeding—that is, for the descendants we breed to receive an FCI-recognized certificate of origin (pedigree).
Over the past thirty years, more or less regularly, there were litters every 2–3 years, and then after 2010, after a break of nearly 8 years, I started breeding again with my dog Falcatus Gollivog, who had already reached his 8th year of life. Building breeding on new breeding bitches, Golli’s daughter, Falcatus Jungle Gym, gifted me with a truly wonderful litter (“M”) in the year 2022.
So what happened in the nearly 5 years that have passed since I started “doing Dalmatians” again? Well, quite a lot in my life. I had to build a new livelihood, in a new place, starting a new life, and I created the conditions to be able to live for my hobby for the rest of my life. A bitch named Nessy Dalmaword came into my kennel, and we are currently expecting her third litter. For her first litter, more than 5 breeders indicated in advance that they wanted a puppy from this bitch imported from France. Looking back, I would like to say that a breeder can already consider a litter successful when 1–2 promising puppies are born. I honestly admit I did not think I would be able to satisfy such demand. Selling a puppy to a breeder is always a difficult task, because expectations toward the puppies are high. In the coming years it will be decided how well the dogs I have bred will turn out. Falcatus Kiss Me In The House was also a great hope from Bess’s first litter (she went to a breeder), and from her I brought back a small female puppy (Charkasian Excelsiora), because she was very appealing as a puppy. Falcatus Kensington Girl also went to a breeder who, with great care and enthusiasm, entered her in various shows, and she has had successful show years behind her; among other things, she won a BOS title at the Budapest European Dog Show. Their brother, Falcatus King In The House, has already successfully completed two matings here at home, producing two litters. From the first litter I kept in my own kennel a female puppy named Falcatus Milady and a male puppy named Falcatus Metropolis. I am very interested to see the puppies from the second litter of Falcatus Kentwood Girl, who is with a Ukrainian breeder. I had a few new litters and some puppies that I found interesting and kept, or sold to other breeders. Such as the beautiful bitch named Falcatus New Winner; I hope she will become a kennel founder for her current owner—my great joy is that she is also well cared for. The rest of the puppies have very good homes with the families they went to; they love them very much—well, not that they would love the more promising ones any less.
One might think that for a breeder who has had more than thirteen litters, there should be more than one or two promising puppies in a litter, but that is not the case. As I wrote earlier, I am happy if I find one or two interesting puppies in a litter, and I do not want more. Demand is increasing from those interested in promising dogs, which somewhat supports my breeding work, but also comes with great responsibility. I must not disappoint them. At such times I make the mistake of selling the most beautiful ones to other breeders, instead of keeping them for myself. And those that remained were not always such that breeding could be continued with them, whether here in Hungary or abroad. Still, sometimes it succeeds for me as well, just to mention a few promising dogs. Falcatus Milady, Falcatus Metropolis—I hope they will have many wonderful puppies in the coming years, whether with other domestic breeders or here at my house. In the future I would like to build co-breeder relationships by involving kind, trustworthy people; in this way our bitch Falcatus Kimberry was placed out, because she could not integrate into the hierarchical structure already formed in our kennel, and she did not feel well in the dominant shadow of her mother.
You cannot expect an inexperienced breeder to see quality in a puppy that is only a few weeks old, so I guide them. If I am wrong, the “newcomer” thinks they received a very promising dog from me and bases their breeding program on that bitch.
I would be very surprised if the result were worth the effort. If someone considers themselves an experienced breeder, they also have to take on the responsibility that comes with it. There is a rule: I only sell dogs to new breeders that I myself would consider worth keeping. If the breeder still insists on buying certain dogs, that is already their responsibility, and I tell them so.
From my current litter, 3 puppies “must” meet the expectations—there is especially great anticipation of satisfying breeders’ needs.

In recent years I have kept at least 4 puppies, and if you look at my bitches, you will see that I did not continue breeding with all of them. If a puppy does not have the traits I defined in my breeding program, I look for a place where it will be loved very much as a family pet.
I also had a bitch that I brought from abroad, but unfortunately she carried a hereditary disease, so I had to exclude her from breeding, and because my own possibilities are limited (in this case I mean the place where I keep my Dalmatians), after 4 years I decided to part with her anyway.
That is what breeding is about; it involves a lot of disappointment, frustration, and expense, but also joy, when the dog is as I hoped.

On almost every website breeders write under the photos: hips A/A, hearing +/+, and complete dentition. I am much more interested in the picture itself—whether it shows a Dalmatian that meets the rules and my expectations. At the same time, I would be happier if the caption said something about the dog’s health and temperament. Something like:
“This dog has a very sweet nature and enjoys the company of other dogs and people. It has never had any skin disease or other health problem. In the first two litters, the puppies developed very nicely.” That would be interesting information to me—but only if the attached photo shows a good-type Dalmatian. A good type that I like and that appeals to me. I often see Dalmatians with lots of titles, but I, for example, would not breed with them, because for me they are not the right type. Some of them do not even look like a Dalmatian; they look more like a sighthound. Thin-boned, without proper musculature, with improper proportions, or with a curved back. Others are so straight in front, or their croup is so square, that they rather remind me of a poodle. If you draw the outline of the dog without the spots, it is really hard to determine that it depicts a Dalmatian. So what is it worth if a dog has all its teeth and 100% hearing, or has a bunch of titles?

Dog breeding is not science, but art, where a person must take certain calculated risks if they want to move forward. However, a distinction must be made between risks that cause difficulty for breeders and those that affect the new owner. The most important risks should be temperament and health status before a dog leaves the home.

Shows versus breeding

People often ask me why I do not take my dogs to shows more often. If I were sure that shows improved the quality of my breeding dogs, of course I would join in. However, I see that this is not the case. Sometimes I feel that we attach too much importance to show results when choosing a partner for our bitches.
For example, a show is not the best opportunity to judge a dog’s temperament. Shy and aggressive dogs are easy to recognize, yet often they are awkward only because they lack proper training. But what do we learn about those who behave well?

Now I will say goodbye here. For the time being, I will try to arrange my thoughts about breeding into new lines, and as they come together, I will share them with you.
Perhaps I already mentioned it: right now I am in the exciting period when there is almost only a week left until our long-awaited next “O” litter is born. I am expecting Bess’s third litter from a mating in Sweden.

April 2024