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.

When it comes to my own dogs, I have to take a position, because they too can now be examined from a genetic point of view, and I am sure that many similar tests will be developed. We all have to find a 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 prefer a more natural approach and accept certain faults in their litters. For me, the idea that every dog should be flawless seems impossible—especially as science continues to make new tests available. 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 include 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.
You have to be very tactful when asking the owner questions; otherwise, they may take offense.
And then there are the health issues.

The hips must be healthy and properly screened. In Hungary, over the past 25 years, only a few breeders have screened their breeding dogs, yet over the past 30 years I have not heard of many Dalmatians with hip dysplasia.
To my knowledge, more and more breeders in Hungary are having their breeding dogs screened for these traits, but unfortunately there are also those who are unwilling to spend money on these costly tests. I have not yet come across any breeding regulations that require 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 dog with one-sided hearing, you cannot tell that it hears only on one side, and it can live a full life, whereas life with a deaf dog is not so simple.

With a simple blood sample, we can find out whether our dog carries genes that can result in an undesirable colour. In another case, a certain gene can cause dwarfism.

Besides the faults mentioned above, we must not forget considerations such as a 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 mentioned the large patch yet. We also call it a “plate.” This colour fault also occurs quite frequently in different 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) in which the mother had a plate patch, yet none of the puppies 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 certain of the outcome in advance; we can only hope that nature and genetics will produce something that is pleasing to the human eye. It is rather like a lottery. Surprises can occur even if we lean somewhat more towards closer linebreeding.
As a consolation, I might add: “What can we be 100% sure of in dog breeding?” Nothing!!! We cannot be sure of anything in advance. I do not have much experience with breeding other breeds, but in my opinion, the Dalmatian is among the ten most difficult breeds to breed. Even if we consider only this special coloration—the deafness associated with the genes involved, or the possibility of inheriting blue eyes…

Here in Hungary, and throughout Europe, to my knowledge, we have been working with a very small gene pool for the past 20 years. I am quite certain—and no genetic studies have yet been carried out to confirm this—that almost every Dalmatian descends from the same dogs, and that our dogs today therefore share many of 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 carries a very similar genetic background, making it difficult to eliminate genes responsible for certain traits from the population.
I respect those who find the theoretical aspects of breeding interesting, but please keep your conclusions to yourselves until you have more evidence. As things stand today, this can do more harm than good, because many people do not have the necessary theoretical knowledge.
The fact that the Dalmatian breed has become more popular again may perhaps help with the selection of breeding stock, because it gives us more options 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 and of Dalmatians I considered beautiful, trying to discover some kind of genetic pattern; I admit that I did not achieve much in this respect. However, I did establish that many of the common structural faults we see today were already present in the dogs of 100 years ago. This means that eliminating such traits from today's population is almost impossible, because they are already part of its genetic makeup.

For a long time, I had been planning to put this website on the World Wide Web, but I also wanted it to be a place where I could share my thoughts. Many websites mostly publish lots of pictures of dogs’ results achieved at various shows. On very few websites can you find writing from breeders who are truly devoted to the breed and willing to share the experience they have gained. My goal is for as many people as possible to find my writings interesting. I hardly dare to dream that a dialogue might even develop with someone. And yet, how wonderful it would be if we could exchange our experiences and perhaps discuss breeding-related matters and insights. Sadly, division is characteristic of our country today, and the same is true of the dog world. You can become a member of two associations in order to participate in shows and breeding—that is, so that the offspring we breed can receive an FCI-recognized certificate of origin (pedigree).
Over the past thirty years, I had litters more or less regularly, usually every 2–3 years. Then, after 2010 and a break of nearly eight years, I started breeding again with my dog Falcatus Gollivog, who had already reached the age of eight. As I began building my breeding program around new bitches, Golli’s daughter, Falcatus Jungle Gym, gave me a truly wonderful litter (“M”) in 2022.
So, what has happened during the nearly five years since I started “doing Dalmatians” again? Well, quite a lot has happened in my life. I had to build a new livelihood in a new place and start a new life, and I created the conditions that would allow me to devote the rest of my life to my hobby. A bitch named Nessy Dalmaword came into my kennel, and we are now 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 say that a breeder can already consider a litter a success if one or two promising puppies are born. I honestly admit that I did not think I would be able to meet such demand. Selling a puppy to another breeder is always a difficult task, because expectations for such puppies are high. The coming years will show 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 I found her very appealing as a puppy. Falcatus Kensington Girl also went to a breeder who, with great care and enthusiasm, entered her in various shows. She has had several successful show years and, among other achievements, 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 now with a Ukrainian breeder. I had a few new litters and some puppies that I found interesting and kept, or sold to other breeders. One example is the beautiful bitch Falcatus New Winner; I hope she will become a foundation bitch for her current owner. I am also very happy to know that she is well cared for. The other puppies have found very good homes with the families they went to, who love them dearly—of course, that does not mean they would love the more promising ones any less.
One might think that a breeder who has had more than thirteen litters should find more than one or two promising puppies in each 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 from people interested in promising dogs is increasing, which supports my breeding work to some extent, but it also brings great responsibility. I must not disappoint them. At such times, I sometimes make the mistake of selling the most beautiful ones to other breeders instead of keeping them for myself. And the ones I kept were not always suitable for continuing the breeding program, either here in Hungary or abroad. Still, sometimes things work out for me as well; to mention just a few promising dogs: Falcatus Milady, Falcatus Metropolis—I hope they will have many wonderful puppies in the coming years, whether with other Hungarian breeders or here in my own kennel. In the future, I would like to build co-breeder relationships by involving kind and trustworthy people. This is how our bitch Falcatus Kimberry was placed with another breeder, because she could not integrate into the hierarchical structure already established in our kennel and did not feel comfortable in the dominant presence of her mother.
You cannot expect an inexperienced breeder to recognize quality in a puppy that is only a few weeks old, so I guide them. If I am wrong, the “newcomer” may believe that they have received a very promising dog from me and base their breeding program on that bitch.
I would be very surprised if the result justified the effort. If someone considers themselves an experienced breeder, they also have to take on the responsibility that comes with it. I have a rule: I only sell dogs to new breeders that I would consider worth keeping myself. If the breeder still insists on buying a particular dog, that responsibility is then theirs, and I make that clear to them.
From my current litter, three puppies “must” meet expectations—there is particularly great anticipation that the needs of breeders will be met.

In recent years, I have kept at least four 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 have defined in my breeding program, I look for a home where it will be loved as a family pet.
I also had a bitch that I imported from abroad, but unfortunately she carried a hereditary disease, so I had to exclude her from breeding. Because my own possibilities are limited (in this case, I mean the space where I keep my Dalmatians), I eventually decided to part with her after four years.
That is what breeding is about: it involves a great deal of disappointment, frustration, and expense, but also joy when a dog turns out as I had hoped.

On almost every website, breeders write under the photos: hips A/A, hearing +/+, and complete dentition. I am much more interested in the photograph itself—whether it shows a Dalmatian that meets the standard and my expectations. At the same time, I would be much 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 valuable information to me—but only if the attached photo shows a Dalmatian of good type. A type that I like and that appeals to me. I often see Dalmatians with many titles, but I would not necessarily breed with them, because, to me, they are not the right type. Some of them do not even look like Dalmatians; they look more like sighthounds. They are thin-boned, lack proper musculature, have incorrect proportions, or have a curved back. Others are so straight in front, or have such a square croup, that they remind me more of a poodle. If you draw the outline of the dog without the spots, it can be difficult to tell that it is a Dalmatian. So what is the value of a dog having complete dentition and 100% hearing, or a long list of titles, if it is not the right type?

Dog breeding is not science, but an art in which a person must take certain calculated risks if they want to move forward. However, a distinction must be made between risks that create difficulties for breeders and those that affect the new owner. The most important considerations should be temperament and health 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 take part. However, I do not see that this is the case. Sometimes I feel that we place too much importance on show results when choosing a partner for our bitches.
For example, a dog show is not the best place to judge a dog’s temperament. Shy and aggressive dogs are easy to recognize, yet some dogs may appear awkward simply because they lack proper training. But what do we learn about the dogs that behave well?

For now, I will say goodbye here. For the time being, I will continue organizing my thoughts about breeding into new topics, and as they take shape, I will share them with you.
Perhaps I have already mentioned it: I am currently in that exciting period when there is barely a week left until our long-awaited next “O” litter is born. I am expecting Bess’s third litter from a mating that took place in Sweden.

April 2024