A Croatian dog, to which many other nations have tried to lay claim!

This spotted dog became well known to the general public after the Disney animated film ‘101 Dalmatians'. Thanks to that, it became a species loved worldwide by both children and adults

Besides her famous people, her beautiful landscapes and indisputably beautiful Dalmatian region, the Croats are also proud of the fact that a beautiful breed of dog is related to this area. We are referring to the most famous indigenous Croatian breed – the Dalmatian (Canis Dalmaticus), identified by that very name. For many people the dog is much more than a pet, so we have decided to make a feature in this issue out of man's best and spottiest friend! – the Dalmatian.

Thanks to the Disney cartoon hit of 1996 “101 Dalmatians”, the children of the world, and a large number of adults too, have fallen in love with this smart and good-natured pet. Originating in Dalmatia , this delightful children's friend has been called different names according to suspected origin over the centuries. Here are some: Turkish, Indian, Bengal , Egyptian, Spanish, French, Harlequin, Italian, small Danish-dog etc. The most probable “culprits” are the picture-writers of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, and general ignorance in this area of history.

The Pharaohs and the Dalmatian

It is generally considered that the Dalmatian dog originates from Egypt , where the fresco paintings in the tombs of the Pharaohs were found to display very similar dogs. Those dogs, with pointed or floppy ears, were given a joint name – Pharaonic dogs. It's widely held that they arrived by land from Egypt through Asia Minor to Greece , and then by the ships of Greek traders to Dalmatia.

The seafarers from the Republic of Dubrovnik (1278 – 1806) who traded beyond the Mediterranean , are chiefly responsible for the dispersal of the Dalmatian dog. But the name could not have been given before the development of canine studies began.

It is obvious that its canine build is similar to the greyhound or the whippet, but also to the pointer, hence the term – hrtolik (whippet-like Pointer). These however are more ‘sight-hounds' than scent-hounds, since the scent-hounds use their developed sense of smell in hunting, whereas the Dalmatian firstly uses sight as the whippet or greyhound would.

As far back as 1894, it was decided that the Bengal and Dalmatian were two separate breeds. The basic colour of the Dalmatian is white with black or liver-colour spots, is of a basic standard, of the pointer type. The Bengal dog is more hound-like, the basic colour is brown with white spots, and it has no set standard.

The full article can be found on pages 78-79 of Vol 2
2007 issue.