What To Expect

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM US!

The first thing that you can expect from us is a happy & healthy puppy that will be your companion for many years to come. We like to stay in touch with our new puppy parents and be updated about their accomplishments (big or small) as you are now part of our extended family. We will be your greatest resource throughout this journey and will be there to help you through the ups and downs of having an energetic and sometimes stubborn Dalmatian puppy.

Our main concern is the health and temperament of our puppies; the pretty comes after 100% of the time. All of our dogs have exceptional temperaments and are just very easy to live with. To ensure that they are as healthy as they can be, we make sure to test all of the parents of our litters for any genetic markers prior to them being bred and post the results on a public database called OFA. After they have been tested for their breed specific requirements, they get a CHIC number that certifies that they have been tested.

– ALL hearing and Low Uric Acid results are on there too! –

We do things a little differently than some other breeders. We do not take reservations or deposits because we are more concerned with placing the puppies in the best homes for their personalities and what you are looking for.

Most Dals are great pets as long as they get enough mental and physical exercise.  They are great with kids and other dogs when they are properly socialized from a young  age with us and on with their new owners. It is best to hear from first hand owners because you are not getting hearsay information.

If you are curious about a specific situation, please don’t hesitate to contact us! 

Each Puppy Will Have:

  • Early Neurological Stimulation
  • BAER Hearing Test (About 6 Weeks Old)
  • AKC Microchip
  • Age Appropriate Vaccinations
  • Deworming
  • Proper Socialization
  • In Home Upbringing (specifically in our kitchen)
  • AKC Registration
  • Hyperuricosuria (LUA) DNA Test
  • Genetic Disease Panel (180+ Genetic Diseases)
  • Lifetime Breeder Support
  • Greater Pittsburgh Dalmatian Club Membership (One Year)

We raise our pups in our home with enriched protocol called Puppy Culture, so that they will be ready for anything that they encounter. We also use protocol called Avidog A-to-Z, which incorporates other aspects of raising a litter as well. Part of these protocols is allowing for positive experiences to happen with us, and continued with you, that will shape their behavior when they are adults. Our puppies stay with us until they are 8-9 weeks old, depending on when their families are available to pick them up! Not only is that Pennsylvania state law, but we also believe that they need to stay with us to develop learned behaviors from their mother and the rest of our pack.

Our puppies are very active! Lets face it, Dalmatians are bred to trot 20-25 miles a day, how could they not have drive! Whether that be a prey drive or drive to compete in obedience, dock diving, DCA road trials or sent work, they are ready for whatever you have planned for them next! I always say they they need to have a job because they are very intelligent dogs. It doesn’t matter if that job is to do some Coursing Ability Test Trials or show off their tricks at a party, but they will be ready when you are!

We do not ship our puppies, so you would have to drive or fly in and take the puppy back in the cabin with you, if you are not within driving distance.

This is a typical day here at our house!

Kimber with squirrel number 1 of 3
After a long days work hunting rodents in the woods.
Tripp with yet another 1 AM Rabbit

Pleas note, that we do not teach our dogs to hunt, they do it by instinct.

If you have any questions or concerns about what you can expect from us please do not hesitate to get reach out to us.

WHAT WE EXPECT FROM YOU!

First and foremost we expect that you will provide one of our puppies with a loving home. Although we do encourage all of our new puppy parents to compete in some American Kennel Club events, it is not mandatory for you to be chosen to have one of our pups. In fact, most of our puppies that go to their new homes do not compete in in any AKC events!

We do not require that our puppies go to homes that are close to the Pittsburgh area as we are simply more concerned with them finding the perfect home that they will thrive in. (COVID is making the task of placing puppies hard and some families will simply not be able to get here to pick up their puppy if they are offered one.)

We would like for our puppies to go through basic obedience classes that will help you shape your puppy into being all that they can be. Although you may already know the basics, the environment is the key to learned behaviors! Training in a positive manner is the best way for you to get the most out of your puppy in the long run. Training doesn’t happen overnight and takes a lot of patience and time to make puppies well behaved!

– Quick Tip: Clicker training from a young age works wonders! –

We expect for you to make sure that your Dal has enough mental and physical exercise. Many Dalmatian’s brains will get board easily as they are very smart. That is why they should be given brain games on top of physical exercise.

– Quick Tip: Treat toys/brain games can change your life! –

Having the proper nutrition for your puppy is essential for the quality of life that you can provide. We don’t require for you to feed a certain food, but we are always happy to help you find a high quality food that will work best for your puppy. We try to stay away from any type of byproduct or meat meal and gear towards quality proteins. A lot of dog foods use peas, garbanzo beans, and lentils as fillers that are not the best for any dog breed. HUA Dalmatians should be kept on a diet low in amino acid purines and given large drinks of water throughout the day while LUA Dalmatians can eat and drink like any other breed of dog. Too learn more about the LUA Backcross Project, check out our page dedicated to Dr. Robert Schaible’s work!

Dalmatians are naturally guard dogs and like to try to test their human parents when they start into adolescence, and sometimes before that time, to see what they can get away with. We do everything that we can to stop any type of resource guarding or behavioral issues as young puppies, but that will all need to be continued on with their new families as well, while the puppy is growing up and into adulthood just as you would with any breed of dog. This is called Conditioned Emotional Response (CER) and is very important to remember while socializing and raising puppies in general. The best way to describe this is if you just tell your dog to sit without teaching and conditioning them the basics first, they will be confused as to what you are wanting from them and the behavior that you are trying to create or prevent. The best book that we have found that we use for the puppies and suggest that every dog owner read, is Mine! by Jean Donaldson. We like it because the author is very good at explaining how dogs think as their brains work very differently than humans do.

Although we understand that it is not for everyone, we require that you wait to spay/neuter your puppy until after they are 18 months old. We strongly believe that they need these hormones to grow properly and decrease the chances of major health issues.

This article on when to sexually alter your dog is a summed up version of the full research done on our four-legged friends.

If you have any questions or concerns about what we expect from you, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us.

All of our puppies are priced at $2,500 for show and pet puppies as they are all raised with he same upbringing.