UPCOMING LITTERS

FALL DALMATIAN COLLECTION

I have some that I held back from the current 2026 litter. I will consider a local guardian home for a person or family that will follow my training protocols and will go to classes or show.

There are also strict policies for guardian homes around food and medicines, and you must be totally compliant. Training classes and events or showing are probably necessary dependent on your training level. I need my guardian dogs to represent excellence in every way. Their price is representative of your expected contribution, level of commitment, excellence, and follow through and varies with each situation. If you have been a successful helper in the past, then your fee goes down considerably, and you will be my first call when I have more. This is a partnership of sorts built on trust, but you have to earn it - demonstrated over time. What I really need is a social butterfly who loves to show or event as I can't do it all and teamwork makes the dream work you know.

2027 TBD

REDUCED FEE OPTIONS

*We may have some young girls that didn't work out for the program looking for homes

* Guardian homes living near Roanoke VA on a foster to own program allowing me to use them for breeding for a few years

*Show homes or Co-owns between other breeders living nearby giving you possible breeding rights after my requirement is filled

 Supply list for purchase before pickup:

*Food:  Purina Pro Plan chicken and rice - All life stages 26/16 is what I use. PLEASE DON'T CHANGE FOOD IMMEDIATELY WHEN YOU GET HOME. THEY WILL BE STRESSED FROM THE MOVE AND MAY NOT EAT IN THE FIRST 24 HOURS, THIS DOESN'T MEAN THEY DON'T LIKE THE FOOD. ONE CHANGE AT A TIME. GRADUALLY MIX IN NEW FOOD AND FADE OUT OLD FOOD IF YOU WANT TO SWITCH BRANDS OVER THE COURSE OF A WEEK or two at a rate of 10% - 20% per day.

Potty training 101

 You have many choices for potty training including crate training with a strict potty schedule or a small pen with a doggy door to the outside is a great option. While using the doggy door is great for in the future you should still do the leash to the spot method for a while in order to utilize treats parties after successful potty to cement the training all the more quickly in their early programming. They are accustomed to outside with pine bedding or straw as well as a 4x4 pen with a pine pellet or crumble or flake litter pan. If you just want them to go outside from the start transition them using a thin layer of animal bedding pine pellets (not fuel pellets) on the area in the yard you want them to go potty and just go to this one spot for your potty training. While you probably don't absolutely need the assist it is helpful to use smell and feel association to make training go quicker. You should maintain this routine for the first few months when you get home for the best potty-training success. They will associate the feel on their feet and the smell of the pellets, which are also great for smell reduction in home use (never use clay kitty litter).

Potty training when you get home

  DAILY POTTY TRAINING SCHEDULE:

AGE RANGE: practice for the first 2 months for any new dog - young or old

MORNING ROUTINE:

6:00–7:00 AM   Wake → Immediate Potty Trip

               • Quiet praise + small treat

               • Short play session

7:00 AM        Breakfast

7:05 AM        Potty Trip (after eating)

7:10–8:00 AM   Play + Training + Supervised Freedom

7:45–8:00 AM   Potty Trip

8:00–10:00 AM  Nap (crate or sleep zone)

MIDDAY ROUTINE:

10:00 AM       Wake → Potty Trip

10:05–11:00 AM Play + Enrichment

10:45–11:00 AM Potty Trip

12:00 PM       Lunch

12:05 PM       Potty Trip

12:15–1:00 PM  Calm play + crate games

12:45–1:00 PM  Potty Trip

1:00–3:00 PM   Nap

AFTERNOON ROUTINE:

3:00 PM        Wake → Potty Trip

3:05–4:00 PM   Play + Training

3:45–4:00 PM   Potty Trip

5:00 PM        Dinner

5:05 PM        Potty Trip

5:15–6:00 PM   Light play + supervised freedom

5:45–6:00 PM   Potty Trip

EVENING ROUTINE:

7:00 PM        Calm activities (chews, snuggles)

7:45–8:00 PM   Potty Trip

8:00–10:00 PM  Wind‑down, crate time, quiet household

9:45–10:00 PM  Final Potty Trip

OVERNIGHT:

• Most puppies sleep 6–8 hours

• No water after 8 PM unless medically needed

• If puppy wakes: straight to potty, no play

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GENERAL RULES

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• Potty every 30–45 minutes during awake time

• Potty immediately after: waking, eating, playing

• No corrections for accidents

• Enzymatic cleaner only will remove the scent for the dog, vinegar removes it for people - not dogs.

• Calm praise + small treat for correct potty

• Freedom is earned as reliability increases

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Use close supervision indoors and expand freedom slowly to avoid rehearsing accidents. 

Puppies are often mostly house-trained as long as the space is small enough. They naturally try not to soil their bed or den area, but they do not yet understand that the dining room, guest room, or space behind the couch is part of that same shared space.

Outdoor training is often ideal when practical.

If you feed and water them then put them in a crate before it's had time to come out, they will have accidents - you fill it up it will come out. It is highly likely you aren't giving them enough time to fully potty multiple times before coming in. They will tell you they want to come in after 2 minutes but you must allow them to relax and it is likely their bowels will relax, this could take 15 minutes. If you hurry then when they come back in the house you may find they were so excited outside that they didn't eliminate completely and will relax in the house and realize there is more where that came from.

If Using Potty Pads

Replace pads often and use more than one if needed. Many puppies will avoid a soiled pad and choose the floor, couch, or bed instead. They also tend to prefer a potty area that offers a little privacy. As the rule goes that cats require one more litter box than the number of cats in the house, so it goes one more potty pad per dog is required at minimum to avoid refusal due to a soiled pad and since they urinated on one and pooed on the other that is only one potty visit taking up two pads so if you expect more potties then provide more pads - you pee more than once in 8 hours and they certainly will too. 

Cleaning Accidents

Use an enzyme cleaner to remove odor and reduce repeat accidents. Vinegar alone is usually not enough, and ammonia-based cleaners can smell like urine to dogs. You must use dawn dish soap and hot water to scrub up fecal oils before the enzyme cleaner is allowed to set and air dry for a minimum of 10 minutes to an hour.

Training Principles

A few simple principles can make training clearer and more consistent:

• What you reward / release is what you teach.

• What is practiced will be repeated, for better or worse.

• Keep training simple, short, and positive.

If you do not want a behavior in the adult dog, do not allow it in the puppy. It is much easier to prevent habits than to undo them later.

Food Safety: Foods to Avoid

Some foods are toxic to dogs and can cause serious illness, organ damage, or death.

Avoid:

• grapes and raisins,

• caffeine,

• chocolate, especially dark chocolate,

• xylitol, and

• large amounts of tomato sauce, garlic, or onions, which can cause stomach upset.

If your dog eats a toxic substance or shows concerning symptoms, contact your veterinarian or an animal poison control resource immediately.

Limit table food. Some spices such as spices in pumpkin pie and large quantities of very high-fat foods such as fat trimmings off of meat or large quantities of cheese in potatoes au gratin or other similar holiday foods can cause digestive upset and may contribute to pancreatitis or diabetes. The quantity is by body weight so what is okay for you isn't always okay for them. Ask your veterinarian for feeding guidance that fits your dog.

Introducing a New Puppy to Other Pets

Give your resident pets time and space to adjust to the new puppy. For the first week or two, use baby gates or exercise pens to allow safe visual and scent-based introductions before allowing closer interaction.

Preventing Resource Guarding

During the adjustment period, keep food, favorite toys, and chews separate to help prevent tension or guarding between pets. If you have a resource guarding situation a good exercise is to give that dog an even better upgraded treat as you trade out the other one twice a day. 

Puppy Class, Recall, and Leash Walking

Puppy Class

Choose a positive, well-managed puppy class and focus more on confidence and calm participation than on perfect performance. If your puppy shows stress, step out early and let them recover.

Build Recall Early

Pair your recall cue with rewards often, starting indoors with very few distractions. In open areas or off-leash settings, use especially valuable rewards and avoid repeating the cue if you cannot reinforce it. For any command it is useful to wait for opportunities when they are already doing it then name and reward it. Relaxing quietly - reward, running towards you - say 'come' and reward, already sitting - say 'sit' and reward. Observation and seizing an opportunity is the key to easy training.

Leash Walking

Start early and prevent pulling from becoming a habit. When the leash tightens, calmly change direction and reward your puppy for returning to you or creating slack in the line. Keep sessions brief and engaging 3-5 minutes tops.

Training and Grooming

DALMATIAN

Excerpt from the Dalmatian Club: "Dalmatians should be given basic training. They are intelligent and need a structured outlet for their busy brains. Often new owners begin training their puppy for good citizenship and end up happily involved in competition sports that the agile and intelligent Dalmatian enjoys so much. Socialization of young Dalmatians is very important. By exposing the puppy to new places, new faces and a variety of different experiences, he will be more settled and sociable, and a social Dal is a happy Dal—one who will be a true ambassador for the breed.

Grooming: Clean by nature, Dalmatians are one of the few breeds that groom themselves and have none of the odor common to other dogs. Even when you stroke their extremely soft coat, your hand will still smell fresh. Dals do shed year-round, but a little bit of regular brushing helps to minimize this. A bath three to four times a year is usually enough, and breeders discourage frequent bathing, as soap removes the natural oil that keeps the coat in good condition; in addition, a dry coat means an itchy coat. Toenails should be trimmed weekly....

The Dalmatian also has the genetic predisposition to develop bladder stones. Because “blockage” with a stone is potentially life threatening, it must be treated as an emergency. Proper (low purine) diet (i.e., no venison, red meat, duck, sardines, etc.), plentiful clean water and frequent opportunities to urinate can limit the possibility of occurrence. We now know that reaching physical maturity before neutering is an important component in helping to prevent blockages, and The Dalmatian Club of America strongly urges waiting to neuter the boys until dalmatians celebrate at least their first birthday if not 18 months. Females' anatomy makes them less likely to have a problem passing stones.

Link: Meet-the-Breed-HandOut.docx from the Dalmatian Club of America

Dalmatian Puppy Care & Training Guide

This guide shares practical, general tips and is not a substitute for veterinary advice. For medical concerns or emergencies, contact your veterinarian or an emergency clinic.

Training Resources

• Training resources available through Good Dog, if that is where you purchased your dog

• Training resources that may be included through Continental Kennel Club registration and related benefits

• Podcasts such as Puppy Culture Potluck and The Puppy Training Podcast

Grooming & First-Aid Basics

• Use a grooming stone that can be found in the horse section (my favorite), or rubber grooming glove for de-shedding = circular motion - wax on wax off style in the direction of the hair growth, since longer-tooth de-shedding tools do not work as well on short, slick coats and harsher curry combs can be uncomfortable on their skin.

• Start nail grinding early to keep them SHORT and keep sessions short, even if you only do one toe at a time, while rewarding often... maybe belly rub time puts their nails in an easily accessible location. Don't get greedy - don't end in a struggle, stop before the struggle.

*Do not turn nail care into a struggle. Slow, steady progress helps prevent long-term resistance.

When to Call the Vet

If head shaking causes bleeding inside the ear flap or canal, seek veterinary care to reduce the risk of scarring and long-term ear problems (think boxers cauliflower ear). If the bleeding is limited to the ear tips, a styptic product such as Super Clot may help control it.

Emergency: Possible Bloat (GDV)

Seek emergency veterinary care immediately if your dog is retching without producing anything, the abdomen is enlarging, or your dog suddenly appears distressed.

This is time-sensitive. Do not wait until morning. Even a short delay can matter once travel time and waiting-room time are included.

Simethicone (gas drops or strips) may be used as a brief stop-gap while leaving for the emergency clinic, but it does not replace urgent veterinary treatment, this is not the time to worry about a few hundred dollars - this is life and death- like now. Simple stress can cause this dire situation, do not allow fast eating as well. Add 2 parts water to make the kibble like a cereal bowl / bobbing for apples to slow down eating as well as prevent dehydration thus urinary stones. Some do two meals a day instead of one, personally I just do one meal but like to scatter the dinner kibble one handful at a time thus slowing down the process and eliminating gastric upset, this is us time, creating an unconscious association with me that helps in training as well. You can also use feeding time as training time using the kibble to ask for behaviors or actions. It takes 30 minutes, if I want to be lazy I just scatter from my chair and it's still valuable bonding time... they look at me then get a scatter - attention pays, if they sit they get a scatter, four paws on the ground greeting- scatter, try a few simple tricks - scatter. If you do no other activities with them that day this is the bare minimum of attention they need daily.

Chewing & Household Safety

• Keep plastic items out of reach, including earbuds, remotes, plastic house parts, jacket pieces, and flea collars on other pets.

• Offer durable enrichment when you are away, such as frozen meals in kefir, low sodium broth, or pure pumpkin puree placed in sturdy containers like aluminum muffin tins (not disposable aluminum but thick chef grade baking materials - no rusty flaking materials and no silicone).

*Avoid chews that splinter or become sharp with strong jaws, such as yak cheese, beef ribs, or smaller knuckles... the size of a very large mans fist is probably big enough. Choose thicker, sturdier options that can be safely stuffed and frozen.