but with a slight rise to the top of the shoulders and the loin of modern length, powerful and slightly arched, with the group falling slightly to the base of the tail. Comparing these two toplines, they both describe the loin as slightly arched. Th e Dalmatian should never have a slight rise from the croup to the top of the shoulders. Th is is typical of the Pointer. Th e Pointer’s croup should fall slightly to the base of the tail. Th e croup is not men- tioned in the Dalmatian standard, but it does state that the tail should not be set too low down. A low tail set on a Dalma- tian is a fault. Th e Dalmatian’s chest should not be too wide, but very deep and capacious, ribs well sprung, but never rounded (indi- cating want of speed). Th e Dalmatian’s function does not require speed, but long, hard hours of endurance. Th e Point’s chest is deep and must not hinder the strong leg action by being too wide; the breastbone bold, without being unduly prominent; the ribs well-sprung, descending as low as the elbow. Th e Dalmatian’s and Point- er’s chest does not di ff er that much, but both breeds state the same faults: narrow- chested, shallow and shelly. Too wide a chest is a fault, as this results in being out at the elbows and barreled ribs. Th e Dalmatian is a squarely built animal without appearing leggy. Both these breeds when too fine boned, with their chests narrow and not reaching to the elbow accompanied with a relatively extreme tuck-up as a Greyhound will give the appearance of being leggy even though they may measure square. Th ese are faults in both breeds. Legs and feet are most important in the Dalmatian as a running dog. Th e Dalmatian’s forelegs should be straight, strong and heavy in bone, yet not coarse or lumbery. Th e elbows should be tucked close to the body. Crooked and bow legs, out at the elbows, accompanied with coarse bone, hinders his running ability. Compact feet with well-arched toes and elastic pads, joining the proper foreleg is a great asset to the running Dalmatian. Flat feet are a major fault. Th e Dalmatian with thin pads and weak or too-straight pasterns could not function properly over rough terrain and would tire easily. Th e Pointer’s forelegs are to be straight. He must have oval bone of the proper strength, giving him the ability to work
“THE COLOR AND MARKINGS OF THE DALMATIAN ARE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE, COUNTING FOR ONE-QUARTER OF THE STANDARD’S SCALE OF 100 POINTS.”
in the field. Coarse, fine or spindly bones do not give him strength. Heavy bone in a Pointer is a fault. But heavy bone which is not coarse or lumbery is desired in a Dalmatian. Th e Pointer’s elbows are well let down, directly under the with- ers. Th is description of the elbow place- ment describes the proper angulation of the front assembly, which would be most important to the well-defined Pointer’s front action and function. Th e pasterns should be of moderate length, not long and sloping, nor short and straight. Th ey should be perceptibly finer in bone than the leg and slightly slanting, giving him spring and grace. His feet are oval, well- padded and deep to withstand the stub- bles and stones in the rough fields. Th e toes are long, arched and closely set. Cat feet and splay feet, thin pads and soft pads are faults. Th e properly constructed fore- legs of the Pointer give him the free action that is desired to function in the field as a hunting dog. Th e Dalmatian’s hind legs must be clean with well defined muscles. His hocks are well let down. Over-developed muscles (muscle bound) do not have the elasticity or freedom of movement. Cow hocks are a major fault. Th ey are weak and have no endurance. Stifles are not mentioned in the Dal- matian standard, but we assume what they should be because of other descrip- tive parts of the standard. We assume they should be neither straight nor over- angulated because neither construction would contribute to the steady rhythm
of “1, 2, 3, 4” with drive that is required. Th is gait is a characteristic of the Dalma- tian’s breed type, which points out that his function is to run many miles with a steady, even gait, showing endurance without tiring. Th e Pointer’s hindquarters are mus- cular and powerful with great propelling leverage, thighs long and well-developed, remind us that the Pointer must leap, twist and turn while functioning in the field, quite unlike the Dalmatian. Th e Pointer’s long and well-developed thighs, with a well developed stifles, are a mark of power and endurance. Joined by clean and parallel hocks gives him strength and movability. Pointers are seen in liver, lemon, black and orange; either in combination with white or solid colored. A liver Pointer can- not be a bad color. Th is is quite opposite to the Dalmatian. Th e color and markings of the Dalma- tian are of great importance, counting for one-quarter of the standard’s scale of 100 points. Th e ground color in both the black and liver spotted is always pure white. the spots should be round and evenly distrib- uted over the body. Th e spots on the head, ears, legs and tail are to be smaller than those on the body. Spots that are adjacent to each other and ticking that is smaller than a dime are undesirable. Patches, tri- colors and any markings other than black or liver are a disqualification. It is interesting to note that Dalziel’s book on “British Dogs”, 1889, mentions Dalmatian of many colors. He describes
220 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , S EPTEMBER 2014
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