Yes! Dalmatians are medium sized dogs that easily adapt to living in apartments. We know many dalmatians owners who are apartment dwellers.

Keep in mind that they do need their outdoor daily activity time - a walk, a run, a playdate or a training session all help satisfy their needs.

Once they burn off some of their energy, they will happily settle at home.

Convenience of having a house with a backyard for occasional potty breaks is undeniable, but that’s goes for any other breed.

Yes - but with a few caveats.

If you're considering a Dalmatian as your very first dog, it’s not just the puppy who will be learning the basics - you will too. Being a dog owner means learning how to properly raise, train, and socialize your dog.

We strongly recommend enrolling in a puppy training class or dog school. It’s a great way to learn how dogs think and react, how they develop habits, how to set clear boundaries, and how to train them effectively.

These skills will be invaluable for years to come and will help both you and your dog enjoy a happy, fulfilling life together. In fact, we recommend puppy classes even for experienced owners, as they’re also an excellent opportunity to begin socializing your puppy from an early age.

The bottom line is that the time and energy you invest during your puppy’s early development will pay dividends in the long run. We want our dogs to go to dedicated, loving, and responsible owners who will enjoy everything this incredible breed has to offer for many years to come.

That said, we also want to be realistic about what it means to own a dog - any dog. You need to be prepared to commit the time, effort, and consistency required to make a dog part of your daily life.

If you're unsure whether a Dalmatian is the right fit for you, feel free to send us a message. We'd be happy to talk through the details and help you decide whether this breed is a good match for your lifestyle.

Yes, they can!

Our Pika is totally fine staying at home alone, for 6-7 hours. We work from home, so we don’t really have a need to leave her alone for longer, but we still got her used to the fact that occasionally she will be alone.

What’s important is to ease your puppy over time into staying alone. We started early, simply by leaving the house for a moment and then returning and rewarding her, extending the time away little by little. This helps preventing separation anxiety, which is something many puppies struggle with.

Most dogs aren’t really afraid of being left alone. They’re afraid you won’t come back. Your goal is to teach them over time that not only are you coming be back - it’s going to be awesome when you do!

When we started this part of training, a huge help was having a home camera that allowed us to see how she reacts to being alone. When we’d leave, we’d also limit the access to just the hallway.

This also helped us eliminate any temptations for destructive behavior. We have gone through the puppy phase with zero damage to our home - no chewed up shoes, no furniture damaged, no potty accidents and no major issues to mention.

Nowdays when we leave, our Pika will settle in her doggy bed and sleep, even though she has full house access.

Another important consideration is to take care of your dogs needs before leaving the home. A nice walk, a good meal and some snuggle time before leaving will massively help your dog accept that you’ll be gone for a while.

Dalmatians are medium sized dogs but, their adult size can vary depending on multitude of factors - mainly genetics, but also food, especially at early age.

Males are usually bigger and beefier than females, which tend to have a slimmer and more feminine profile. Weight wise, males average around 30-35kg, while females are 23-28kg.

This said, we have seen both male and female dalmatians that are significantly both under and over these ranges.

If there is one thing universal for all Dalmatians, it’s that kids adore them.

They are a staple of children’s toys, movies and cartoons and you will often hear excited “Marshall” or “Pongo” or simply “Look mom, a Dalmatian”.

Dalmatians have a cheerful and happy nature and enjoy attention, so it’s a match made in heaven. But, you do need to make sure early interactions go well.

This is why we recommend exposing your puppy to children in a controlled environment, making sure both your dog and the kids have a great time. Early exposure to well behaved children will set your puppy up for a lifetime of positive interactions.

We’ve done this by allowing controlled interactions with children during walks, taking Pika along to family gatherings and eventually even to children’s birthdays. Today, kids birthday parties are one of her favorite activities and we are always expected to bring her along - to everyone’s delight.

Pika has also been incredibly gentle even when interacting with babies, adapting her behavior and play style and showing a great understanding that a baby is not the same thing as a child. We’ve watched her patiently bring the ball and gently place it into a baby’s hand, we’ve seen her lay down and let babies crawl all over her.

All of this said, Dalmatians are bigger than children, so we recommend always paying attention to avoid having kids knocked down during playtime.

We want to say no, since our Pika is an incredibly quiet dog, but honestly - it’s a lottery.

Generally, Dalmatians are not known to be very vocal dogs, and you can expect a reasonable amount of usual dog sounds. They will alert you if someone’s at the door, if they notice an unusual sound or activity around the home, or they may let off a happy bark when you come back.

Pika is almost completely silent. She never barks at people, dogs, cats, birds, cars etc. We get a woof or two when someone rings the doorbell. She does sometimes “talk”, usually when she meets someone familiar and she’ll make a deep “whooooo” sound.

This said, we really can’t make any guarantees since you as an owner will also play a part in this. Proper socialization and training can make a big difference in how much they bark. Insufficient exercise or mental stimulation can lead to nuisance barking. If you satisfy their daily needs, you shouldn’t expect issues with barking.

Throughout their history, Dalmatians led a highly active, travel-oriented lifestyle. They not only ran alongside horse-drawn carriages but often rode on them as well, so it's no surprise that they generally take to car rides with ease.

Still, before taking them on longer journeys, it's best to introduce car rides gradually. Short, positive trips over an extended period will help your Dalmatian become comfortable with the unfamiliar sights, sounds, and sensations of travelling by car.

Pika will get herself comfortable and sleep for hours in a car. No barking, no whining, no moving about, no motion sickness. She’s a great car-travel dog!

While people rarely travel by horse these days, Dalmatians still have a strong instinct to trot alongside their companions. They'll be perfectly happy to accompany their owner on a bicycle, making it a great way to satisfy their natural desire to keep pace.

Keep in mind that puppies and young dogs should not be taken on long runs until they are at least one year old. This helps prevent unnecessary strain on their developing bones and joints while they are still growing.

Yes! One of the unique breed characteristics is smiling!

A happy and excited Dalmatian will sometimes pull back their lips and expose their teeth in a huge grin, as a part of their greeting ritual or a sign of excitement. This is known as a submissive grin, where a dog will pull back its lips and show teeth as a friendly, non-threatening gesture.

Dalmatian smile will be accompanied by a wagging tail, wiggly body, playful demeanor and relaxed ears. Some Dalmatians do it all the time, others save smiles only for their closest humans.

If you see it happen, enjoy the show!

Many owners report that their Dalmatians seem unusually interested in meeting other Dalmatians.

We have the same experience!

While it’s impossible to prove this definitively, it does seem that they are able to visually recognize other spotted dogs and favor them more than others.

Also, owners usually get excited when they see other Dalmatians and dogs are remarkably good at picking up on human reactions, so this could be playing a role as well.

Puppies will be raised in our home, not in a kennel. They will be placed in a custom built whelping box and monitored 24/7. We work from home and will be fully dedicated to them for the first 10 weeks.

Since the puppies will be raised in our home, we will start socialization early, exposing them to the usual house sounds, human voices and touches, TV noises, music and house appliance noises, different surfaces, outdoors (in our controlled fenced off back yard) etc. As they grow, we will also start getting them used to car rides and introducing them to various other experiences.

We live in an urban setting, so they will naturally be exposed to city noises such as sirens, cars, garbage trucks and so on.

Mother will be with them at all times and you will be able to meet her.

We are not a puppy mill. We have just one female and she gets all of our attention. She is healthy and in top physical shape.

She has a full hearing +/+ BAER test certificate, HD-A hip rating issued by Veterinary faculty in Zagreb (highest rating), a full DNA panel done with no hereditary diseases and a breeding permit issues by Croatian kennel club.

She comes from a renowned Croatian kennel, with national, international and even world champions in her family tree. Selected stud companion comes from equally impressive Croatian line, with confirmed compatibility and genetic diversity between the two.

We have passed all required breeder education courses, we are registered as breeders in both HKS and FCI and our female is registered in Croatian national pet registry database Lysacan.

After mating, she will be under regular veterinary supervision throughout the pregnancy. She’s been on ultra high quality dog food throughout her life and her diet will be adjusted according to professional guidance.

Puppies will be regularly checked by a vet and a breeding manager from our kennel club. They will be micro chipped, dewormed and fully vaccinated according to vaccination schedule.

All puppies will have their BAER hearing test done and the certificates will be provided along with the full FCI-recognized HKS pedigree documentation.

New owners will receive a written purchase contract which they will use to transfer the ownership of the puppy to their name.

In case you missed it - we are obsessed with Dalmatians. We want to know everything about the progress of the puppies, see their photos and videos, celebrate their milestones and provide all tips, tricks and advice to any prospect owner.

We fully understand that getting a puppy is a big deal and that fresh owners will inevitably have questions. Our goal is to provide you with long-term support and help out in any way we can. You will get our contacts and we will be available for any questions you may have.

We will also be happy to meet up in person down the line!

Our Pika has about 500 of them! And new ones keep showing up…

Dalmatian puppies are born completely white, the spots appear only a few weeks after birth.

Dalmatians can have black or brown (liver) colored spots. Yellow spots or multi-colored spots are considered undesirable and are against the breed standard.

Spots are not just on the coat - the skin beneath the coat follows the same spotting pattern. They also have spots in the roof of their mouth and sometimes they’ll have one or more black nails with the others being transparent.

High contrast of white base color and black or brown spots is a desirable feature. It’s also appreciated when the spots are clearly defined and aesthetically distributed all over their body.

Some dalmatians have more spots, while others have less. Some have more spots on their face, others have predominantly white faces. Sometimes spots form heart shapes or Mickey Mouse shapes. The main thing is that every dalmatian has a one of a kind unique spotting pattern!