Dalmatian Health & Wellness

Each purebred dog breed is prone to specific health issues. As much testing as we do to ensure our dogs are as healthy as possible prior to breeding, there are several health issues you must be aware of before bringing a Dalmatian into your home. This should not scare you, but give you peace of mind and a state of preparedness if any of the warning signs of this issue should come up. The sooner you catch these issues, the sooner you can fix the issue!

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Hyperuricosuria

Hyperuricosuria is a condition where the body excretes too much uric acid in the urine. This can lead to the formation of uric acid or calcium oxalate stones in the kidneys and bladder. These stones can be small and pass in the urine, but they can also become too large to pass and block the urinary tract.

Copper Storage Disease

Copper Storage Disease, also known as copper - associated hepatopathy, is a condition that occurs when the body has too much copper. This can be caused by a genetic inherited mutation, or by eating a diet with too much copper.

More about Hyperuricosuria

Commonly referred to as an HUA Dalmatian, Hyperuricosuria is caused by the HUU gene. This gene is one that all Dalmatians used to have. In 1973, Dr. Robert Schaible commenced the Dalmatian Backcross Project. Dr. Schaible took an AKC-registered Dalmatian dam (Lady Godiva) and bred her to an AKC-registered English Pointer (CH Shandown's Rapid Transit). The project's goals were to identify dogs with hyperuricosuria, transfer desirable traits from the English Pointer to the Dalmatian, with the main goal of producing Dalmatians who do not carry and/or are not affected by the HUU gene. These Dalmatian x EP crosses were then bred back to Dalmatians to reestablish the breed type that was lost in the outcross, while still maintaining their non-affected status. In July of 2021, the AKC Board of Directors voted unanimously to accept descendants of the Dalmatian - Pointer Backcross project into the AKC studbook. In short, this means that the AKC will register these dogs as purebred Dalmatians, and are recognized now by the acronym, LUA. All of the Dalmatians I am currently using in my program are HUA Dalmatians. When an HUA Dalmatian is bred to another HUA Dalmatian, all of the puppies in the litter will be HUA Dalmatians, therefore, carrying the HUU gene. At this point, all of my puppy buyers must be aware of stone prevention tactics, and the signs of stone forming and blocking.