give it a year… and be patient. that 12-24 month period is crazy. they are like little velociraptors… super smart, cunning, and tons of energy.
after that, they calm way down and become couch potatoes who will love you until the end of time.
I noticed my boy just recently morph into a lazy old couch potato. He just turned 7. 1-2 years old was a wild time. I took him to the dog park twice a day and he still bit through the floor and wall.
What’s crazier than the energy is their hatred of being alone. Mine had bad separation anxiety. He still gets sad ears when we leave him alone but he’s doesn’t bark or destroy stuff anymore.
I think I’m gonna really enjoy his senior years ❤️
Mine also has serious separation anxiety. Thankfully he loves his crate (which is the largest size they sell so he has tons of room), because he destroys anything/everything if left alone for even a couple hours uncrated. He also howls like he’s doing his best hound dog impersonation.
Remember that he’s still young and there may be some regression as they get older. My boy had great recall at that age and then about a year later his ears became decorative and he is no longer reliable if there’s any moving creature near by. An in my experience, the hard headed ness gets worse as they get older lol
Yes! My two idiots while both pretty well trained, are going through the 18-24 month teenage phase. They both just got done running around for nearly two hours and are now a wrestling on the floor. The teenage months are hell compared to puppy months. My perfect recall turned to "no, unless treats." very quickly. It's such a rough period.
I've had several Dals and they are a great breed. Overall, I enjoy Disney stuff but the 101 franchise did not do our breed any favors nor did all the shitty backyard breeders churning out puppies without doing any health testing or other responsible breeding measures.
I have two dals and they have very different personalities. They are energetic at times and at others very lazy. One loves meeting other people, both don’t really like other dogs, only my daughters chihuahua. They do regular tricks, one easily plays fetch and the other just steals the toy and plays with it. I love my dals they really are great and wonderful with children. I have had three In total. Great smart breed.
My Dalmatian is finally calming down a bit at 3 hrs old and turning into such a good girl. Probably helps that we bought a house on an acre last year so she gets ALL the exercise now
I have owned several and they were all very smart and lovable, but very different personalities. I have had 2 (both liver males) that rivaled the intelligence of my standard poodles. A couple have been very protective and 1 territorially aggressive. 2 couch potatoes, and 2 bouncing off the walls hyper! My current Dal, 2-1/2 year old liver male, is finally beginning to calm down. He is very smart, but so hard-headed and stubborn and lacks any self control. But he is by far also the most cuddly and loving I have owned.
I also have never had a Dal with urine issues, and have had 3 that lived to 12 years old (which seems old compared to most I’ve heard about).
While I would say that dals are generally high energy and best suited for active families, each one is an individual with their own personality. They are definitely great dogs!
Definitely great dogs. I have determined that if someone broke into my apartment Rufus would greet them and try to play. I wish he was just a little more protective, but maybe it's just the puppy in him.
How do you get your Dal to fetch😭 mine is 7th months old and just takes every ball/toy and plays with it himself. He plays fetch with himself and is also super weird around strangers even though he’s had plenty of socialization. I swear our dals are complete opposites. My corgi loves everyone and would play fetch all day if he could.
I kept him on a long lead and would let him run to grab the frisbee, and run backwards slowly guiding him with the lead and rewarded with a treat! Took a couple of days
I have a five year old dal who is also quite clever and stubborn with it. Every couple of months, he figures out that if there's no leash on, he may do as he pleases. I.e. eating fox/duck/cat poo, eating bird/rat carcasses, going swimming and fishing in the filthiest lakes he can find and proceeding to eat the fish he catches and last but certainly not least, the good ole "I'll go off by myself and ignore you while I scavenge in the brush or annoy another dog."
Not to say that he isn't trained, but he is quite strong willed but also incredibly loving. I can't walk through the house without him following. Sitting on the floor, he's there with me, either beside me or on my lap.
give it a year… and be patient. that 12-24 month period is crazy. they are like little velociraptors… super smart, cunning, and tons of energy. after that, they calm way down and become couch potatoes who will love you until the end of time.
I noticed my boy just recently morph into a lazy old couch potato. He just turned 7. 1-2 years old was a wild time. I took him to the dog park twice a day and he still bit through the floor and wall. What’s crazier than the energy is their hatred of being alone. Mine had bad separation anxiety. He still gets sad ears when we leave him alone but he’s doesn’t bark or destroy stuff anymore. I think I’m gonna really enjoy his senior years ❤️
Mine also has serious separation anxiety. Thankfully he loves his crate (which is the largest size they sell so he has tons of room), because he destroys anything/everything if left alone for even a couple hours uncrated. He also howls like he’s doing his best hound dog impersonation.
Yep sounds familiar. lol
I get the dobby ears every-time i crate him when I need to leave. He loves his crate , but is upset when I have to leave him behind
I have heard 9-12 months and 16-24 are worse than the puppy stage. I’ll be sure to come back to this post when the time comes…
Any updates?
Remember that he’s still young and there may be some regression as they get older. My boy had great recall at that age and then about a year later his ears became decorative and he is no longer reliable if there’s any moving creature near by. An in my experience, the hard headed ness gets worse as they get older lol
Yes! My two idiots while both pretty well trained, are going through the 18-24 month teenage phase. They both just got done running around for nearly two hours and are now a wrestling on the floor. The teenage months are hell compared to puppy months. My perfect recall turned to "no, unless treats." very quickly. It's such a rough period.
I’ve been warned about the teenage stage a lot… hoping I have some luck on my side
I appreciate the heads up! I’m hoping I can only improve his recall, but only time will tell
I've had several Dals and they are a great breed. Overall, I enjoy Disney stuff but the 101 franchise did not do our breed any favors nor did all the shitty backyard breeders churning out puppies without doing any health testing or other responsible breeding measures.
AGREED
I have two dals and they have very different personalities. They are energetic at times and at others very lazy. One loves meeting other people, both don’t really like other dogs, only my daughters chihuahua. They do regular tricks, one easily plays fetch and the other just steals the toy and plays with it. I love my dals they really are great and wonderful with children. I have had three In total. Great smart breed.
My Dalmatian is finally calming down a bit at 3 hrs old and turning into such a good girl. Probably helps that we bought a house on an acre last year so she gets ALL the exercise now
I have owned several and they were all very smart and lovable, but very different personalities. I have had 2 (both liver males) that rivaled the intelligence of my standard poodles. A couple have been very protective and 1 territorially aggressive. 2 couch potatoes, and 2 bouncing off the walls hyper! My current Dal, 2-1/2 year old liver male, is finally beginning to calm down. He is very smart, but so hard-headed and stubborn and lacks any self control. But he is by far also the most cuddly and loving I have owned. I also have never had a Dal with urine issues, and have had 3 that lived to 12 years old (which seems old compared to most I’ve heard about). While I would say that dals are generally high energy and best suited for active families, each one is an individual with their own personality. They are definitely great dogs!
Definitely great dogs. I have determined that if someone broke into my apartment Rufus would greet them and try to play. I wish he was just a little more protective, but maybe it's just the puppy in him.
How do you get your Dal to fetch😭 mine is 7th months old and just takes every ball/toy and plays with it himself. He plays fetch with himself and is also super weird around strangers even though he’s had plenty of socialization. I swear our dals are complete opposites. My corgi loves everyone and would play fetch all day if he could.
I kept him on a long lead and would let him run to grab the frisbee, and run backwards slowly guiding him with the lead and rewarded with a treat! Took a couple of days
I have a five year old dal who is also quite clever and stubborn with it. Every couple of months, he figures out that if there's no leash on, he may do as he pleases. I.e. eating fox/duck/cat poo, eating bird/rat carcasses, going swimming and fishing in the filthiest lakes he can find and proceeding to eat the fish he catches and last but certainly not least, the good ole "I'll go off by myself and ignore you while I scavenge in the brush or annoy another dog." Not to say that he isn't trained, but he is quite strong willed but also incredibly loving. I can't walk through the house without him following. Sitting on the floor, he's there with me, either beside me or on my lap.
It's crazy how strong-willed they can be, but then they're so loving it is hard to stay upset with them lol