This painting is by Charles Christian Nahl is considered California’s first major artist. He was trained at the Kunsthochschule Kassel, but when political unrest hit his home land of Hesse, he left for America, eventually settling California during the Gold Rush.
These dogs are very interesting.
The one on the right is a patched Dalmatian.
The other, well, it has some spots on it, which appear to be brindle. I could be ticked in the same way Dalmatians are, but it could also be a brindlequin.
I’d like to know what you think.
Brindle spots do occur in Dalmatians, but modern Dalmatians are not merles or harlequins. There may have been merle or harlequin dogs that were called Dalmatians. It could also be an unusual double merle with brindle patches.
This dog could also be a merle cur of some sort, but it does look a lot like a Dalmatian in terms of its general body shape.
So if you have any ideas about what this dog might be, please leave them in the comments.
Its ears look a bit too small to be a Dalmatians maybe…? Do you think it could possibly be a mix between a Greyhound and a Dalmatian?
I think the conventional story about Dalmatian origins is incorrect. I don’t think they are from Yugoslavia. I think they are primarily British in origin, and they are derived from crossing some kind of pointer with greyhounds,(perhaps lurchers, which is where you could get the merle), and foxhounds.
The unfortunate thing is that historically Dalmatians have been mixed up with “Danish dogs,” which could mean harlequin Great Danes.
A lot of Dalmatians will actually go on point, and there is no evidence of them existing in their present form until the late eighteenth century. And all the accounts are in Britain or France.
There’s actually a small pointer-type dog, an HPR, from France called a braque du Bourbonnais. Many look very much like Dalmatians, but they don’t have exactly the same ticking.
Here are some posts I’ve written on Dalmatians and what I think they actually are:
1. Grey spotted hound, 1738
2. Dalmatian on point.
3. German Mastiffs and “Danish dogs.”
I believe the dalmatian (as well as great danes) is actually decended from the endangered Rajapalayam, an Indian sighthound used for hunting boar.
I’m currently writing a post on the breed for my Rare Breed of the Month on my blog. It will be posted on Oct. 1st.
Actually, Great Danes are very closely related to rottweilers, if you look at the UCLA study: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/dogs-likely-originated-in-the-155101.aspx (Zoom in and look at where Great Danes are.).
Dalmatians act more like gun dogs, though not like retrievers at all. They are as hard driving as any pointer. And the ones I’ve been around have generally been good natured though quite easily excited and put into running.
You actually don’t want pointers to be camouflaged. Their whole purpose is to show you where birds or other small game have hidden. Most pointers in the United States are predominantly white in color. Some of the working type pointers in the US are almost entirely white.
Dalmatian coloration is a version of ticking, which is very common in pointers. Harlequin Great Danes are merles with another gene called harlequin. It has an entirely different genetic basis.
I have read that Dalmatians were supposedly from Bengal. They even called Bengal Harriers, but there are sight hounds from India and there are pariah types. But there are no dogs like Dalmatians.
One must be careful of breed accounts. I came across one that said that there is no doubt about this breed being from Croatia. Until one looks at the depictions of dogs they say are Dalmatians, and they clearly aren’t.
I think people just liked to make up things about them. The whole purpose of this dog was to have a dog that would run with or underneath the carriage and look good while doing so.
In my opinion great danes may share some similar qualities with the dalmatians but they’re much more muscular and have a head that is much much bigger (which is very apparent) I don’t see how anyone could group dalmatians in with danes?
Also, dalmatians may point and sure the owner could train them to be a good sporting dog but they wouldn’t be able to do it in the end. The have no camouflage whatsoever!
I wouldn’t think they were from British decent really. Unless I could be convinced.
We may find out one day!
I have to agree with you somethingsdon’t, I believe it definately has some greyhound in it.
The hindquarters are very high up and they don’t slope at all, that’s why I think it’s mixed with a greyhound :)
Given that it’s California, perhaps partly Spanish greyhound (Galgo Español) ? If the painting is of a local in Sacramento area or further north, some Russian breeds might have played a part.
It definately looks like either a harlequin or a merle with brindling. It’s entirely possible that merle or harlequin genes were introduced at one point to Dalmation type dogs. Both genes can be fairly easily lost with selection.
Peggy Richter