Activities

The most popular form of canine competition in this country is the dog show – the contest for Kennel Club registered pure-bred dogs, such as those seen at Crufts. The Kennel Club sets a Breed Standard for every breed of dog it recognises, which represents the ideal conformation and characteristics for that breed. At shows the Judge must compare each dog with the Breed Standard to find the dog nearest to that ideal picture of the breed. The Kennel Club website provides some excellent information about showing your dog, find out more here.

If you want to give showing a go it is generally felt the best place to start is with your breeder assuming they show. Obviously not everyone is in this position but it really helps to have a mentor within the breed to help guide you. You need to find a ringcraft club where you can socialise your dog though its best to start when they are a puppy. They will need to be happy in a noisy environment with dogs and people they’ve never met. Why not pop along to an open show and see them in action if you aren’t sure it’s for you. Just speak to a committee member or those exhibiting and they’ll generally be happy to have a chat.

A number of Dalmatians now compete regularly at Agility events throughout the year. Competitions are held most weekends throughout the year and summer shows often run over a few days where competitors can camp onsite.

To be very basic about it the dogs have to jump over, go through or climb on various types of obstacles – jumps, weaves, tunnels, dog-walks, A-frames etc. They need to be healthy as there’s lots of running. Finding a club to train with is the best way to get the most out of your dog – its more difficult than it looks but very addictive once you get the hang of it. Dogs of all breeds are measured (check with the governing bodies as UKA & KC have different rules) and they compete against their own size over appropriate sized obstacles in Grades from 1 to 7. Handlers and dogs competing for the first time start in Nursery or Grade 1 and can progress to the next grade either by wins and going up or by gaining a set number of points and the handler choosing to progress to the next level. Agility classes are those that include contact equipment such as the dog walk and jumping classes are those without. Often there are fun classes too especially at Fun Shows.

There are two types of Agility Competitions UKA (UK Agility) and KC (Kennel Club) each governing body has their own rules, follow the links for more information on each.

Agility is a huge sport that cant be fully explained on a page on our website – for the best in depth information follow the links we’ve provided.

The British Carriage Dog Society have their own website and Facebook page to promote the working capabilities of the Dalmatian in their traditional role as a Carriage Dog. They run trials every year as well as training days and ‘have a go’ days throughout the year.