I need some help on this one!! We used to own Dalmations years ago,dogs and bitches.OK some of the dogs were beggars for a village punch up IF the opportunity arose,also one of them could scale a 10foot wall like a cat as if it was 2 foot! The bitches we found in the main to be quieter,with really good temperments,although when I was out with them they did tend to be guarded  - especially on the Winter walks in the evening.I do recall one evening a gentleman who had had too much to drink,tried to approach me and Sara,the Dalmation I had then, pinned this "gent!" up against the wall,but did not hurt him.
I just checked at random through the Net about the modern generations  of Dalmations and all the posts are really negative.I feel quite shocked as I never thought too much about any aggression in this breed previously.I would appreciate any help on this,hopefully from Dalmation owners.We used to own the Illirycum Championship types,so you can see we are going back quite a few years.

Anastasia again, forgot to say in the original post,that I had decided to get another Dalmation pup,start again with this lovely breed, and this is why I checked.Sorry for the confusion.

Any breed will be agressive if not socialised correctly as young puppies.  My girls are quite good with other dalmatians Molly is good with most other breeds.  Thomas is a fiend with other dogs partly because he was jumped as a puppy and also because I didnt correctly train him as a puppy.  My friends who own sisters from both my first two litters have the best behaved dogs you could ever wish to meet.  In fact most of my puppies I sell are very well behaved it just tends to be the ones who live with me and I know it is my own fault.  ;)

The best thing to do is going to the britsh dalmatian club website where there is a upto date list of puppies and also a list of websites with members who sign up to a code of conduct to ensure that you get a decent puppy.  Bear in mind you still have to check with the breeders that the puppies are hearing tested as not all members do BAER test.  They also have their own forum where lots of experienced owners contribute to. :)

As the years pass and we have 'progress', the lives of dogs become very much more restricted than they used to be, and many dogs are less well socialised than they were. Dalmatians have suffered from the films - puppy farmers jumped on the bandwagon and churned out cheaply-bred (but not cheap to buy!) spotted puppies, with little thought to health, temperament or suitability of potential owners.

I also think people's attitude towards dogs has changed - it's not enough for them simply to 'be dogs' any more - they're often left alone for much of the day (all the family out at work or at school) rather than having the company they did. As you know dalmatians don't 'do' solitary very well, and get over-excited. Combine that with lack of exercise and training and you have problems in a big boisterous breed.

A newspaper full of articles listing how many people had a perfectly mundane day when nothing out of the ordinary happened wouldn't sell many copies - you only hear the bad stuff. Equally very few people go to a site and post "My dog's wonderful and I can't fault him - just thought I'd share". 

If you're thinking of getting a dalmatian go to the Dalmatian Telegraph and click on Puppy List for details of breeders who abide by the clubs' code of conduct. Make sure any pup you consider has been BAER tested and has a certificate guaranteeing its hearing status.

Thnaks for taking the trouble to reply,much appreciated.We know all about the hearing and kidney complaints as we have had and bred Dalmations, but many years back.However all ours were good with temperments,but we are not fly by night dog owners,all our dogs live in with us,have 5 star treatment in food,shelter and Vet backup.I understand fully about rearing pups(goodness we have had enough of them!) and the behaviour patterns with ours normally all turn out to be well socialised and eventually very well behaved adults.
What I am concerned about is the "modern" temperments of this breed,as by now all the breeding lines we knew have disappeared into the sunset.Kennel Club lists  only give lists of breeders that have bothered to register with them, and yes these people should be breeding stable dogs,but even if they are breeding show fliers this does not necessarily follow that the temperments are good.Many top breeders and lesser breeders in all breeds cover over faults -- please understand this is not to be taken as an insult to any breeder but I do know this is a fact with a minority in most breeds..We used to show also. I need to know the best lines,this is why I posted here for the truth.

I've PMed you, but if you contact the secretary of the British Dalmatian Club on 01543 490849 I'm sure she'll be able to help you.

Anastasia, why don't you go to some champ shows and watch the dals?  See which ones are good around other dogs and which aren't, find out their KC names in the catalogue...

Thanks so much for the help.Yes,I will go to some Champ shows and see what has happened in the intervening years.I also need to investigate modern breeding lines more, as they will lead back to the older lines.I know a good looking Dalmation obviously, but the temperment is the million dollar question.Also this over breeding due to the Films must have been a blow to the breed.have they puppy farmed these extensively in GB?