Hello, Im looking for any information on lemon dalmations,ie: any breeders, websites, or background in to the colour?? I am fascinated by this colour. but know very little about it and how common it is. I am looking to buy my first dalmation, and am currently researching the breed, Any tips or advice. Many thanks :)

have a look at this web site - I found it fascinating and have kept it bookmarked for a couple of years now:

http://www.geocities.com/~paisleydals/color.html

Hi Sophia,
Lemon dalmatians aren't very common (in 30 years in the breed I have never seen one!), and as it is a breed fault no reputable breeder breeds them on purpose. They do occasionally turn up in litters, and are (or should be) sold as mismarks who should not be bred from. If you happen to come across one, beware if the breeder tries to tell you it is a more valuable puppy - they are trying to con you.

As for websites, the Dalmatian Telegraph has a lot of very useful information.

Far more important than colour is the hearing status of the dalmatian. Beware any breeder who cannot show you copies of the hearing certificate of both dog and bitch (showing bilateral hearing of course!) and who does not have their puppies tested prior to sale.

Hope this helps.
:)

can i ask a question here.. if its just the colour thats different i dont understand why its counted as a not as good as dog if you know what i mean. its like if i managed to breed a show winner quality in a white or grey cocker why arent they counted like a normal coloured one? i dont show so i though id just ask, its a subject that confuses me , colour of the animal should be the last thing to count shouldent it except soilds with mismarks or you would all be breeding for colour. also how do new breeds come about if different colours arent accepted in a breed thats already here.
Sorry if it sounds stupid just wondering about it.

Lovely Lady. All reputable breeders should be aiming to breed dogs as close to the breed standard as possible. If a colour isn't in the breed standard, the puppy should be sold to people who are aware of that fact, not sold as rare as so many are these days. There are usually reasons why some colours are not included - often because it harks back too closely to another breed which was used, or because it makes the breed too easily confused with another. White, in particular is avoided in a lot of breeds because of its frequent association with deafness & albinoism (is that a word?). All faults, or departures from the standard should be considered on how serious a departure it is, so I would say a mismark is less serious than a completely wrong colour, but you're right in that it should be one of the last things to be considered as it doesn't affect the dog in the least (except in the case of some whites of course). However, no point in everything else in the dog being perfect if doesn't look like the breed it is supposed to be.

The problem arises when a "Wrong" colour starts getting pushed by people as a "rarity value" at inflated prices. The high price alone makes them desirable in some quarters as has happened with some crossbreeds. The big trouble here is that there are not many of this colour around so people would then be likely to breed very closely from an extremely small gene pool. A few generations on from there and almost all would be related! The problems this could cause are obvious!

Just look at the chocolate Labrador. This is an accepted colour although very much the minority colour and yet to see the requests for choc's on here you would think it is the only colour! Check with the rescues and you will find that there are far more choc's in than their numerical percentage would naturally indicate. A large percentage of people buying Choc Labrador's (Not all, I know) are buying a fashion statement! Not a good reason for buying a living creature.

Regards, John