Ten years
It is ten
years since our last Dalmatian died. Frodo the Faller was fourteen years old, quite
a good age, considering all the ailments he suffered. He was preceded by Buddy
Liver Spots, Dominie, and Cariadd, all of whom lived long active lives.Barry had
run with them for years through fine weather and foul, but his knees were increasingly painful.
Once his new chrome alloy knee joints were in place, he didn’t want to wear
them out, so running, a life-long pursuit, was replaced by other activities, and
another Dalmatian was out of the question. Thirty years of Dalmatians had been
great fun, but we recognised our new limitations and anyway, Labradors are so
much easier.
The only
Dalmatians we now have are ornaments, and some Disney-type iterations. I think they
were toppers from large tubes of Smarties. I always loved Smarties, and they’re
so useful for number work and simple music theory with young children.
It's interesting that you found Dalmatians harder work than Labradors.
ReplyDeleteThey're both lovey breeds, but Dalmatians need oodles of exercise. They're bred to run for miles, whereas Labradors are steady walkers with occasional bursts of speed. Temperamentally, Labradors are easier, too. Dalmatians tend to be bred for looks, whereas working Labradors are bred to be cooperative retrievers, and are much more biddable than Dalmatians.
DeleteThanks.
DeleteWe know in advance that dogs have a limited life expectancy, the large dogs less than the little ones. I had two big dogs, one lived for 12.5 years and one for 11 years. And you must still grieve now
ReplyDeleteWe loved and miss all our animals. They are family and their memories are within all of our human family memories.
DeleteAgreeing with you about the intensity of having a dalmatian. They are special!!1 Even a terrier would be less demanding. Fourteen is a lengthy life for the breed, they reckon ten years max!
ReplyDeleteSmarties an all time fave!
Terriers are fun, but noisy. (We had Jack Russells)
DeleteI love Smarties!
Sounds like British Smarties are like Canadian Smarties. They’re something different in the USA.
ReplyDeleteIt almost sounds like you’ve had about 101 Dalmatian’s. .
When we had three at the same time, people often displayed their innumeracy by asking where were the other 99!!
DeleteIt's hard, but necessary, to adapt to change.
ReplyDeleteAnd please can you say more about how you use Smarties to teach musical theory! My piano teacher never gave me ANYTHING to eat, let alone candy. lol
I used them to teach my grandson note names - EGBDF et cetera.
DeleteAh! thank you.
DeleteI'm curious about how smarties help with musical theory too. Using them for math is more easiy understandable. I used to love Smarties, but now there are far too many blue ones in the packs and I am allergic to the colouring used for those. (brilliant blue #133)
ReplyDeleteNote names were the only things I used them for in music.
DeleteI used jelly beans as piano teaching aids until I had a boy who would become steadily crazier from the food colours until I realised what was going on; three jelly beans and his concentration disappeared and it was basically the end of the lesson!
ReplyDeleteLOL!!
DeleteAfter thirty wonderful years with Dalmatians, changing circumstances—especially Barry’s knee replacements—led us to accept our limitations and leave behind the energetic breed in favor of the easier-going Labrador.
ReplyDeleteThat's absolutely right. Dalmatians need such a lot of exercise. Labradors are more forgiving.
DeleteI've only ever had one big dog a boxer, he was lovely and hard work, he was the last dog we had, as I went back to full time work, so we kept cats instead.
ReplyDeleteCats are easier in many respects. With sufficient litter trays, they can be left overnight.
DeleteSo you had a soft spot for them? Perhaps a little dotty about them?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely dotty. Going to a Dalmatian show certainly led to spots before the eyes.
DeleteOnly a smartie could think of using Smarties for counting and number work. "No Chardonnay! When you subtract from the whole you are not meant to eat the remainder!"
ReplyDeleteEasier and more fun than buttons!
DeleteI've never had a dalmatian but I have had a Labrador. I find that no matter the breed, they all require a great deal of attention. I've often said that once Gibbs is gone I'm getting a cat instead.
ReplyDeleteCats need a different sort of care and are often easier. We have both so we don't have to choose. 😉
DeleteYour dogs look to have been very handsome. I did not realize that they were such runners. Makes them an interesting choice as the mascot for a Firehouse. I like your little ornamental ones they're cute and they remind me of the wacky movie 101 Dalmatians.
ReplyDeleteDalmatians were originally bred to run alongside stage coaches, to protect them. The best of the breed ran between the carriage wheels. As fire dogs, they cleared the road ahead of the fire engine. I
DeleteWhoops! In New Zealand they are used as rescue dogs and as fire alert dogs.
DeleteSmarties! Now, that's a blast from the past for me!
ReplyDeleteThose ornaments are delightful - and the dogs too, obviously! xxx
I have a yen for Smarties now . . .
DeleteIt sounds like Dalmatians were a cherished part of your family for thirty years, providing many happy memories and running companions for Barry.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly were. Our children and grandchildren loved them, too.
DeleteI don't think I've ever seen a Dalmatian in real life; only on Tv and movies and such. Beautiful dogs.
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful and very eye-catching.
DeleteI ( like Andrew above ) am curious about Dalmatians being harder work than Labs 🙂 I have no experience of Dalmatians at all, but our lab Jas can still be quite hard work at age 5 this year. We do love her though 😂
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
Dalmatians need a lot of running exercise. They were bred to run with carriages and clear the roads ahead, as well as guard the passengers. Labradors, though energetic, especially before they grow up, around 10 years of age (!!!) don't enjoy sustained running, and are bred to cooperate with other dogs and retrieve, so they will spend quite a lot of time patiently waiting to be released to pick up. Too much running can damage their joints, leading to arthritis in older age.
DeleteI grew up in sight distance of a fire station. They had an annual open house and I remember their Dalmatians. Such beautiful dogs.
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous dogs, loyal and faithful to their owners, but often reserved with people they don't know. They're not natural people lovers like Labradors.
DeleteI really know nothing about dogs ... although I always say hello to the family ones when I visit the younger family members. I often joke they might be saying "oh, it's that woman again who likes wearing pink!"
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough do I spy pink in the first photograph with the Dalmatians? I like your little ornamental ones they're cute.
All the best Jan
I like pink, too! It's a long time since I had that pink top, though.
DeleteAre labradors easier than dalmatians? Dalmatians must be crazy then!
ReplyDeleteLabradors are definitely easier than Dalmatians, in that exercising them is less labour intensive. Barry used to run cross-country with the Dalmatians every day and then I would take them out walking later. Our dog ownership started with Labradors, proceeded to Jack Russells (not for the faint-hearted, but great fun) then Dalmatians and finally back to Labradors.
ReplyDeleteDalmatians are such beautiful dogs. My SIL and her wife have always had Dalmatians. They live in Vermont near a ski resort. K loves skiing so the dogs are named after skis.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they get plenty of exercise in the mountains - lucky dogs.
DeleteThey do take a lot of exercise. It sounds as though you enjoyed them as part of your family for many years.
ReplyDelete