To make a long story short, my Basset friends sent me to Sue MacMillan of Paisley Dals after I had a bad experience with another (long since gone) Dal breeder in Minnesota. Sue had a litter sired by Ch. Melody Dynamatic out of his granddaughter Ch. Paisley Touch The Wind (a Pooka daughter). She had a liver puppy bitch she was willing to put out on a co-ownership, however my experience with liver colored Dals to that point left me less than excited. Sue had me come and watch Dals at a local show to see what a liver "should look like" and introduced me to Pooka (aka Ch. Melody Up Up and Away, CD). One look at Pooka and I was in love with the color. Within a year or two of getting this first show Dal, Sue and I were traveling to shows from CA to NY and everywhere in-between.

I actually started in purebred dogs by showing Basset Hounds in obedience in 1971. We became friends with some Basset breeders who encouraged me to show in obedience and then later asked me to enter our male in a few shows to help them build a major. By the time those shows were done I was hooked! After several years with Bassets I began looking for "my style" of dog (short haired, medium size, with more leg). I narrowed the search to Dalmatians, Rottweilers and Dobermans - I've always thanked the heavens that I ended up with Dals!

Wow - that's a tough question as I have had many really neat Dals over the last 30 years. Several have been very special for different reasons, but the top ones are 3 generations of my champions. Ch. Harmony N Mile High H. Lewis was the first male I owned who was totally showy in the ring and yet not at all aggressive outside the ring. Huey was a wonderful dog to live with and was placed with a family at about 5 years of age, he lived out his life with their 2 kids and his pet (spotted of course!) rabbit.

His daughter Ch. Harmony Cheshire English Rose was another very special one who had an incredible temperament. Rosie was born during a tough health time in my life and I always called her my "savior dog".

The third very very special dog is Rosie's son Willy, Ch. Harmony Run For The Roses, CD, RD, CGC, TT. Willy was a demonstration dog extraordinaire, never met a stranger and would take on any situation with a wonderful positive attitude. I would gladly put any of their personalities on every Dal I could own or breed.

Bred by Doug and I.

You can probably tell from my answer above that temperament is one of THE most important aspects. I will not put up with a less than stable, friendly temperament. We also look for sound, typey dogs that compliment what we already have. I carefully check out the health of dogs I breed to and also try my best to check out the line(s) a dog is from to see what health issues might be lurking in the pedigree. Whether my pups end up as show dogs, companion/family dogs or performance dogs (or all 3!) they need to be sound and to have stable temperaments. I personally prefer a "pretty" Dal too with vivid color and that flashy spotting that makes them so unique.

It depends on your idea of "successful". I don't plan breedings just to produce champions, but a lot of people measure success by the numbers. I tend to consider a litter "successful" if it gives me the (at least) one dog to go forward with, and produces Dals that are good representatives of the breed and make great family dogs. These "show dogs" are someone's family pet 90% of the time and happen to become champions too, that's what I get excited about. We have had several litters that produced multiple champions over the years, the most recent one was sired by Jester out of my Angus daughter Frenchy. Frenchy tied for the #1 top producing brood bitch for 2003 which is something we never even dreamed of attaining since we don't produce a lot of litters.

Hard work, lots of study, listening, and great mentors/friends!

When I started in Dals in Minnesota the breed had been voted the dogs that trainers at the local schools least liked to see walk in the door. Overall we have made great strides in that respect with the breed. We have also made wonderful progress with the coloration and spotting in the livers, they are no longer the "ticky" little tan spots that turned me off in the beginning.

I think Dals are beginning to be viewed more positively by the public now.It's wonderful that so many people are competing in obedience and other performance events with their dogs and showing everyone that Dals ARE trainable and do make great companions. I think the good Dals of today are overall better animals than we used to see. Like any other time in history, there are also a lot of dogs being shown that should not even set foot in the ring.

Sue MacMillian influenced my early days in Dals as much as anyone; we had great discussions on genetics and breeding while driving to and from shows. I also tried to sit in the hospitality rooms at the specialties I attended in the first 5 years or so of showing and just listen to the discussions among the "old timers". I encourage everyone to take the time to learn as much as they can about this wonderful breed BEFORE they jump into having a litter. Finishing your first champion does not make you an expert in Dals and ready to make good breeding decisions. Find a nationally respected, knowledgeable breeder and pick their brain for everything you can get, continue to get to as many dog related seminars as you can to gain general knowledge. Attend your national specialty and as many regional specialties as you can to see what Dals are like beyond your local area. Then honestly evaluate your own dogs and you'll be (hopefully) ready to begin planning a litter.

Please remember we ARE the future of this breed. Decisions we make now will influence Dalmatians for many years to come. Be careful! Set your standards high! One of the toughest breeding decisions to be made is understanding when NOT to breed. Just because a dog can finish it's championship doesn't mean it should be bred (or specialed for that matter, but that's a whole different discussion). If your favorite Dal has a wonderful personality, but also has health issues, don't do it. If it is a beautiful type, has excellent spotting and is sound, but has an unstable temperament, don't do it. Having a litter is hard work, if you are going to put all that work and planning into it why not stack the odds in your favor as best you can?

I encourage people to enjoy what they are doing! Don't get so wound up in the winning and the "numbers" that you forget to enjoy your friends and your dogs. One of the greatest things that has happened to me through the dogs is the number of good friends I have made over the years, for me that's what this is all about. Doug always says I take a dog along to specialties so I have an excuse to go visit! I have begun to show in obedience again this year and am having a great time doing something different from the conformation ring - the dogs and I are having a ball. Find something extra to do with your dogs, you'll meet new people, have a lot of fun and promote this breed all at the same time. Winning is great but it's not everything. Thanks for asking me! I'll get off my soapbox now...