HARDINGS LOYAL LADY

DOB 08/10/2007

Black and White Female

Lady is a wonderfully sweet little lady. She is only about 40 lbs. She is a quite girl who loves just to sleep on the foot of the couch and snuggle.  See the pictures of her as she developed. She and Bozo have have had beautiful pups. She is going to be bred on her next cycle for winter, hopefully CHRISTMAS PUPS! Email to be put on the puppy list! There is currently a  litter between Sweetie and Bozo. Look at the puppies page to see them.

HARDINGS COWBOYS SWEETIE

DOB 07/01/2009

Black and White Patch Female

"Sweetie" is a little doll. We can tell she is going to be a big girl; both her mom and dad are big. We are totally pleased with the way she developed, size and personality wise. She is a doll, and really lives up to her name. She is what I hung onto when I lost my Connie last year after she came. 

 Yes, she has a patched ear, but there have been patches in Dalmatians through out the centuries and only in the recent years have they tried to weed them out due to "personal likes".. There are allot of people who like the patch; patch puppies are most often first picked in a litter! We like the patches; it gives them personality.   There is currently a  litter between Sweetie and Bozo. Look at the puppies page to see them.

		This was snapped right before she had her puppies. Look at that pretty tummy!

Patches have always been a part of the breed. The s(w) gene (extreme white piebald) that gives Dalmatians their white background color, sometimes comes with small areas of color as well. Although Dal pups are normally born pure white (the spots start to show up at about 10 days), patches are present at birth. They are most commonly found on the ear and around the eye, may be seen at the base of the tail (generally extending part way down the tail), and appear less commonly on the body, generally on the shoulder. Various studies indicate that the percentage of patches is about 12% for the breed as a whole. Although that amounts to about one patch per litter, some litters have multiple patches, while others have no patches at all.

Patches are not shown in the breed ring; they are popular as pets, and are often the first pups selected from a litter. Some of the top obedience competition Dalmatians have been patched. There was a time when most responsible breeders in the U.S. euthanized patched pups because it was thought that patching was associated with serious health problems. That theory was disproved, patching is now considered strictly a cosmetic issue. In addition, dogs born with a color patch have a significantly lower risk of suffering from hearing loss.  (You can read about it here.) Patches disqualify a Dal from the conformation show ring ONLY, it has no impact on the dog's quality or personality.