Deafness
Deafness is a trait that can be found in dalmatians due to their unique coat. While it's not dalmatian-specific, it is something to be informed about. Certain coat colors, especially white, piebald, and merle, are linked to a higher risk of congenital deafness in dogs because the genes for these patterns affect pigment cells that are crucial for both color and the development of hearing cells in the inner ear. If these pigment cells fail to migrate to the inner ear during development, the sensory hair cells die off, causing permanent deafness, often seen in dogs with white fur or blue eyes.
Having a dalmatian who is deaf (unilaterally (one ear) or bilaterally (both ears) is certainly doable. Training will be different for a deaf dog and unique resources would need to be sought out to provide that training.
All puppies will receive B.A.E.R. (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) testing before they go to their new homes. All potential puppy buyers will be aware of their dog's hearing status and able to plan accordingly.
Uric Acid Issues
Dalmatians are born with one of two genetic makeups - HUA (High Uric Acid) or LUA (Low Uric Acid).
Dalmatians have historically been HUA, but there was an effort to start eliminating this issue from the breed in the 1970's when a male pointer was bred with a female dalmatian, thereby introducing the "normal" or low uric acid genes to the breed, which is where LUA came from.
There is much more to know about this cross which can be found at https://dcaf.org/dalmatian-health/urinary-stones/lua-dalmatians/.
The biggest difference for a dalmatian owner is how you feed a HUA vs. LUA. If you purchase a HUA dalmatian, they will have very specific dietary requirements. Having said that, we plan to only breed dogs who will produce LUA puppies, and no special feeding will be required (though we will always encourage high quality dog food or raw feeding).