Dalmatian Breeding News, Australia

HOW WE STARTED

The following text is written by Maggie Cumming, which outlines the main origins of ‘CRAGGAN’ as a dog breeding establishment and our main aims that we have adopted in our breeding program for this wonderful breed the, ‘DALMATIAN’

My Love affair with Dallies began many years ago back in the late 1970’s whilst I was heavily involved in the showing and breeding of English Spotted Ponies. Whilst at a Horse Show judging, I came across a couple with Appaloosas and two Dalmatians. This group looked quite stunning with all their spots. I spoke to them at length about the breed and was impressed at what I learned. Another friend, who also showed Horses, bred and showed English Pointers. She asked me to come along to a show with her. Much to my alarm she had me in the Show ring. That day I watched the Dally’s being judged. I was hooked!!!!. I spent the rest of the day speaking to the Dalmatian owners and bombarding them with questions. Within 6 months I had my first ‘Dalmatian’ form the ‘Pampard Kennels’ and I was in the show ring with Ponies and Dogs. I did not breed with my dogs until the late 1980’s. I felt to breed I must understand the breed a lot better and as with my Ponies I only breed with an animal very true to type and the best specimen available. I needed time to get to know the breeders, the many lines within Australia and to really understand the Breed standard. I obtained my stud prefix ‘Rysewood in 1985 and had my first litter in 1989. I only had two litters over the next 4 years and sparingly showed due to maternal and work commitment’s of my own. My breeding and showing took on a new meaning when I purchased my first Stud Dog ‘Dalmeadow Enry Iggins’ in December 1993. The combination of the outstanding English line ‘Washakie and the long established and well-respected breeding kennel of ‘Yarrowfell’ was what I was looking for. Most of our dogs today are based on these bloodlines.

When I met my husband who with the same love of Dogs, ‘Craggan Dalmatians’ was born. Bruce and his family have always been involved in the breeding of dogs over many generations and the progression to Dalmatians was a very natural one for the family. To put it simply Bruce like myself became hooked on the Dally Grins, shedding of hair, selective deafness and the wonderful antics that only a Dally can do.

We have one simple motto at Craggan -
“The Dogs we have today are our worst. The Dogs we bred tomorrow are our future”
The meaning of this is simple. We will always aim at improving what we have.

We do not breed for the fashions of the Show ring, which are always changing, and we do not breed for money. Our aim is to breed a Dalmatian that is firstly as close to the Breed Standard as possible, a dog of outstanding Temperament, a dog that is free of genetic faults, a dog of great intelligence and finally a dog that is capable of achieving what it was originally bred for. We expect a dog of any age to be handled quite successfully by a five-year-old child to an eighty year old person.

We are not avid showers. We show our dogs on a semi regular basis and have generally shown to In-group levels. We feel that a Dog that is consistently placed when shown is enough to prove its ability. Changing fashions in judging within the dog fraternity is very difficult to acknowledge. You can show one day and reach very high standards and the next not even place at all. This can be very disconcerting for the novice but something that one must become accustomed to within this sport.

We at ‘Craggan’ stand behind what we sell and that is why we give all purchasers a written 12-month health guarantee. (The contents of this is outlined on our ‘Contracts’ page.) As like buying a toaster you receive a warranty, so we decided to help protect the purchaser and us and created our own.

We also promote responsible canine ownership and give a 10% rebate off the purchase price if the puppy is desexed with the first 12 months of purchase and we Microchip all puppies. This is not compulsory in Victoria but we feel it as a must.

The starting price for a puppy from us is $500.00 for a pet quality and increases with quality. We believe that this price is quite reasonable for the average family and with what we offer in this price it is a proposition that is not just reasonable but also affordable.

We are very proud of all our Dogs and feel very lucky to have the love of a Dally in our lives. The simple pleasure that they give us is priceless and we hope to grow old loving and respecting such a wonderful and remarkable breed.

Site designed by