Country/Date of Origin: Former Yugoslavia/1400s
The Dalmatian has filled many roles in its long history. It is a fine sporting dog working before the gun as a pointer. It was a shepherd in its native Dalmatia (what was once Yugoslavia). But it was as a coaching guard that it reached its flowering. Trained to run underneath the carriage, the Dalmatian would dart out and protect the horses from stray dogs that menaced them. And conversely the horses protected it. The Dalmatian's ability to exactly match the horse's pace let it slip between the moving feet to get away from a pack of curs. In the days when fire apparatus was pulled by horses, the Dalmatians were welcomed in the fire houses where they kept vermin at bay.
Dalmatians were one of the first breeds exhibited at organized shows in the US.