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What Age Do Dalmatians Get Their Spots?

Portrait of a dalmatian puppy on a white background.

Like the leopard, Dalmatians have little control over their spots. These spots may not appear at birth, but give them time, and they will make their mark on their dog. Also, like the leopard, Dalmatians cannot change their spots.

When they appear roughly between 2 and 4 weeks of age, the dog has to accept either the black or the brown spots their genetic code gives them. There is no chance for the Dalmatian puppy to change its colors.

The spots that appear at age two weeks will be added to throughout the first few months or so. The spot color gets better defined as their puppy year rolls on.

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How Long Does It Take For Dalmatians To Get Spots?

It is not an exact genetic development when it comes to the appearance of the famous Dalmatian spots. Generally, they will start appearing when the puppy is just two weeks old. Some breeders say those spots start appearing when the puppy is ten days old.

The development of these spots will continue for several months, so do not think that counting them when they are 2 weeks old will be the final total of spots on your dog.

Of course, the color and design of the spots will change over time as well. While the main spot colors are black and a liver brown tint, Dalmatian puppies can fool you.

Some puppies are born with white and lemon; white and orange; white, black, and tan; and white, liver, and tan colored spots. However, these odd colors disqualify them from any dog shows.

The AKC only recognizes the black and brown colored spots. Then if you want to enter your Dalmatian in a dog show, those spots need to be round, not patchy, and between the size of a dime and a half dollar.

Dog show people can be very strict when it comes to dog breed looks.

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Do Dalmatians Get More Spots With Age?

Portrait of 2 dalmatians, one laying, one sitting, in a grass field

It is hard to say if they develop more spots when the dog gets older. Usually, all spots have stopped developing by the time the puppy is 18 months old. There are always exceptions to the rules, of course, as genetics is not something you can switch off when you want it to stop.

It is unusual for an adult Dalmatian to develop more spots after they have outgrown their puppy stage. The number of spots a Dalmatian will have is usually set at birth, and nothing can be done to add more or subtract any of those spots.

However, with that said, Dalmatians can develop what are ticks or flecks. These ticks or flecks are considered freckles, and these can develop throughout the dog’s lifetime.

Before you ask, keeping your Dalmatian out in the sun for long periods of time will not develop more spots. Also, that is a risky thing to do as your Dalmatian can get sunburned if exposed to the sun for too long.

Why Does My Dalmatian Have No Spots?

White dalmatian newborn puppies on a  blue blanket

As you already know, Dalmatians are born without spots. So every Dalmatian at one time in their lives was a dog without spots. It just takes time for the spots to develop, and in a few weeks, you may be wishing your dog had none.

There are some older adult Dalmatians that look like they do not have spots. But generally, these are the lemon-colored spotted Dalmatians. Their lemon-colored spots are so light that the dog does not look like they have any spots at all.

The last word on this dog breed with dogs with no spots is there has yet to be found one Dalmatian that does not have any spots. What that means is even if you can’t see the spots, they are there blending into their surroundings.

Also, spots have nothing to do with your dog going deaf or why it has blue eyes. Spots are just spots, and they mind their own business, not getting involved in other genetic processes.

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Some Final Words

Portrait of a young dalmatian on a yellow background.

No matter where you look anywhere in the world, a Dalmatian will have spots as long as they are older than 2 to 4 weeks of age. The only change to those spots will be their color. Some puppies will have different colored spots other than black and brown.

Those unique colors do not mean there is anything wrong with your Dalmatian. It just means they are more unique than the other dogs in this ancient breed.

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