Artists absolutely love Dalmatians because of the endless possibilities of working with pattern, contrast and movement, but before a certain age, there isn’t much to work with. This is because Dalmatians are born as a “blank canvas.” To the untrained eye, Dalmatian puppies are born all white, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have spots, they just can’t yet be seen.  Pups are born with skin pigmentation spots obscured by their white hair. As they grow, the pigmentation shows up and by the time they’re a couple of weeks old, the spots will start to show in the coat. From that point on, any hair that grows over a spot of pigmented skin will be dark-colored. Ultimately, the spots tend not to have any stray white hairs mixed in with them, and interestingly, the spots continue to develop throughout their lives, though at a much slower rate, and new spots can appear throughout their lives. If anyone has a photo of newborn Dalmatians they’re willing to let us share, we’d be delighted to give full credit.

Image found on Pinterest and happily attributed upon receipt of information