09/15/2026
Dalmatians will be eligible to compete in HERDING Trials as of May 1! Roads Trials, Obedience, Tracking, Nosework, Hunting, Herding... in what arenas do your Dals shine?
IN A MOVE WE DIDNāT SEE COMING, but one that didnāt surprise Dalmatian owners well versed in their breedās versatility.....
Beginning May 1, 2026, Dalmatians became eligible to participate in American Kennel Club Herding Tests and Trials.
Yes, Dalmatians.
Herding.
And if you have a photo of a Dalmatian herding, we'd love to replace the photo here and on our website with it, full credit of course.
For most people, the breedās rĆ©sumĆ© begins with horse-drawn coaches and ends with firehouses. Those associations are certainly authentic, but Dalmatian owners have long known that the spotted coach dog is more occupationally versatile than popular culture gives it credit for.
The change began with a formal request from the Dalmatian Club of America, the breedās AKC parent club. According to the AKCās January 2026 Board minutes, the club supported its request with evidence that Dalmatians had historically served as multipurpose farm dogs, including in herding, and had already demonstrated herding ability in events conducted by other organizations.
The minutes say there is āsome evidenceā of historical herding use, but they do not identify the documents, farms, dates or individual dogs behind that conclusion. Until those underlying records surface, it mmight be premature to rewrite the Dalmatianās history around sheep and cattle.
That said, the Dalmatian Club of America presented a case strong enough for the AKC to act upon it.
At its February 4ā5 meeting, the AKC Board formally approved the request. The decision was initially to become effective after the necessary computer programming was completed so that Dalmatians could earn AKC herding titles.
In April, the AKC Performance Events Department notified licensed herding clubs and approved judges that implementation had been completed and supplied an effective date: May 1, 2026.
The Dalmatian now appears on the AKCās official list of breeds eligible to enter herding events.
What this change does not do is move the Dalmatian into the Herding Group at conformation shows. The breed remains in the Non-Sporting Group. Eligibility for a performance event and classification in a conformation group are two separate matters.
Nor does eligibility mean that every Dalmatian will instinctively know what to do when introduced to livestock. It gives individual dogs the opportunity to demonstrate whether they possess the necessary instinct and, with training, the ability to control stock.
The AKC herding program includes both tests and trials.
The Herding Instinct Test, Herding Test and Pre-Trial Test are noncompetitive, pass-or-fail evaluations. A dog must show an ability to move and control livestock while remaining sufficiently responsive to its handler.
Herding trials go further, asking dogs to negotiate progressively more demanding courses. Depending upon the event and class, the livestock may be ducks, sheep or cattle.
We see a pleasing symmetry to the decision. A breed developed to travel mile after mile beside horsesākeeping pace, responding to its surroundings and working in partnership with peopleāis being offered another arena in which endurance, intelligence and trainability matter.
It also fits an established pattern of Dalmatian versatility. The Dalmatian Club of America conducts Road Trials that preserve the breedās coaching heritage by testing off-leash obedience, endurance and the ability to accompany a rider or horse-drawn carriage. The club also encourages participation in obedience, agility, tracking, scent work and Barn Hunt.
The DCA notes that Dalmatians housed with carriage horses historically helped control barn vermin, adding yet another dimension to the phrase āmultipurpose dog.ā
Herding can now be added to that listāwith an asterisk of common sense.
This is not proof that the Dalmatian was secretly a traditional shepherd breed all along. It is official recognition that the breedās working history and demonstrated modern abilities justify giving Dalmatians the opportunity to try.
As of May 1, the gate is open.
What individual Dalmatians choose to do once they see the sheep is entirely up to them.
Sources: American Kennel Club January and February 2026 Board minutes; AKC Performance Events Departmentās April 2026 notice, āNew Breed EligibilityāDalmatiansā; AKC Herding eligibility and program information; Dalmatian Club of America Road Trial and performance-program materials.
Photo of Dalmatian, "Roe," the first AKC herding advanced level titled Dalmatian. Photo by Sela Cooper.
