Deafness in Dalmatians
BAER testing
Dals tend to be a fairly healthy breed. The two major faults within the breed are uric acid issues and deafness. However, breeders are able to conduct the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response or BAER test on their puppies so they know which pups can hear and which pups are hearing impaired. Pups can be hearing impaired in one ear, unilateral, or both ears, bilateral. Unilateral pups tend to adjust very well to being impaired in one ear and it is very difficult to notice any type of handicap.