Well a good majority of them are deaf... i heard the statistic one time and was surprised. After 101 dalmatians came out everyone was getting them for their kids. but they are a high energy dog and need lots of excercise- people didnt know this and well - theyre not apartment dogs or dogs who can be left alone for long peiods of time. and theyre not difficult theyre supposed to be highly intellegant and easy to train...and contrary to popular beleif they love kids- but it all depends on the dog and the owner i guess. theyre supposed to be good swimmers too which i thought was wierd. i researched dalmatians for 6 yrs before i got Lou Dog...and shttp://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid81/p917d55f94650f5af9c1cbcf83785efc8/fb01c737.jpg.thumb.jpgo far all the good things i read hold true