Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a variety of the dog Dalmatian, with notable dark spots.

1850		Bell’s Life in Sydney 16 Mar. 3/2: Several dogs, led by a plum-puddinger, spotted him.
1861		(con. 1840s–50s) H. Mayhew London Labour and London Poor II 53/2: The species [...] are all that are now sold in the streets, with the exception of an odd ‘plum-pudding,’ or coach-dog (the white dog with dark spots which runs after carriages).
1865		Bath Chron. 13 Apr. 6/1: Who will not smile at ‘the plum-pudding carriage dog?’.
1870		Berwicks. News 18 Jan. 6/1: His big plum pudding carriage dog.
1881		Surrey Mirror 19 Mar. 4/4: He had two dogs and was undecided whether he should keep the ‘plum-pudding’ dog .
1887		Sth Wales Dly News 15 Jan. 2/9: His best plum-pudding dog — a bow-wow which anybody could ‘spot’.
1896		Notts. Guardian 30 May 7/5: A Dalmatian named Primrose. The plum-pudding dog was objected to at the recent [...] show.
1902		Northants Eve. Teleg. 26 June 1/9: A parvenue went to a New York dealer to buy a [...] ‘plum-pudding’ dog to run after his carriage.
1916		Wells Jrnl 15 Jan. 9/1: He is a Dalmatian, what we called a ‘plum pudding dog’ when we were young.
1926		Western Dly Press 27 Nov. 11/2: Dismal desmond the doleful plum-pudding dog with a spotted coat.
1932		Bath Chron. 30 Apr. 16/3: The Old Plum Pudding Dog [...] Dalmatians being the consorts of dog carts and stage coaches.
1949		Dundee Eve. Teleg. 20 Oct. 3/4: What dog is know as the ‘plum pudding dog’?
1954		Bury Free Press 26 Mar. 6/7: Jackson [...] told the bench that he saw a ‘plum-pudding’ dog on a neighbour’s premises.