Dog breed · Hungary
The Puli (plural pulis or pulik) is a small-medium breed of Hungarian herding dog known for its long, corded coat. The tight curls of the coat appear similar to dreadlocks. A similar-looking, but much larger breed – also Hungarian – is the Komondor.
Temperament: An intelligent and active dog, the Puli needs obedience training while still young. With enough exercise, Pulis can live in the city, but they do best when not kept as indoor pets in small living spaces as, without enough exercise to use up their energy, they can become either shy or overactive. They need to get the kind of exercise they were created for. Pulis are best kept in a house with a garden. Cozy and very friendly especially towards children, they are sensitive and prone to resentment.
Appearance: The Puli is a solid-colored dog that is usually black. Other less common coat colors are white, gray, or cream (off-white or fakó in Hungarian). A variety of the cream-coated dogs have black masks. The white Pulis are not albino, nor do they have blue eyes. They commonly have dark pigment, black pads, black noses and black pigment inside the mouth. The white gene is recessive to the pure black gene. The breed standard for females is about 16.5 inches (42 cm) at the withers and 17 inches (43 cm) for males. Females weigh 23-25 pounds and males slightly more. The coat of some Puli dogs can be different with either thinner or thicker cords which can be flat or round depending on the texture of the coat and the balance of undercoat to outer coat.
The coat is the result of a controlled matting process. Thin, rope-like corded coats are desired and the grooming should control the coat towards the forming of thinner ropes. The Puli's coat needs considerable grooming to keep its cords clean, neat, and attractive. With age, the coat can become quite long, even reaching the ground. Alternatively, the coat can be trimmed short regularly for easy maintenance although the corded coat is what attracts many people to the breed. Contrary to some beliefs, the coat of a healthy Puli will grow out again after trimming. This breed has little to no shedding.
Training: Pulis are valued for their energy and determination which is a result of their sheepdog history. Every Puli is a natural shepherd and instinctively knows how to herd a flock of sheep or livestock even if they have been raised as a family dog and have never been trained to do it. It is advisable to start training the Puli early in age, especially in obedience. They are very independent, strong-willed, and difficult to train in adulthood.
History: The Magyars probably brought the Puli to Hungary in the 9th Century when they invaded westwards from Siberia, and it has been a sheepdog on the Hungarian plain since then. According to the Encyclopedia of the Dog, the puli is "almost certainly" the ancestor of the poodle. The breed was first studied by Dr Emil Raitsitz from Hungary's veterinary college in the 1920s.
The Puli would commonly work together with the much larger, white Komondor, a Hungarian breed of (solely) livestock guardian dog. The Komondor is a large, solidly built dog, around 30 inches tall. The Komondor (or several Komondors if there was a large amount of livestock) guarded the sheep or cattle mostly at night, while the Puli herded and guarded them during the day.
When wolves or bears attacked the livestock, the Puli would alert the pack and the Komondors would come and fight the intruders. Pulis can be good at fighting off wolves, because the thick coat protects their skin from being bitten. The Komondors usually rested during daytime but at night walked around the flock, constantly moving, patrolling the area.
