The Puli
 |
The Puli has been an integral part of the lives of Hungarian shepherds for more than 1,000 years. When the Magyars came into Hungary they brought their sheepdogs with them. They were large kinds similar to the Komondor and the Kuvasz, and a smaller kind which resembled the Puli. Except in color, the Puli was quite similar to the Tibetan Terrier, which may well have been its foundation stock.
Invaders decimated Hungary during the 16th century. People from western Europe, along with their merino sheep and sheepdogs, began to repopulate Hungary in the 17th century. The Puli intermingled with the sheepdogs of France and Germany and the Pumi was a result. The names Puli and Pumi were used interchangeably for many years, and the Puli breed was nearly lost.
In 1912 a program to reconstitute the Puli began. Two types of coats were noted-shaggy and curly. The first standard for the Puli was written in 1915, and in 1924 the standard was approved by the Federation Cynologique Internationale.
The newly reconstituted Puli was shown at the Budapest dog show in 1923. They were divided into three classes-ancestral or working Pulik with shaggy coats, luxury or show Pulik, and dwarf Pulik. The 1934 standard divided these dogs into height-large being 19.7 inches or larger, Medium being 15.7-17.7 inches, and Dwarf being 13.8 inches or smaller.
Color and size both played a part in the development of Hungary's sheepdogs. The more easily seen, lighter-colored kinds guarded herds and flocks from robbers and wild animals at night. The smaller darker colored Puli were used to drive and herd the sheep during the day. The sheep take direction more certainly from dark dogs than they do from the lighter colored ones.
The dark color has always been recognized as truly characteristic of the Puli. Ordinarily it is called black, but it is a black so unlike that of nay breed as to warrant explanation. it is dull, in some cases bronze-tinged, in others just barely grayed like a weather-worn old coat that was faded by the sun.
Males are 17 inches tall, female 16 inches. Their coat is dense, weather resistant and profuse on all parts of the body. The coat clumps together easily and if allowed to develop naturally, it will form cords in the adult. The cords are woolly, varying in shape and thickness, either flat or round, depending on the texture of the coat and the balance of the undercoat to the outercoat. The Puli may be shown either corded or brushed.
