Ava Williams
Shoulder height: 36 – 45 cm
Weight: 10 – 15 kg
Age: 12 – 16 years
Color: black, dun, white
Use: working dog, companion dog, guard dog
The Puli is a medium-sized, shaggy-haired Hungarian Shepherd Dog. It is spirited, lively, and alert and needs a lot of exercise and meaningful employment. The confident Puli is not a dog for beginners or couch potatoes.
Origin and history of the Puli
The Puli is a Hungarian herding and herding breed of Asian origin. Its original ancestors most likely came to the Carpathian Basin with nomadic ancient Magyars. For many centuries, these dogs were reliable companions of the Hungarian shepherds. With the conquest of Hungary by the Ottomans in the 16th century and the conquest by the Habsburgs, the breed stocks declined sharply. Only after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise in 1867 could breeding be pursued more intensively again. In 1924 the breed was recognized by the FCI.
Appearance of the Puli
The Puli is a medium-sized dog with a square build and fine but not too light bone structure. The characteristic of the Puli is the floor-length, dense fur that forms tufts or cords and covers the entire body. These cords form in the first two years of life when the fine undercoat and the coarse top coat become matted. The dense shaggy fur protects the Puli from the cold but also bite or tear injuries.
Pulis can have either black, fawn, or pearly white fur. The eyes and nose are black. The densely-haired tail is carried in a coiled manner.
Temperament of the Puli
The Puli is a very agile and lively dog. A born herding dog, he is also very alert, territorial, and defensive. It is wary of strangers and other dogs. Barking loudly at intruders is one of its specialties.
The intelligent and docile Puli is very eager to work and needs meaningful employment to be balanced. It is ideal for dog sports, especially agility, but also for work as a detection and search dog or therapy dog. It loves being in the great outdoors and should not be kept in an apartment in the city, also because it loves to bark. The ideal living space is a house with a large garden that it can guard.
A Puli is extremely strong-willed and assertive. Therefore, it also needs a very consistent but extremely loving education. The sensitive Puli does not tolerate injustice or particular severity. With careful socialization, sufficient employment, and close family ties, the Puli is a child-loving, loyal and pleasant companion. Its life expectancy is quite high. It is not uncommon for a Puli to live to be 17 or older.
The shaggy coat is not particularly high-maintenance – a Puli does not need to be combed or clipped. It should also be bathed only very rarely. Grooming the Puli consists of regularly pulling the matted hair pieces apart by hand so that proper strings form. The long coat naturally attracts a lot of dirt and smells bad when wet.