Pumi dog

Pumi dog is a small, medium-build Hungarian Shepherd with characteristics, alert ears and wavy half-long hair appearing in gray, less often black, white or reddish coat. Pumi looks like a mascot, is susceptible to training as a shepherd dog and feisty like a terrier. Pumi was used for grazing sheep, cows and pigs, as well as for exterminating rodents and guarding.

Nature

Pumi is one of the Hungarian shepherd dogs. Due to the abundance of fur, these shepherds seem strong. In fact, they are rather lightweight.

The hallmark of this breed is the ears – broken about halfway through and covered with long, thick hair give the dog a vigilant expression.

Skills

Pumi was used for grazing sheep, cows and pigs, as well as for exterminating rodents and guarding – in a word: they were general utility farm dogs. They were also used for hunting wild boars.

Usually representatives of this breed exhibit a strong guarding instinct. Distrust of strangers is typical for most Pumi, which is why early and intensive socialization is important. These alert and fast-responding dogs are prone to barking, so it’s good to make sure that barking doesn’t change into a habit that is difficult to fight for any reason.

Pumi dog. Training and education

Pumi is a very active and cheerful dog. He is intelligent, needs a daily dose of movement and mental activities. He learns quickly, but has some independence. Still, it’s relatively easy to train – it’s easy to motivate him to work with a treat or a toy. However, the award in the form of caresses will not affect each of these shepherd dogs, because not all of them are prone to them.

Pumi is great at dog sports. They can also be trained to look for specific fragrances and for rescue dogs.

Who is this race for?

Pumi is a great companion for an active person who will devote time to long walks and play with the dog or wants to play cynological sports.

Pumi dog. Advantages and disadvantages

Disadvantages

• likes to bark a lot
• reactive
• sometimes distrustful
• he is quite stubborn
• can be feisty with other dogs
• needs a lot of movement and activity

Advantages

• willing to cooperate
• learns quickly
• cheerful
• you can play sports with him
• It doesn’t molt
• a good companion for walks

Health

As a rule, pumi is healthy and resistant. Occasionally hip dysplasia, patella prolapse and eosinophilic granuloma (usually in the form of ulcerative wounds in the mouth).

Feeding

Pumi is not demanding when it comes to nutrition. It has good appetite. It can be fed with ready-made food as well as food prepared at home.

Care

The coat of this breed of dogs is resistant to bad weather and has self-cleaning properties. Pumi do not molt and require combing every two weeks and trimming every three months. The coat grows all the time and can be felt when exposed to moisture. Scandinavians trim their pumi, but Hungarians only allow minor adjustments to the length of the coat.

Pumi dog. History

This breed is not very old. Its evolution began in the 17th and 18th centuries. Sheep imported from Germany were accompanied by local dogs, which began to be crossed with Hungarian pots. As a result, a new type of shepherd developed in the Transdanubia region. Compared to the pot, they had a shorter coat, longer muzzle and more erect ears. They were also characterized by a more lively temperament.

It was not planned to breed. Four-legged quadrupeds (long-haired), mudi (Spitz-like) and Pumi (terriers) were mixed together, because for the shepherds the dog’s usefulness was important, not his appearance. In the written sources, the term “pumi” appeared as early as 1795.

At the beginning of the 1920s, these dogs began to be entered in the pedigree books and shown at exhibitions. Initially, they appeared there as a regional variety of the pool, and from 1923 – as a separate breed. The first precise pattern was formulated in 1924, but it was only eleven years later that the official pattern was created. The FCI recognized the breed in 1966, but until the 1970s it was virtually unknown outside of Hungary.

In most countries, this breed is still very rare. Apart from Hungary, the largest number of pumi is in Sweden and Finland – in both countries about 100 new are registered each year. They are popular there as dogs for sports, practice agility, obedience, tracking and dancing.

Template

Pumi – group I FCI, section 1, reference number 56

• Country of origin:  Hungary
• Character:  lively, brave, always ready for action; slightly distrustful of strangers, very vigilant, excellent guardian; tends to bark; can be feisty with other dogs
• Size:  dogs 41-47 cm, bitches 38-44 cm
• Weight:  dogs 10-15 kg, bitches 8-13 kg
• Coat:  curly, thick, elastic, medium-long (about 7 cm on the body), double-layered: the coat is hard and the undercoat is thick and soft
• Color:  most often gray in various shades (gray dogs are born with black hair, which gradually brightens), less often: black, fawn in various shades – red, yellow, cream (with this ointment black or gray sifting and mask is desirable), White; a small – less than 3 cm – white spot on the chest and white fingertips is allowed
• Lifespan:  12-16 years
• Vulnerability to training:  high
• Activity:  needs a lot of daily movement and mental activities
• Resistance/susceptibility to diseases:  very resistant

Interesting facts

The Hungarians have five shepherd races. Two of them are large dogs to guard herds: komondor and kuvasz – a relative of the Tatra Sheepdog. The other three are small herding shepherds: puli (9/2005), mudi (11/2011) and pumi.

The oldest breed among these little shepherds – a pool with a cord coat – is the most popular, while mudi – the rarest. Pumi is the most feisty of the three, the pot – the calmest, and mudi has an intermediate temperament.