Mudi
The Mudi is a rare herding dog breed from Hungary. It is closely related to the Puli and Pumi, from which it was separated in the 1930s. Today, the Mudi is bred for work, companionship, and show. They continue to be used in herding, as well as participating in a variety of dog sports.
Appearance
Mudi usually weigh 18 to 29 pounds (8.2 to 13 kg) and stand 15 to 19 inches (38 to 48 cm) high at the withers. The coat is medium wavy or curly, with short hair on the face and legs.[1] The accepted colors are black (fekete), brown (barna), white (fehér), yellow (fakó), gray (hamvas), graybrown (hamvasbarna), black merle(cifra), brown merle (barna cifra), gray merle (hamvas cifra), and graybrown merle (hamvasbarna cifra).[2] Mudi have short tails which may be born long and docked short or born naturally short.
Temperament
The Mudi is a versatile farm dog that can hunt, exterminate rodents, and act as a capable herding dog and flock guardian. Although the breed is much less popular than the better-known Puli and Komondor in its native country, owners of the Mudi claim that it is incomparable for its versatile talents and pleasant disposition.
Exercise and activities
The Mudi is a very active breed. They need to be taken on a daily, long, brisk walk or jog. In addition, they will benefit from a large safe area where they can run free. They need a lot of running and other exercises to be in good condition. They love to play and will excel in all kinds of dog sports such as Frisbee. The Mudi can compete in dog agilitytrials, obedience, Rally obedience, Schutzhund, showmanship, flyball, tracking, and herding events. Herding instincts and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Mudi that exhibit basic herding instincts can be trained to compete in herding trials.[3]
Health problems
This is a fairly healthy breed, although some cases of hip dysplasia have occurred, but not many.
Living conditions
The Mudi can live in an apartment if it is sufficiently exercised; however, they need space to run and play and would do better if not kept in one. They are moderately active indoors and will do best with at least a large yard. This breed can live outdoors.
Life expectancy
About 13–14 years.
History
The Mudi was discovered as a local Hungarian herding dog type with strong existing breed characteristics and was not created by human dreams of an ideal herding dog, but by need and performance selection. Its origin reaches well back into the 15th to 18th centuries, but the exact time is hard to pinpoint because of the confusion in the nomenclature of the different herding dog breeds of that time and place.
The official Latin name for the breed is Canis ovilis Fényesi, and is named for the breed's discoverer, Dr. Dezsõ Fényes. It was in 1936 that Dr. Fényes's discovered breed, in that time known as the "Driver Dog", was recognized as a breed in Hungary, though common knowledge of the breed appears much earlier on this timeline of the Mudi's existence and discovery than the 1920's. In Hungarian documents from the 17th-18th centuries, description was found of a herding dog with pricked ears and fur like a Mudi has, but were called "Puli's", as well as in the earliest written records of a very similar breed in Croatia, noted in documents dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Even as late as 1902, Lajos Méhely wrote a description of the "Puli", in "The World of Animals" as one of a dog with a jackal like face, pricked ears and mid long wavy fur, if we think of todays Puli this is surely not what we see.
This breed name confusion of the local herding dog types leads to the common belief of the Puli being the oldest herding breed in Hungary and that the Mudi and Pumi were formed from the Puli. It was the general supposition from this name confusion, as was written in 1936 by Dr. Csaba Anghi in "The Mudi, or the Driver Dog of Shepherds", and the then resulting belief that Puli's were the oldest Hungarian herding breed, that the Puli's were crossed with spitz type breeds to create the "newly" discovered Mudi. It is possible that the Mudi, with its outlook and behavior and its many ancient features, is from crosses of the spitz type breeds with other naturally occurring herding breeds of the time and area. The one main exception to the spitz type being the quite wavy to curly coat that the Mudi exhibits. But as the Mudi was only officially recognized as a breed in 1936, and its history is not precisely known, the common myths filled in the uncertainties and blank periods with what is presently told of its origins.
It is interesting to note as well that into the 20th century, it was not uncommon for Mudi-like puppies to be born into Puli litters and even today, Mudi-like puppies can be born into Pumi litters, but Pumi-like or Puli-like puppies have not been seen born in Mudi litters.
Dr. Fényes, as a historian and cultural museum curator, often saw this local shepherd dog type in the countryside, on his excursions for relics and traditional folk habits of the local country inhabitants. Many of the local shepherds called the dogs by several names, including Puli and Pumi. He discovered that these shepherd dogs had a homogenous and stable type and soon after he started to collect and breed the best specimens, found that they bred true as a breed as they possessed highly inheritable and stable characteristics. Dr. Fényes wrote in 1935 "The offspring of them show every typical feature of the parents, like in a "true" well selected breed." It was at this time that he named the breed Mudi, after a most typical specimen of the breed he found bore this name and started to seek recognition of this new breed he discovered.
During the 2nd World War, many Hungarian breeds suffered terrible losses, some almost disappeared and the Mudi was given no immunity as a rare breed. In the 1960's, it was rehabilitated from survivors and in the 1970's, a few kennels worked to revive the breed to its original status in Hungary. It was never a popular breed in its country of origin but always from Dr. Fényes times, it was loved and mentioned as being among the best herding breeds, as well as a good hunting dog, watchdog and companion. So its variability as a multi purpose breed with its many behavioral merits helped it to be re-established and a new standard was written in 1966 to apply for FCI recognition.
Unfortunately this standard, written by a mechanical engineer, Dr. Zoltan Balassy, was admittedly based on only a handful of Mudi specimens he found and the Mudi was redefined as a created breed based on his ideals of how the breed should look, without the natural variability of the breed type. The main differences between the original breed standard and this newly created one are in the accepted sizes and colors. The height was downsized from 40 - 50 cm in males and 35 - 45 cm in females, to 35 - 47 cm with no sex separation. The colors were changed from acceptance of all solid colors and merles to only accepting black, white and merle.
As the restoration of the breed went on over the next few decades after the 1966 standard was written, and the reality of the naturally occurring variability was seen in color, a new standard was written in 2000 to add back most of the original colors. Even this year (2004), the fakó color (yellow or fawn color translation) is being added to the English, French, German and Spanish versions of the FCI standard, to correct the error that was made in translation of the Hungarian 2000 standard, that consequently omitted the translated term for this color.
Even though the Mudi is quite possibly an ancient breed living in a modern world, we should not forget that in today's world another natural herding breed that was developed and selected by shepherds over time, could probably never be recreated again as the real shepherds that herd with dogs everyday, are a dying breed themselves. The Mudi breed is possibly the last naturally developed herding breed that is still working with shepherds and livestock in Hungary today, the Mudi, the "Driver Dog" of Hungary, could never be reproduced in today's modern world.
These few paragraphs tell of its past, but the breeders of today will write the next entries onto the timeline of the Mudi's future. Please take care of it for the shepherds of tomorrow.
"It is a true product of the wise selection efforts of the Hungarian countrymen." Dr. Dezsõ Fényes, 1935
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| A black Mudi | ||||
| Other names | Hungarian Mudi Canis Ovilis Fenyesi | |||
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| Country of origin | Hungary | |||
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