Puli

Puli dogs are the small sheepdog breed, which were introduced to Hungary about 1,000 years ago by the Magyars. The Magyars are the early hungarians. The puli dog breed can move quickly and easily and they are vigorous dogs. The hungarian puli has a long, dense coat with unusual mats or cord, through the natural tangling of the soft, woolly undercoat with the long outer coat. The cords of the hungarian puli dogs will grow as long as to reach the ground on an adult dog. The colour of the most puli dogs are black and some are slightly greyed or tinged with bronze. The coat of the puli dogs may also be solid gray or white colour. While standing, the puli dogs height ranges from 16 inches to 17 inches and the average weight of the puli dogs range from about 30 pounds. 

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History About Puli Animals

During the 9th Century, Magyars, an ancient Hungarian may have brought these Puli dogs to Hungary. When they invaded westwards from Siberia they were named sheepdog on the Hungarian plain. Puli dogs are the ancestor of the Poodle, which is a German breed. The researcher Dr Emil Raitsitz from Hungary's veterinary college was the first person to study Puli bread during 1920. 

The puli dogs can work together with the much larger, white Komondor, a Hungarian breed of livestock guardian dog. The Komondor is also a large, solidly built dog, around 30 inches tall. These komondor species are also providing guard to the sheep or cattle mostly at night, while the Puli herded and guarded them during the day. When wolves or bears attacked the livestock of cattle and human beings, the Puli dogs would create a huge sound to alert the group and the  Komondor would receive the signal then come and fight against the intruders. Sometimes, the Puli breeds are also a good fighter against the wolves and their thick coat protects them from predators. The Komondor dogs usually take rest during the daytime but at night walk around the flock, constantly moving, patrolling the area.

Nomadic shepherds living in  Hungarian plains valued their herding dogs and paid as much as a year's salary for maintaining Puli. Although the coats may look slightly similar to the Puli has never worked in water and the Puli's coat does not grow continuously till their lifetime.

As per researchers, the Puli's ancestors may be the ancient Hungarian shepherd dogs. Later, Travellers brought the Puli dogs with them to the Carpathian basin, to help organize the flocks and herd the animals of the area. Also, the large Komondor or Kuvasz were used for guarding the flock. Further, the Puli dogs were also a suitable guard for flock protection but were primarily used for herding the animals.  At the beginning of the 20th century, a real turning point for the breed outbreak, when they were rediscovered but they were no longer used much as a sheepdog. Now, extensive shepherding was replaced by intensive farming. The role of  Puli's was reduced in the life of the flock. Although their traditional duty was kept, they started to fulfil jobs that were convenient in the circumstances of their owner, and nowadays they became house dogs.  After World War II, the Puli breeds became the least popular pet and even now, the breed has not been able to regain the popularity as olden days.

In 1935, the U.S. Department of Agriculture imported four purebred Pulik to Beltsville, Maryland for experimentation. They are trying to help American agriculturists concerned with the problem of herding dogs which sometimes killed the animals through which they had been entrusted to control. The Pulik were also bred among themselves and sometimes they crossed with the German Shepherd, the Chow Chow and perhaps with two Turkish sheepdogs which were quartered there at the time. According to the test conducted by the researchers, the average scores of Pulik ranged between 75 to 85. But the score of other herding breeds ranges between 12 to 14. 

Characteristics of  Puli

Physical Appearance 

The puli dogs usually look black and are solid coloured dogs. Some puli animals' coat colours are white, grey or cream, but they are a less common variety. Some varieties of puli dogs have cream coats that have black masks. The white coloured pulis does not have albino and they have blue eyes. The puli animals commonly have dark pigment, black pads, black noses and black pigment inside the mouth. The white gene present in the puli dogs are recessive to the pure black gene dogs. The breed standard for females is about 16.5 inches near the withers and 17 inches for males. The weight of female puli dogs are about 23 to 25 pounds and male puli dogs are slightly more than female dogs. The thickness of the coats of some Puli dogs can vary depending on the breeds, which can be flat or round depending on the texture of the coat and the balance of undercoat to outer coat. 

The coats of the puli dogs are also the result of a controlled matting process. The animals with 

thin, rope-like corded coats are desired and the grooming should control the coat towards the forming of thinner ropes. Further, the coats of Puli need grooming to keep the cords clean, attractive and neat. The coat becomes long, while they are attaining age. So, the person who has Puli dogs as a pet can trim the coat regularly for easy maintenance.

Behaviour of Puli

The puli dogs are intelligent and active. They need regular grooming and obedience training from a young age. If the Puli dogs get enough exercise, they can lead a healthy life and a long life span for the pets in cities. Puli animals show the best result while they are living outdoors. If they could not get enough physical activities or exercise, they became overactive or shy. So, the puli breeds dogs best to keep in a garden house. These breeds are cosy and friendly towards the children and they are more sensitive and prone to resentment.

Activities of Puli 

Usually, Puli animals are intelligent and fast-moving species.  Even though the Puli have a bulky appearance and very thick coat, they are very agile, fast and can change directions fastly. They are obedient enough so they can train for athletic competitions. Usually, Hungarian pulis are devoted and develop close bonds with their owners. 

As Puli breeds are intelligent, they can develop their intelligence with the help of well obedience training. In the earlier days, the Puli dog breed was widely used as a herding dog and sometimes even used as a livestock guarding dog. Puli dogs are very good guard dogs, as they are very protective for both their owners and territory. Also, these puli dogs are fun-loving, sensitive and courageous species. But also they are tough and headstrong. 

The Hungarian Puli is most loyal to their owners and cautious about their strangers. 

These dogs are highly active and keep a playful, puppy-like behaviour throughout their entire lives. They preferably need a lot of outdoor exercises and free space. So, Puli dogs are not well suitable for city people or as indoor pets. When these animals are restricted to a closed space for long periods of times, they grow restless and they may develop unwanted personality traits, such as becoming hyperactive or becoming more aloof and lazy.

These puli dogs are one of the most obedient, determined and focused dogs, so they can be assigned to complete the task. Some are using them as police dogs. Puli animals are livestock guarding dogs, they are aggressively protective of their territory and flock, and, despite their relatively small size, will fearlessly try to scare and drive any intruder away; however, they very rarely inflict any real injuries.

Puli dogs are well attached to their owners and family and they are working as good security dogs and faithful family guardians. Generally, they regard their family as their group members are kept in the distance until they are sure a stranger is not a threat. When they feel insecure, they may attack without any prior warning. So, usually, researchers will suggest maintaining a suitable distance for strangers.  These puli dogs are extremely independent and obstinate, and only accept strong-willed individuals as masters. 

The Puli animals can compete with the dog agility trials, Rally obedience, showmanship, obedience, flyball, tracking, and herding events. Usually, pulis will exhibit basic herding instincts and can be trained to compete in herding trials. 

Coat Color And Grooming

The coat of puli is considered to be non shedding and hypoallergenic. Most Hungarian puli is in black colour. Some Pulis in the United States are also in white and grey colour. The pulis from Hungary’s most common colour are black or brownish. The animals with the black coats are described as a "weathered" black, as the white hairs on the coat grow when the dogs attain their old age. In addition, the cords of the Puli don’t shed and they lose some of their colour intensity over time due to overexposure to the sun and air.

Coats of some puli are self-cording, though most require the help of a human to separate the cords by hand when the adult coat comes in. When the coat texture modulates from puppy fluff to adult coat, the undercoat is packed into the interior of the outer coat tendril to form a felt-like structure. Puli requires about four years for the coat to attain complete maturity.

The fluffy present in the uncorded Puli coat keeps them in good condition through regular brushing and combing to remove tangles and dirt and to distribute natural skin oils. The corded coat present in Puli animals should never be brushed, so they can be managed by hand. Initially, they can be dampened with water and the cords can be separated and twirled. Further, The length of the corded coat can also be trimmed to keep it away from collecting dust and dirt.

Conclusion

The puli dogs are intelligent and active animals. They are usually used as guard animals. The Puli dogs require frequent physical activities to keep them active. Older says they play an important role in protecting the cattle and livestock near the forest. But nowadays they have become less popular among the people. They need wide space, so they are not preferable for the people living in apartments. Most of the puli breeds are in black colour, but also available in white or grey colour.