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The Hungarians, originally living a nomadic lifestyle
in Asia entered Hungary in 896 AD. In order to survive amongst their Christian
neigbours they adopted Christianity and crowned their first king Stephen
the I st in 1000 AD. It is thought that they bought their dogs with them
from Asia, and that froms the basis of the current Hungarian dogs known
today.
In nomadic times, shepherds needed two types of dogs.
They needed large brave dogs to fight off predators such as wolfs, bears,
people from attacking the flock. They also needed small agile dogs to
do the herding. On the above picture all the current Hungarian sheepdogs
can be seen:
1. Komondor (top left) Very large dog (height 70-80cm,
weight 60kg) with long white corded coat. The thick coat which might
become matted in not properly groomed protected the dog from wolf bites
and extreme weathers.
2. Kuvasz (top right) Similar size to the Komondor with
heights of 68-73 cm and weights of 45-50 kg. The coat is white, however
it doesnt cord, but froms gentle waves about 10-15 cms long. Protector
of flocks and yards.
3. Puli (middle left) (height:40-45 cm) Could be mistaken
for a miniture komondor as it has the same corded weatherproof coat,
however it doesnt just come in white, but black, grey and masked apricot
too. Its job was to herd sheep, but also makes a good watch dog.
4. Mudi (middle right) (height:35-47 cm) He was formed
one to two hundred years ago by crossing the puli with the pumi and
german spitzes. Mudis have erect ears and medium length wavy coats that
come in various colours including black, white, blue merle, brown, sadny,
fawn or grey. Mostly used to herd sheep or pigs.
5. Pumi (bottom middle) (height:40-45 cm) He is a result
of crossing pulis with german/french terriers two to three hundred years
ago. Its ears are the tell-tale sign of its ancestors. Brave enough
to herd cows and pigs, very hardy hard working breed.
The Hungarians have actually got 9 breeds altogether.
Apart from the 5 working sheepdogs listed there is also a Hungarian
greyhound (Magyar Agar), a Hungarian driving hound (Erdelyi Kopo) and
2 pointers: the short and wirehaired Vizsla.
For more information on any of these dogs see under
my links.
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