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Mudi is a rare, spitz-type herding dob breed from Hungary. Mudi weighs 18 to 29 pounds (8-13 kg) and stands 14 to 20 inches (38 to 47 cm) at the withers. Mudi's coat is medium long and curly, it consists of harsher top coat and softer under coat. On the facial region and legs hair is shorter. Though black is most common of the colors, also white, sand color, ash color, brown and blue merle are accepted. The tail has longer hair fringe, and curves above dog's back when it's excited or moving. In some countries, docking the tail is still accepted, and also naturally stumpy tailed puppies are being born. Mudi is versatile farm dog, that has been used mainly for herding cattle, sheep and pigs, but also for exterminating rodents and even as hunting dog.
The breed type dates back to 15th - 18th century, and the closest relative to the breed is Croatian shepherd. Mudi type of dogs have been breed for working purposes, and the breed has changed very little from it's early days.
Mudi breed was discovered and described first time in 1936, when Dr Deszö Fényes described the breed. Mudi was officially recognized as a breed in 1936. During the 2nd World War many of the Hungarian herding dog breeds suffered great losses, and also mudi was close to extinct. New standard for the breed was written in 1966 in order to apply FCI recognition for the breed, and during the 1970's few breeders started to bring the breed back to public knowledge.
To Finland the breed came in 1976, and nowadays we have a population of around 80-100 mudis. The Finnish mudi population is based mostly on Hungarian import dogs. The Finnish mudi population is small, but healthy, thanks to the breeders who've believed on doing health checks on their breeding dogs.
In Finland Mudi is popular in dog sports, such as tracking, scenting, search, search & rescue, agility and flyball. Dogs have been exported from Finland to Hungary, Sweden, USA and Canada.
Mudi is one of the three Hungarian herding dog breeds, and it's closest relatives in the dog world are the Hungarian Pumi, the herding terrier, and Hungarian Puli, the corded "bob marley" dog. Mudi-type is very old, dogs similar to modern day mudis used to live in the plains of Hungary and surrounding countries already hundreds of years ago. In Hungarian literature and art, the first descriptions of mudi date back to 16th century, and in the neighbouring country, Croatia, there's early descriptions from 12th century describing Croatian Shepherd, breed so similar to mudi that even an expert will have hard time telling which is which. For how long exactly the mudi-type of dogs have been helping the shepherds in Hungary is impossible to say, but the breed is a part of the Hungarian history and national heritage.
Mudi type of dogs have been developed without standards to meet the needs of the shepherds who wanted an all-round working dog. The shepherd chose the dog that was good at it's work to continue it's lineage, other kind of dogs were worthless to keep, for they didn't work for their living. The breed has gone through rough natural selection for centuries, and this has kept Mudi healthy, vital and strong.
Mudi was recognized as a breed in the end of 18th century, and the first official breed standard was written in 1936. Originally mudis were registered in the same registry with pumis, but after the 2nd World War mudis got their own registry. In 1966 the second version of the Mudi standard was accepted, and the breeding work was begun with the dogs that were collected from the farms and given pedigrees.
Mudi has until recently been very much just a working dog breed, and it hasn't gained much of the public attention until recetly. It's been estimated, that most of the mudi-type dogs in Hungary are still born without pedigrees, solely for working purpose. These dogs can be given mudi pedigree if they meet the standard of the mudi, and these dogs can help to ensure that the genetic diversity of the breed is not lost.
In 2000 the mudi got the latest standard. The 1966-standard was very brief compared to the earlier standard, and it didn't accept several of the mudi colors that were earlier accepted. Ash color, brown, fakó and cifra (merle) are now returned to the standard. The colors are very rare, which may be the reason why they were excluded from the earlier standard. Other significant changes are lowering the ideal size a bit, and describing the mudi's back to slope towards the tail.
Mudi has maintained it's herding abilities - in the photo Kilvan Fürge Fergeteg "Trolli"
In Hungary mudi has been used as a herding dog. Mudi is able to herd sheep, cows, pigs and even ducks. It's not an "eye dog", unlike Border collie and other collie breeds that use their hypnotic eyes to control the animals; Mudis use their body language and voice, and don't hesitate to nib the un-obedient animal if needed. Mudis generally still have herding instinct that may come visible in everyday life. Mudi's are interested of moving objects, and also wild animals may catch their eye, they might use their bark in situations where they are excited or want something, or try to nib passing by bicyckles or runners. Herding instinct may explain some of the behaviour traits of the mudi, but the owner should supress any undesirable herding behaviour.
Being a herding dog, mudi has to be able to work independently with large flocks of sheep or cattle. It has to be intelligent to be able to make quick decisions. Mudi has to be mentally and physically hard enough, so that it won't loose its courage if it gets kicked or run over by the sheep, but it has to be soft enough to learn from its mistakes, because the next kick could be fatal. Mudi has to be agile and flexible, and it has to have fast reactions to be able to move, spin and turn faster than the eye.
Mudi is active, alert and lively breed, but it should not be hyper active, restless or over excited. The daily routine of the shepherd's dog may vary a lot from day to day and from season to season. The day at the field may well be mostly resting and just keeping eye on the grazing animals, but when needed, mudi has to be ready to action in matter of seconds.
Mudi has to be brave dog so that it can work with the sheep and cattle, it can't hesitate. It has to be tough enough to gain the respect of the flock with any means available. Mudi is herding with its body, movements and voice. As last resort, it has its teeth and may nib the rebellion sheep. The herding instincts may come visible in daily life, mudi puppy may try to "herd" cars, bicycles, animals or even children, and all unwanted herding behaviour should be suppressed gently but firmly.
As most of herding breeds, mudi is willing to please and devoted to its family. Mudi is easy to motivate, and can be rewarded with food and toys, and often if the work is fun enough, biggest reward is to work more. Mudi needs enough activities to satisfy its need of exercise and brainwork. If the mudi is not used as herding dog, it will also enjoy obedience or agility training, dog dancing or Frisbee or fly ball. Besides physical activities, mudi needs to have some kind of work where it can use its brain. Mudi can be trained search and rescue dog, it can be taught to track etc. Active dog may develop problem behaviour if its need of exercise and brainwork is not satisfied.
In Hungary mudi is still mainly shepherd's dog. But in other countries it has become popular in different dog sports. In Finland mudis have been successful in obedience, agility, dog dancing and national working trials. Mudi is multi-talented multi-purpose dog, and it's up to you what you want to do together with your dog.
Mudi looks like a basic prototype of a dog, without any signs of exaggeration. Mudi's coat is easy to care; combing now and then and washing 2-3 per year is enough to keep the coat in good condition. Mudi sheds usually twice a year. Mudis coat is naturally curly or wavy and slightly oily. Coat is shiny, it doesn't get tangled easily and doesn't collect dirt or mud. Coat consists of top coat and under wool that keeps the dog warm. Mudi coat is ideal for the Hungarian environment, where hard, spiky vegetation of the plains may tear the skin of the dog if the coat doesn't protect it. The spikes can't get through the thick and dense mudi coat. Mudi is weather proof; coat is warm enough to protect it in snow and rain, and protects also from the sun. The coat will dry fast after washing, swimming or rain.
Mudi is medium-sized and quite light built. The size still varies a lot, biggest males may be over 50 cm high, though most mudis fit the standard's limits. Mudis structure is very elastic, it movemet is flexible and energy-saving. Mudi has normal angulation and structure without exaggeration.
The breed has many color variations. Though the 1966 standard only accepted black and white, there's always been also other colors. Ash colored, brown, yellow and merle dogs gained recognition in the 2000 standard. Also other colors are being born occasionally; isabella (ashbrown) and brown-merle are not yet accepted by the FCI standard, but are combinations of the accepted colors and often concidered as equal to accepted colors in Hungary. Other possible colors are non-accepted black&tan, brown and tan, wolf color, brindle and sable with mask. These non-standard colors are often disqualified in shows. Color all in all is in our opinion aesthetic quality, and should not be the main reason to choose the particular dog or breed. Mudi still is the very prototype of the dog. It's very modest, yet beautiful. Mudi has lively, triangle shaped ears that it uses to communicate with it's owner. It has deep dark, almond shaped eyes that have curious, intelligent look. Mudi has lively tail, that can hang down or be high set depending of the mood of the dog. Earlier tail was often docked, but also natural short tails are being born. |
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![Maszli - [c] Katalin Timar-Geng](kuvat/Mazli1.jpg)
Brown-merle female Mászli - Katalin Timar-Geng
In 2000 the new standard was written, and the biggest changes to 1966 standard was the addition of many colors and the size limits. In 2004 the fakó color was added to the English standard, as it had been left ouf of the new standards translations, even if it was listed in the original, Hungarian standard.
MUDI FCI STANDARD NO 238/22.11.2004/GB
TRANSLATION: Mrs C. Seidler and Mrs Elke Peper.
ORIGIN: Hungary.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD: 09.11.2004.
UTILISATION: Herding dog. Because of his courageous disposition he is very popular with the shepherds for the use of herding large and difficult livestock. He is even used for the battue of wild boar. Excellent guard and companion dog. A dog used for searching out drugs. Watch and alarm dog. Excellent agility dog, lovable house pet. Because of his relatively short coat and his excellent adaptability, it is no problem to keep him in the house.
CLASSIFICATION FCI: Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle Dogs). Section 1 Sheepdogs.
Without working trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: The breed came into being during the 18th to the 19th century from cross breeding Hungarian herding dogs most probably with various prick eared German herding dogs.
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Medium sized herding dog with a wedge shaped head. Prick ears. Body topline is distinctly sloping towards the rear. The head and the limbs are covered by short, smooth coat. The other parts of the body have a somewhat longer, very wavy to slightly curly coat. There are different variations of colour.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:
• The body length is approximately equal to the height at the withers.
• The depth of the brisket is slightly less than half of the height at the withers.
• The length of the muzzle is slightly less than half of the total length of the head.
BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT
The Mudi is extremely able to learn, of lively temperament, courageous, watchful, keen to work, alert and adaptable.
HEAD: The most striking part of the Mudi is undoubtedly his head. To the observer it should give the impression of an alert, always energetic, cheerful and intelligent animal without any trace of timidity or aggessiveness. The head is wedge shaped, tapering towards the nose.
CRANIAL REGION
Skull : Skull and forehead are slightly domed. Occiput not pronounced. Superciliary ridges only slightly developed.
Stop : Barely pronounced.
FACIAL REGION
Nose : Narrow, rounded at front with moderately wide nostrils. In the colours black, white, fawn and blue-merle, the nose is always black ; in the other colours the nose harmonises with the coat colour; e.g. the nose in a brown dog is brown and grey in a grey dog. Brown (liverbrown) coloured dogs have a brown nose and brown eyerims.
Muzzle : Moderately strong. Bridge of nose straight.
Lips : Tight-fitting to the teeth. Corner of mouth slightly jagged. The lip pigment corresponds with the pigment of the noseleather.
Jaws/Teeth : Complete scissor bite according to the dentition formula. Regular teeth of medium size.
Eyes : Narrow, slightly pointed at inner and outer corners, set slightly oblique, thus having a “dare devil“ expression. The eyes should be as dark as possible. Only in blue-merle dogs, wall (white or blue) eyes are not faulty. Rims of lids are tight, close-fitting to the eyeball and evenly pigmented.
Ears : High set prick ears which are of a reverse V-shape and covered with abundant hair reaching beyond the edges of the external ears. The response of the ears to stimulation is very lively. The dog can turn the ears independently of each other like a radar screen. Ears are approximately 10 to 15 % longer than their width at the base.
NECK: The slightly high set neck forms an angle of 50 to 55 degrees to the horizontal. It is of medium length, barely arched and well muscled. Without dewlap or pronounced neck ruff. In male dogs there can be a barely developed mane; this must, however, never be noticeable.
BODY
Topline : Clearly sloping towards croup.
Withers : Pronounced, long and muscular.
Back : Straight, short.
Loin : Of medium lenth. Firmly coupled.
Croup : Short, slightly sloping, of medium breadth, muscular.
Chest : Forechest slightly curved. Ribs somewhat broad and rather flat.
Underline : Sligthly tucked-up.
TAIL: Set on at medium height. In repose, hanging, with lower third raised almost to horizontal. When alert and during active movement, the tail is carried in sickel shape, higher than the topline. Docking of tail is undesirable but is not regarded as a fault. If the tail is docked, two or three of the tail vertebrae must be visibly left.
Dogs born without or with a natural stump tail are rare; this is not regarded as a fault. The tail is abundantly coated ; the hair on the underside can even be 10 to 12 cm long.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS
Shoulders : The shoulder blade is moderately sloping and well muscled. The forechest is curved, the point of the sternum only slightly protruding.
Upper Arm : Of medium length. At 45° with the horizontal.
Elbows : Close-fitting to the body.
Carpal joint : Firm, dry.
Pastern : Steep.
Forefeet : Round with well knit toes. Little hair between and under the toes. Pads springy. Nails slate grey and hard.
HINDQUARTERS : The hind legs are a little overstretched beyond the rear.
Upper thigh : Long, well muscled.
Metatarsus : Short and steep.
Hind feet : Like front feet. Dewclaws not desirable.
GAIT/MOVEMENT: The Mudi’s characteristic movement are mincing steps.
SKIN: Tight, without wrinkles.
COAT
HAIR : Head and front of limbs are covered by short, straight and smooth hair. On other parts of the body, the coat is uniformly very wavy or slightly curled. It is dense and always shiny, about 3 to 7 cm long.
At some spots, cow-licks and ridges are formed. The coat is longest on the back of the foreams and the upper thighs, where it forms pronounced featherings.
COLOUR
• Fawn.
• Black.
• Blue-merle, i.e. black speckled, estriped, -brindle or -spotted on lighter or darker bluish-grey primary colour.
• Ash colour.
• Brown.
Only slightly extensive white markings are tolerated but not desired. A white patch on the chest, less than 5 cm in diameter, and small white markings on the toes are tolerated but not desired.
• White.
SIZE AND WEIGHT
HEIGHT AT WITHERS: Dogs: 41 – 47 cm ; Ideal height 43 – 45 cm, Bitches: 38 – 44 cm ; Ideal height 40 – 42 cm.
WEIGHT: Dogs: 11 – 13 kg., Bitches: 8 – 11 kg.
FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points must be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
ELIMINATING FAULTS
• Aggressive or overly shy.
• Flesh coloured, liverbrown or spotted nose in black, white, blue-merle, fawn or ash coloured dogs. Flesh coloured or spotted nose in brown dogs.
• One or more missing teeth (incisors, canines, premolars 2-4, molars 1-2). More than two missing PM1. The M3 are disregarded.
• Over- or undershot mouth, wry mouth. Gap of more than 2 mm between upper and lower incisors.
• Yellow eyes in black dogs.
• Drop ears.
• Short, smooth, flat coat on the whole body ; long hair on the head. Coat tending towards matting.
• Wolf grey colour, black and tan with yellow to brown markings.
• Height at the withers below 38 or over 47 cm.
• Albinism.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
NB: Male animals must have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
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