Mudi

The Mudi is an agile, medium-sized dog with almost square proportions. Alert and surefooted, it moves with a free, tireless gait and is capable of quick and sudden movements.

The Mudi has short, straight, smooth hair on its face and the front of its legs. On its body, the hair is dense and wavy to curly, between one and three inches long on other parts of its body with pronounced feathering on the back of the forearms and upper thighs. The hair is known to form cowlicks and ridges, giving the coat a curled appearance.

The Mudi comes in five colors: black (all over with no shading); brown with colors ranging from light brown to chocolate; gray (all over with no shading); gray-brown; or yellow and white with colors ranging from almost white to darker golden shades. The merle pattern is allowed with any color.

The Mudi has a muscular, tight build with a short, straight, taut back, powerful hindquarters, and a full length or natural stump tail. Their almond-shaped eyes curve up at the outer edges, giving the Mudi a daredevil expression.

The color of their eyes depends on their coat color. Merle-patterned dogs have brown, blue, or brown speckled with blue eyes; brown, gray, or gray-brown dogs have lighter brown eyes; and yellow and white dogs have dark brown, lighter brown, blue or brown speckled with blue eyes.

The Mudi is a Hungarian working dog with similar origins to the Pumi and Puli. As one of the small sheepdog breeds that appeared around the ninth century, the Mudi herded flocks of sheep and cattle, exterminated vermin, and guarded the house.

The Mudi didn't become a distinct breed until 1930 when a local museum director, Deszö Fényesi, started a breeding program. His efforts led to the Mudi earning recognition as a breed in 1936.

Although the Mudi remains a popular herding breed in Hungary, where it works alongside shepherds to move flocks with up to 500 sheep, it's rare outside of its native country.