Pumi

[Laurelin]

I watched a pumi run agility the other day and was super impressed by him. He was clipped short and I first thought he was a poodle. But then thought he jumped odd for a poodle (poodles are one of those breeds I notice have a very distinct jumping style). I learned he was a pumi from the people sitting next to me. Very fast, very drivey, which surprised me.

Anyways, I realized I know next to nothing about the breed and was wondering if anyone had spent much time around them. I read some on the breed club's website and other sites and they're described as something both herder-like and terrier-like, which is interesting to me.

This is merely a curiosity since I know nothing of the breed.

[stardogs]

I do NOT like the breed. The two I've met were snarky, reactive dogs and their owner was planning to breed them. When questioned about the temperaments she said that they were "correct" for the breed. No thanks!

[Aleron]

I have met one, looked into them quite a bit. The one I met was to me, a fairly typical herding breed dog. I could pet her but she was pretty uninterested in me. They are very closely related to Mudi, to the point where they were interbred throughout much of their history and you still get Mudi born in Pumi litters. Those breeds have been described to me as "herding terriers" and that seems pretty accurate, as they definitely have a terrier-ishness about them. Nothing really turned me off of Mudi or Pumi...except maybe the barking issue. I just didn't pursue getting one because it's extremely hard to find them in the US and I wasn't interested in importing a dog. And I was pretty smitten with PyrSheps

A friend of mine has a Pumi puppy in her puppy class right now. Very cute! She says he's a funny, bold and nice puppy...but that he sure barks a lot LOL

Like many of the herders, there can be issues with reactivity, snarkiness, fearfulness, guardy tendencies, etc. Researching breeders and proper early socialization would be a must. They have pretty incredible potential as sport dogs though!

Check out this Pumi learning flyball:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHjebeXA6co

And Pumi agility (did I mention they bark?):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmlGP6i3WE0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnzoOy-L2CU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNCUvsc7GBo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxazZwRBbhA

This guy is a big Pumi. He won one of the big AKC competitions a few years ago but I can't remember which.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1xy7...NtfyRtUxwTQ1pQ

The person who has Chuey's video also has a bunch of videos from Pumifest, which is their National. You can see how the dogs act in the ring:

Stud Dog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-jY...1pQ&playnext=1

BOB
http://youtu.be/YTNIj6_iMZY

Class Bitches (long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-jY...feature=relmfu

[Shai]

Originally Posted by Aleron

This guy is a big Pumi. He won one of the big AKC competitions a few years ago but I can't remember which.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1xy7...NtfyRtUxwTQ1pQ

Are you sure? 20" NAC has been BCs all the ways in that dog's time (ETA: And they've never made finals so far as I can tell). The best I see that they finished at Eukanuba is 3rd in 2010 to a Lab and a FCR. As far as I can tell they weren't there in 2011.

[BostonBanker]

I've never met a pumi, but we had a woman in our area who was one of the first to bring the Mudi into the US. I can't say I was a big fan of her dogs at the time, but to be fair, I liked a very different type of dog then than I do now. Very snarky dogs, with people and other dogs. I'd never thought it before, but terrier-like is pretty much a good description.

[Shai]

Originally Posted by BostonBanker

I've never met a pumi, but we had a woman in our area who was one of the first to bring the Mudi into the US. I can't say I was a big fan of her dogs at the time, but to be fair, I liked a very different type of dog then than I do now. Very snarky dogs, with people and other dogs. I'd never thought it before, but terrier-like is pretty much a good description.

Yeah there are 4 Mudis in my area. from Sheltie sized to nearly Kim sized. A blonde, a brown, and two black. Three snarky and not to be trusted with other dogs. Not sure on the fourth...just a pup. In first three's case I don't know if I would call them terrier-like though. But they just seem sort of...off. Kim wanted nothing to do with them with is a big red flag...she looked at them, looked at me, and said we should move over there. Which she only does rarely and with dogs that give her bad vibes...I made the mistake of ignoring her once and have not done so since...we moved.

[Laurelin]

Oddly enough this one didn't bark at all while it ran. It definitely was a fantastic agility dog though.

I did not know that pumi and mudi were that closely related. I haven't looked much into mudik at all but never heard of them described as terrier-like. I've never met a mudi.

Same epilepsy issues in both, I assume?

[Aleron]

I like Polona Bona***269;'s article about Mudi and Croatian Sheepdogs:
http://polona.agility-slo.net/articl...s-and-the-mudi

Originally Posted by Laurelin

Same epilepsy issues in both, I assume?

I believe the health concerns are the same in both breeds.

Originally Posted by Shai

Are you sure? 20" NAC has been BCs all the ways in that dog's time (ETA: And they've never made finals so far as I can tell). The best I see that they finished at Eukanuba is 3rd in 2010 to a Lab and a FCR. As far as I can tell they weren't there in 2011.

LOL no I'm not sure actually. Just thought the Pumi person I talked to a couple years ago told me he had won one of them. I could definitely be mistaken.

[Shai]

Originally Posted by Aleron

LOL no I'm not sure actually. Just thought the Pumi person I talked to a couple years ago told me he had won one of them. I could definitely be mistaken.

He was the first Mudi MACH -- maybe that's what they meant lol. Especially if that Pumi person wasn't an agility person!

ETA: Meant to say the first Pumi MACH!

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by Shai

He was the first Mudi MACH -- maybe that's what they meant lol. Especially if that Pumi person wasn't an agility person!

She wasn't, so that is a very strong possibility