Mudi

[Linds]

So I don't know a ton about this breed but I've always been intrigued by them. But more often than not all I hear are negatives, barking, epilepsy etc.

So, tell me about them?

[Toller_08]

I don't know a lot about them, but I've met about 10 (one used to demo and train where I went for Obedience classes and the rest all happened to be at an outdoor dog show and Agility trial one summer) and loved all but one. They were so full of life and just so much fun. Reserved with new people at first, but either quickly warmed up or appeased strangers. One was severely shy, and her owner said that can be a big thing in the breed, but most of the others were not shy.

They were fun, crazy, driven, high energy little dogs. Loved to work with their owners and were super fun to watch run Agility. They were very fast and put so much effort into everything! Their owners had nothing but praise for their dogs and adored them to no end. They're supposed to be very, very quick learners and all of these dogs knew a ton of different things. Their owners said that they were fairly relaxed in the house, though. Not to the point of sleeping, but they kept themselves busy without making nuisances of themselves. I remember one saying though that her dog has to get out and do something absolutely every single day, otherwise he's a terror around the home, so that wasn't fun for her if she was really sick or something.

There did seem to have a little bit of dog aggression tendency, though. Most of the ones I met were totally fine, but there were a couple that were not and their owners said that the Mudi does not always get along with other dogs. It seemed to me to be almost brought on by a lot of unexpelled energy and a very tenacious (almost terrier like is what it reminded me of) attitude. They definitely have a lot of attitude.

They bark at everything and anything. Bark when they're happy, bark when they're working, bark because they heard *something* (even if it was nothing), barked because a leaf blew by... basically it seemed like they just barked to hear their own voices. And unfortunately for them, they do not have nice voices. It was almost little dog high pitched, but with a screechy bigger dog all mixed in one. Most were pretty ear piercing.

Anyway, that's my very limited knowledge of the breed! Too bad we don't have any Mudi owners around to tell us more.

[Laurelin]

I had a thread about mudi and pumi recently: http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=174143

[Shai]

Yeah I posted about Mudis in the other thread:

"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."

I've heard from their owners and from others that all three of the adults are not to be trusted with other dogs. I believe two are imported and the puppy and one of the adults were born here. The four dogs are owned by four different people.

[Aleron]

As you know, Mudi were a breed I looked into and still really like. I know several Belgian people who have gotten them - they look good with Belgians

I really like Polona's article about them: http://polona.agility-slo.net/articl...s-and-the-mudi

I have met a few, they very much seem to have an off switch. Not near as busy as PyrSheps. It is a bit hard to judge them by the ones I met though, as they weren't really doing anything but hanging out. Still they were hanging out in a very crowded, spectator heavy dog show with people petting them, lots of other dogs around them all day for two days and all seemed well behaved. I talked to a breeder there who lives in Hungry and brings dogs to the US. She told me they are still very much working dogs, that they instinct test them prior to breeding there and it is very rare for one not to have strong herding instinct. From what she said the barking is very hardwired and is a required part of their herding instinct test. To be a good herding Mudi the dog must bark, just like to be a good herding BC the dog must have eye. They are a very versatile breed, bred to be a multi-purpose farm dog. Many have hunting instinct, can do protection work and obviously some excel in performance events. In talking to people about them and reading about them, I heard them compared to terriers more than once. Also called "scrappy".

There is a small gene pool and I suspect that epilepsy is probably found in all lines. There are also eye issues and MCA encourages people to buy from breeding stock cleared of HD. Here is the MCA FAQ on the breed: http://mudi.us/pb/wp_b54b6d2b/wp_b54b6d2b.html

[BlackPuppy]

Originally Posted by Aleron

As you know, Mudi were a breed I looked into and still really like. I know several Belgian people who have gotten them - they look good with Belgians [/URL]

Maybe the same Belgian people I know with them. My local Mudi is very sweet and likes other dogs and people.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by BlackPuppy

Maybe the same Belgian people I know with them. My local Mudi is very sweet and likes other dogs and people.

Would that be Luke? I haven't gotten to meet him yet but have watched him grow up on FB

[BlackPuppy]

Originally Posted by Aleron

Would that be Luke? I haven't gotten to meet him yet but have watched him grow up on FB

Yes, Luke is my most local Mudi. We belong to the same dog club.

[elegy]

I've only met one, but what a neat dog.

The epilepsy scares me too much to think about owning one.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by elegy

I've only met one, but what a neat dog.

The epilepsy scares me too much to think about owning one.

Unfortunately BCs are prone to epilepsy too