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For Sale

AKC Standard

GENERAL APPEARANCE

The Pumi is a medium-sized alert, intelligent, energetic, and agile Hungarian herding breed, originating in the 17th or 18th centuries from the ancestral Puli, and used to herd cattle, sheep, and swine. He is characterized by his square outline, curly coat, circular tail, and long head with semi-erect ears, and whimsical expression. The Pumi originated in Hungary where pastures were small and the livestock were driven to local fields for grazing. He is a versatile stock dog, equally adept at gathering, driving and keeping the stock within boundaries as directed by the shepherd, working very close to the livestock, and using his voice and quick movement to keep the stock under control.

SIZE, PROPORTION, SUBSTANCE

The Pumi is square, with the height at the withers equal to the distance from prosternum to buttocks. The bone is medium and the body is dry, lithe and muscular, with an off-standing, curly coat.

Size: Dogs are from 16” to 18½”, bitches from 15” to 17½”. Disqualification: Height ½” above or below the desired range.

Weight: Ideal weight in dogs is 27 – 29 lbs and in bitches 22 -24 lbs.

HEAD

Long, with the muzzle 40-50% of the length of the head. The planes are parallel with a slight stop.

Expression is lively and intelligent.

Eyes are medium sized, dark brown, deep set, and oval, set moderately wide apart and slightly oblique. The pigment is dark and complete with tightly-fitting eye rims.

Ears are set on high, of medium size, and carried two-thirds erect with the tips pointing somewhat towards the sides. The ears are covered with hair, enhancing their whimsical expression. The ears are mobile and alert, moving quickly in reaction to any stimulation. Disqualifications: Ears prick or hanging.

Skull is long, moderate in width, with a very slight rounding at the sides and back, but flat when viewed from the side. The occiput is not apparent.

Muzzle is strong, tapering to a blunt end at the nose, which is always black in all coat colors. Lips are tight and darkly pigmented, as are the gums.

Jaws are strong, with a full complement of well-developed, white teeth that form a scissors bite.

NECK, TOPLINE AND BODY

Neck is of medium length, slightly arched, and well-muscled. The skin at the throat is tight, dry, and without dewlap.

Withers pronounced and forming the highest point of the body.

Body : The body is smooth and tight with hard, but not bulging muscles, and particularly lean. The back is short, straight, and taut. The loin is short, straight, and firmly coupled. The croup is not too long, slightly sloped, and of medium breadth.

The chest is deep, fairly narrow, and extends well back to a moderate tuck-up. The ribs are slightly sprung with a deep brisket reaching to the elbows. The forechest is not pronounced. The depth of the chest is slightly less than 50% of the height at the withers.

Tail: set high, it arches over the back forming a full circle from base to tip, sitting just on top of the topline. In repose it may hang down. Docking is not permitted nor is a naturally short tail (stump).

FOREQUARTERS

Shoulders: The shoulders are moderately angulated, with long, well-knit shoulder blades and an upper arm matching in length. The angle formed between the shoulder blade and upper arm should be 100 to 110 degrees. The elbows are tucked firmly against the brisket.

The legs are long and straight, with medium bone. The pastern is very slightly sloped.

The feet are tight, and round with well-knit toes – a cat foot, with well-cushioned pads. The nails are strong and preferably black or nearly black.

HINDQUARTERS

The hindquarters are well-developed and muscular, and in balance with the forequarters having moderate angulation. The upper thigh is thick and strong, with a long, strong second thigh.

The hocks are short, vertical, and parallel to each other. A vertical line can be drawn from the ischium down to the ground just in front of the rear toes when viewed from the side. Rear dewclaws, if any, may be removed. Hind feet same as the forefeet..

COAT

The coat is a combination of wavy and curly hair, forming corkscrews or curls all over the body, and is never smooth or corded. The coat consists of an even mixture of harsh hair and softer undercoat

The coat stands out from the body approximately 1½” to 3” and is prepared using a combination of stripping and trimming. The eyes and the foreface are free of long hair.

The hair on the underside of the tail ranges from ½” at its shortest to 3” to 5” and has little undercoat.

In order to achieve the characteristic corkscrews and curls in the coat, the hair is allowed to dry naturally. The coat must never appear fluffed and blown dry, obscuring the characteristic curls.

 COLOR

Black, white, or any shades of gray. Shades of fawn from pale cream to red, with some black or gray shading desirable. The grays are born black and fade to various shades of gray. In any of the colors, an intermixture of some gray, black or white hairs is acceptable as long as the overall appearance of a solid color is maintained.

A white mark on the chest less than 1” at the longest dimension is permissible, as are white toe tips.

Skin pigmentation is dark, with the coat colors intense and solid, although there may be lighter or darker shadings on head and legs.

Disqualification: Any multiple-color pattern or patches, e.g. black and tan pattern , piebald, parti-colored.

 GAIT

The gait is light and spirited, energetic and efficient, with moderate reach and drive, enabling them to change direction instantly. Head and tail are carried up. From the front and rear, the legs travel in a straight line in the same planes, and tend to converge toward a median line of travel as speed increases.

 TEMPERAMENT

Lively, alert, intelligent, bold, and ready for duty, yet reserved with strangers, the Pumi assesses each new situation.

 FAULTS
Any deviation from the foregoing should be considered a fault, the seriousness of the fault depending upon the extent of the deviation. Additional emphasis should be given to those characteristics that distinguish the Pumi from the Puli: head, ears, tail, and coat.

 DISQUALIFICATIONS

Height ½” above or below the desired range.
Ears prick or hanging.
Any multiple-color pattern or patches, e.g. black and tan pattern, piebald, parti-colored.

Approved by HPCA 2010-08-30

FCI Standard

UTILISATION : Herding dog of Terrier type. Also suitable for herding larger types of animals. His scenting ability is well developed. Has excellently proved his worth when combating wild beasts of prey and rodents. Excellent pet, can definitely be kept indoors. Needs plenty of exercise. Is an excellent companion and sporting dog.

CLASSIFICATION FCI: Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle Dogs)

Section 1 Sheepdogs

Without working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : The Pumi came into being during the 17th to the 18th century in Hungary by crossbreeding the primitive Puli with imported German and French dogs of Terrier type with prick ears. It has been recognised as an independent breed at the beginning of the 20th century.

 GENERAL APPEARANCE : The Pumi is a cheerful, medium sized herding dog of Terrier type. His Terrier character is most obvious in his head. The foreface is elongated and the upper third of the otherwise prick ears is bending forward. The conformation is square. Because of his constant alertness, his neck carriage is higher than normal. The wavy coat of medium length forms curls. The Pumi can have various but must always be of one solid colour.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS

The body length is equal to the height at the withers.

The dept 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.

The length of the neck is equal to the length of the head and is 45% of the height at the withers.

BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : This rather lively herding dog has a restless temperament. Extremely bold, a little suspicious towards strangers. As a result of his sensible behaviour, his liveliness and his expressiveness, he attracts attention always and everywhere. The Pumi is rather noisy. His whole appearance embodies thirst for action and because of his restlessness and activity, all parts of his body are constantly on the move. He is always active and ready for duty. A shy or phlegmatic behaviour are untypical of the breed.

HEAD : Relatively long and narrow. The shape of the head is characterised by the elongated muzzle.

CRANIAL REGION

Skull: The top of the head is relatively broad and domed. The long forehead is only slightly domed and flat seen from the side. The superciliary ridges are moderately developed.

Stop: Barely perceptible, the forehead running an almost straight line between the eyebrows toward the bridge of the nose.

FACIAL REGION

Nose: Narrow, bluntly cut-off. Always black in all coat colours.

Muzzle: The bridge of the nose is straight. The elongated facial region tapers towards the nose but is never pointed.

Lips: Tight-fitting to the teeth, dark pigmented.

Jaws/Teeth: Strong jaws. The strong, well developed teeth are white. Regular, complete scissors bite according to the dentition formula.

Cheeks: Well muscled.

Eyes: Set moderately wide apart, slightly oblique. Medium sized. Medium sized, oval, dark brown slit-eyes. The expression is lively and intelligent. The eye-lids are tight and close-fitting to the eyeballs and well pigmented.

Ears: The upright ears are set on high, the upper third of the ears bending forward. The medium sized, even ears show a reverse V-shape. They show alert reactions to all stimulations.

NECK : Of medium length, little arched, well muscled, forming an angle of 50 to 55 degrees to the horizontal. The skin at the throat is tight, dry, without folds.

BODY : Well developed muscles, dry, exceptionally taut and tough. The breed is particularly lean and of harmonious appearance.

Topline: Straight.

Withers: Pronounced, long, sloping towards rear.

Back: Short, straight and taut.

Loins: Short, firmly coupled, straight.

Croup: Short, slightly sloping, of medium breadth.

Chest: The forechest is straight, not broad, rather deep. Ribs slightly arched, rather flat. The brisket is deep, long and reaches to the elbows.

Belly: Tight, tucked up towards rear.

TAIL : The high set tail forms a wide circle above the croup. The hair on the underside of the tail is 7 to 12 cm long, wry standing apart, with little undercoat. A natural stumpy tail or tail docking is not permitted.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : The front legs, placed under the forechest, support the body like pillars. They are vertical, parallel and not too wide apart.

Shoulders: The shoulder blade is long and a little steep. Angle to the horizontal is approximately 55 degrees. The points of the shoulder blades are placed vertically above the deepest point of the brisket.

Upper Arm: Short and well muscled. The shoulder blade and the upper arm form an angle of 100 to 110 degrees.

Elbows: Close-fitting to the body.

Forearm: Long, gaunt.

Pastern: Steep.

Forefeet: Rounded cat feet with well-knit toes. The pads are springy. Nails strong, black or slate grey.

HINDQUARTERS : The hindlegs are very strong. Seen from the side, they are somewhat extended beyond the rear. Seen from behind, the legs are parallel, straight, standing neither too narrow nor too wide apart.

Upper thigh: Muscular, long, sloping to the rear.

Stifle: On the same level as the elbows.

Lower thigh: Long, dry.

Hock: The hock is lean with clean outlines.

Metatarsus: Short, steep.

Hind feet: Like forefeet. Dewclaws are not desired.

GAIT/MOVEMENT : Quite lively and spirited. Stride short, energetic, dynamic and harmonious. The posture is bold and proud. The trot is light-footed and harmonious; the dog puts his hind feet exactly into the foot prints of the forefeet.

SKIN : Without folds, strongly pigmented. The areas of bare skin are black or slate grey.

COAT

HAIR : The wavy, curly coat forms tufts and is never smooth or corded. The coat has an average length of 4 to 7 cm, growing to smaller or larger tufts; it is elastic, shaggy and dense. It consists of a strong, but not coarse, topcoat and a soft undercoat. The dense, wiry protective hairs of medium length on the ears grow upwards. The eyes and the foreface are free of long hair. The desired coat preparation is achieved by hand trimming. Smaller corrections, done with scissors on head and legs, are possible. Preparing the entire coat with scissors is not desirable.

COLOUR :

Grey in various shades (normally, the colour at birth is black, turning grey with time).

Black.

Fawn. Primary colours: red, yellow, cream (a trace of black or grey and a distinct mask are desirable).

A white mark on the chest less than 3 cm in diameter and/or a white line on the toes are not faulty.

White.

The coat colour must always be intense and solid.

SIZE AND WEIGHT

HEIGHT :

Dogs: 41 to 47 cm; Ideal height: 43 to 45 cm. (English - 16" to 18 ½", Ideal height: 17" to 17.7")

Bitches: 38 to 44 cm; Ideal height: 40 to 42 cm. (English - 15" to 17.3", Ideal height: 15.7" to 16 ½")

WEIGHT:

Dogs: 10 to 15 kg; Ideal weight: 12 to 13 kg. (English - 22-33 lb, Ideal weight: 26 ½ - 28 ½ lb)

Bitches: 8 to 13 kg; Ideal weight: 10 to 11 kg. (English - 17 ½ -28 ½ lb, Ideal weight: 22 - 24 lb)

FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportions to its degree.

ELIMINATING FAULTS

• Round, Puli-like head. Foreface shorted than 40% of the total length of head.
• Strongly defined stop.
• One or more missing teeth (incisors, canines, premolars 2-4, molars 1-2). More than two missing PM1. The M3 are disregarded.
• Over- or understand mouth, wry mouth.
• Completely upright prick ears. Ears pendant from base or carried unevenly.
• Short smooth coat. Long, very matted, sticking out or dull coat.
• Chocolate coloured, multicoloured coat. All uniform, clearly defined patches (i.e. tan markings, mantle forming markings).
• Size deviating from the height limits given by the standard.

NB : Male animals must have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.