Hungarian Puli dog, a medium size dog breed.

The Puli (plural is Pulik), like the Komondor is another Hungarian working dog.  Historians believe that the nomadic people called Magyars brought their dogs with them when they settled in what is now called Hungary, in the late 9th century.  After the decimation of Hungary, in the 16th century, Western Europeans repopulated the areas in the 17th century, bringing with them their sheepdogs.  The Pulik of those days, interbred with sheepdogs of France and Germany, producing the Pumi.  The names, Pumi and Puli, were synonymous for many years, which almost resulted in the total loss of the Puli as a distinct breed.  A resurrection of the breed began in the early 1900s.  The first breed standard was written in 1925, and the Pulik of that time varied greatly in height from very large dogs, used in police work to small dwarf sizes.  The medium size dogs were most like traditional herding Pulik and were therefore chosen as the desired size.  In 1935, Pulik were imported into the US for the purpose of improving the herding breeds in America.  War however prevented this effort, but the breed became known, and the AKC recognized it in 1936.

The Puli has been described as a "mop on springs."  It is full of bouncing energy and curiosity.  It is by nature an affectionate dog, very intelligent, and a home-loving companion, sensibly suspicious of strangers, and therefore makes a great watchdog.  The Puli's coat is dense, weather resistant and very profuse on all parts of the body.  The outer coat is wavy or curly and tends to form wooly cords, either flat or round, in the adult.  If allowed to cord, instead of brushed out, these cords need to be separated regularly and the dog bathed.  Drying time can be as much as a day.  Only the solid colors of rusty black, black, all shades of gray, and white are acceptable.