Puli

The Puli nearly vanished during World War II, when the breed's population was decimated across Europe. Recovery efforts were led largely by dedicated Hungarian breeders and enthusiasts who worked through the second half of the twentieth century to stabilize the breed. The Magyar Ebtenyésztők Országos Egyesülete, the national cynological association of Hungary, has long recognized the Puli as a national breed treasure. In the United States, the Puli Club of America was founded in 1951 and remains the AKC parent club for the breed. The AKC formally recognized the Puli in 1936, placing it in the Herding Group when that group was formalized in 1983, having previously been categorized under the Working Group.

What sets the Puli apart from every other herding breed is the coat. Pulik — the correct plural form — are born with a soft, fluffy puppy coat that begins naturally separating into cords between nine months and two years of age. The cords are not styled or manufactured; they form when the coarse outer coat and the woolly undercoat interlock and mat together. Owners must assist in separating these forming cords by hand to prevent them from matting into large, unmanageable plates. A fully corded adult Puli carries a coat that can reach the ground, and the cords themselves can number in the hundreds. The breed is sometimes confused with the larger Komondor, another Hungarian breed with a corded white coat, but the Puli is a smaller, more agile dog built for active herding rather than livestock guarding.

The Puli ranks 164th out of 205 AKC-recognized breeds in popularity, which reflects its status as a devoted niche breed rather than a mainstream companion. Those who know the Puli well tend to keep them for life. The breed's combination of ancient working heritage, striking appearance, and sharp, bonded intelligence makes it genuinely unlike anything else in the herding group.