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Pumi

The breeds · herding

AKC Herding · UKC Herding · FCI standard 56

Pumi.

FCI 56: herding dog of terrier type; also suitable for herding larger types of animals; scenting ability well developed; has proved his worth combatting wild beasts of prey and rodents; excellent house pet, companion and sporting dog. AKC standard: a versatile stock dog, equally adept at gathering, driving and keeping stock within boundaries as directed by the shepherd. RKC: still used as a herding dog, has shown ability to work as a terrier and despatch vermin. Wikipedia: most working sheepdogs in Hungary are Pumis..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
17–33LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 22 to 33.1 lb; breed bitches 17 to 28.7 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: up to 1 hour per day. AKC breed page: Energy Level 5 of 5. FCI 56: needs plenty of exercise. UKC: constantly on the alert and looking for action.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 16 to 18.5 in · bitches 15 to 17.5 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2011

No center: only ranges are printed. AKC and UKC agree; FCI converts to 14.96 at the low end.

Weight

dogs 22 to 33.1 lb · bitches 17 to 28.7 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2011

No center: the AKC and FCI ideals are ranges.

Coat

AKC: wavy and curly hair forming corkscrews or curls all over, never smooth or corded; even mix of harsh hair and softer undercoat; stands out 1.5 to 3 in. UKC: 1.5 to 3 in, tufted and shaggy, dense and double; a short smooth coat or an overly long, matted or corded coat is a disqualification. FCI 56: 4 to 7 cm average, elastic, shaggy and dense. Black, white, grey shades, and fawn from cream to red.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2011

Shedding

RKC: does not shed. AKC breed page: Shedding Level 1 of 5. Wikipedia: little to no shedding; the adult coat begins to grow at about nine months.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Curly or wavy coat of harsh hair over soft undercoat, standing out 1.5 to 3 in from the body

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2011

Derived from the AKC standard's coat description (even mix of harsh hair and softer undercoat, medium length): medium double tier, 3. Wikipedia says the coat gives good insulation in extremes of weather.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: up to 1 hour per day. AKC breed page: Energy Level 5 of 5. FCI 56: needs plenty of exercise. UKC: constantly on the alert and looking for action.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: up to 1 hour = 60. The AKC energy score (5 of 5) and the FCI 'plenty of exercise' read higher than the RKC band; both stand in the text.

Exercise need

RKC: up to 1 hour per day. AKC breed page: Energy Level 5 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 5 of 5. FCI 56: needs plenty of exercise. Wikipedia: should be kept busy with herding, agility and obedience work and given plenty of exercise.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

AKC breed page: Energy Level 5 of 5, Trainability 5, Playfulness 4, Barking Level 3, Watchdog/Protective Nature 4. AKC standard: lively, alert, intelligent, bold, ready for duty, reserved with strangers. UKC: bold and active with a rather restless temperament, can be a little suspicious of strangers, can be rather noisy. FCI 56: lively, restless, extremely bold, a little suspicious of strangers, rather noisy.

Breed clubAKC

Grooming load

2 of 5 · RKC: grooming once a week (mapped 2). AKC breed page: Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5. Coat is hand-stripped and trimmed to keep the curls; never fluffed or blow-dried.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band mapped: once a week = 2; the AKC page agrees at 2 of 5. Wikipedia says combing every few weeks and trimming every two to four months, and that the coat may mat if not maintained.

Grooming

RKC: once a week, medium coat that does not shed. AKC standard: prepared by a combination of stripping and trimming, dried naturally so the curls show. UKC: body coat prepared by hand; scissoring of the face and legs allowed, but the whole body coat should not be scissored. FCI 56: hand trimming, small scissor corrections on head and legs. Wikipedia: combing every few weeks, trimming every two to four months.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 56: herding dog of terrier type; also suitable for herding larger types of animals; scenting ability well developed; has proved his worth combatting wild beasts of prey and rodents; excellent house pet, companion and sporting dog. AKC standard: a versatile stock dog, equally adept at gathering, driving and keeping stock within boundaries as directed by the shepherd. RKC: still used as a herding dog, has shown ability to work as a terrier and despatch vermin. Wikipedia: most working sheepdogs in Hungary are Pumis.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 56, 2000

Primary game

Cattle, sheep and swine (AKC standard). FCI 56: also larger types of animals. Wikipedia: sheepdog; work close to farm stock, particularly sheep.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2011

Stock worked, not game.

Also used on

FCI 56: rodents and wild beasts of prey; RKC: vermin; UKC: terrier characteristics, constantly on alert. Wikipedia: has acted as a guard dog, been used for hunting wild boar, and can be trained for detection and search and rescue; popular in agility, obedience and dog dancing in Finland and Sweden.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 56, 2000

Wild boar, detection and search and rescue are editorial (Wikipedia) only.

Range

Close: AKC standard says he works very close to the livestock (pastures were small and stock were driven to local fields). Wikipedia: works close to farm stock.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2011

Search pattern

AKC standard: gathers, drives and keeps stock within boundaries as directed by the shepherd, working very close to the livestock and using his voice and quick movement to keep stock under control. Wikipedia: drives livestock with rapid movement, barking and the occasional nip. Rather noisy by FCI and UKC description.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2011

The AKC standard is the primary source for the voice-and-movement style.

Field trial standard

FCI 56 classification: Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs, Section 1 Sheepdogs, without working trial. Wikipedia: eligible to compete in herding events; basic instinct is measured at non-competitive tests and dogs showing it can be trained for trials.

Breed clubFCI Standard No. 56, 2000

The AKC herding test and trial rules were not read for this entry.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

9.4% · 9.4% dysplastic (mild 7.1, moderate 1.8, severe 0.5), n = 381 evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026 (OFA). Wikipedia: 9.4% abnormal of 329 US Pumis tested 1991 to 2021.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA all-data is undated and skews to breeding stock (dogs evaluated for breeding), so it may not match the pet population. Current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026. The Wikipedia figures are editorial, citing registry data.

Elbow dysplasia

6.3% · 6.3% abnormal (grade 1 5.8, grade 2 0.4, grade 3 0.0), n = 224 evaluations, current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026 (OFA). Wikipedia: as of 2016, no Pumi tested in the UK had recorded abnormal elbow scores.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA all-data is undated and skews to breeding stock (dogs evaluated for breeding), so it may not match the pet population. Current all-data, accessed Oct 9 2026. The UK statement is editorial and 2016-dated.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: known issues are patellar luxation and hip dysplasia. DNA-test carrier rates reported there for US Pumis tested 2001 to 2021: degenerative myelopathy 9.7% of 227, primary lens luxation 12.3% of 228. Another study of about a million genetically screened dogs found the RPGRIP1 gene (cone-rod dystrophy) in 4.65% of Pumis.

EditorialWikipedia

Single editorial source; no VetCompass paper or club survey found. The figures are carrier rates from test data, not disease prevalence.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 5; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 1; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 4; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 7 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Hungarian Pumi, Pumik (plural)

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