- • Black • White • Fawn (from beige to red) • Ash (blue) • Liver (brown) • Ash-brown (diluted brown/izabella) • Cifra (Merle), i.e. pigmented patterns of the above-mentioned colours diluted by the merle factor.
- Small sized white markings but not
- A white patch on the chest, less than 5 cm in diameter, and small white stitching on the toes but not
About the Mudi
Origin: Hungary
- Typical life span
- 12-14 years
- Size
- Medium — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 8-13 kg
- Height
- Male
- 41-47 cm
- Female
- 38-44 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI groupFCI divides this breed into varieties, and our sources don’t record which one a breeder works. Ask them which variety their line is.
- Sheepdogs and Cattledogs (except Swiss Cattledogs)
- Origin
- Hungary
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Mudi?
Medium-sized, versatile Hungarian herding dog with a wavy to curly coat, known for its intelligence, agility, and energetic nature. This all-purpose farm dog excels in various dog sports and herding activities.
Mudi history and origins
Developed in Hungary during the 19th and early 20th centuries as a versatile all-purpose herding and farm dog, likely from spontaneous crosses of Puli, Pumi, and German Spitz-type dogs. Nearly extinct after WWII but preserved by dedicated breeders. Officially recognized by FCI and AKC.
Mudi appearance and size
Males typically stand 41-47 cm at the shoulder and females 38-44 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Herding dogs. Because of their courageous disposition, they are very popular with the shepherds for the use of herding large and difficult livestock. They are even used for the battue of wild boar. Excellent guard and companion dogs. Watch and alarm dogs. Lovable house pets. Because of their relatively short coat and excellent adaptability, they can be kept in the house too
- Behaviour and temperament
“The Mudi is extremely able to learn, of lively temperament, courageous, watchful, keen to work, alert and adaptable”
Quoted from FCI standard n°238. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Medium
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- —
- Grooming needs
- 3 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Mudi
What you get with the Mudi
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Herding dogs. Because of their courageous disposition, they are very popular with the shepherds for the use of herding large and difficult livestock.…”
- The standard describes the breed as: “The Mudi is extremely able to learn, of lively temperament, courageous, watchful, keen to work, alert and adaptable”
What you are taking on
Nobody has written this side yet. It is a judgement rather than data, so it waits for a person — not for a missing source.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Mudi
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Head and front of limbs are covered by short, straight and smooth hair.
On other parts of the body, the coat is uniformly very wavy or slightly curled.
It is dense and always shiny, about 3 to 7 cm long.
At some spots, cow-licks and ridges are formed.
The coat is longest on the back of the forearms and the upper thighs, and the bottom edge of the tail, where it forms pronounced featherings
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°238 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Mudi down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Spotted or flesh-coloured nose leather (except for a small amount of spotting in merle colours)
- A bite other than a scissor bite. Absence of any other teeth besides P1 and M3
- Yellow eyes in black dogs.
- Drop ears.
- Short, smooth, flat coat on the whole body; long hair on the head. Coat tending towards matting.
- Wire hair.
- A colour or marking other than the colours listed in the standard.
- Deviation from the proportions and sizes recorded in the standard.
- Toy characteristics (short head, round skull, strong stop, round eyes)
FCI varieties
FCI divides the Mudi into these varieties, listed in the registry's own words. Depending on the breed they separate colour, coat, size or line — they are not a full list of colours, which no registry we hold publishes. Ask a breeder which variety their line is.
- Fawn
- Black
- Ash
- Liver
- Ash-brown
- White
- Cifra (merle)
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Mudi in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Mudi
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Mudi on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Mudi owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Mudi breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.