Pulis are very intelligent, acrobatic breed of dogs that is described as light, quick, agile and able to change directions instantly and are obedient enough to train for athletic competition. They are devoted and form close bonds with their owners and make great guard dogs.

The Puli is an ancient sheepdog, from Hungary, introduced by the migration of the Magyars from Central Asia for more than 1,000 years ago. The Puli were used for both herding and guarding livestock. The Puli would commonly work together with the much larger, white Komondor, a Hungarian dog breed of (solely) livestock guardian dog. The Komondor is a large, solidly-built dog, around 30 inches tall. The Komondor (or several Komondors if the there was a large amount livestock) were guarding the sheep or cattle mostly at night, while the Puli was herding and guarding them at daytime. When wolves or bears were attacking the livestock, the Puli would alert and the Komondors would come and fight the intruders. The Komondors were usually resting at daytime but at night will walk around the flock, constantly moving, patrolling the area.

It is said that nomadic shepherds of the Hungarian plains valued their herding dogs, paying as much as a year’s salary for a Puli.

As for as physical appearance goes, the head is in proportion to the body. The almond shaped eyes are deep set, rather large, and dark brown with black or slate gray eye rims. The ears, set on somewhat higher than the level of the eyes, are hanging, of medium size, V-shape, and about half the head length. The skull slightly domed and medium broad. The stop is defined, but not abrupt. The muzzle is strong and straight, a third of the head length, and ends in a nose of good size. The nose is always black. Flews and gums are black or slate gray. Flews are tight with a full complement of teeth, comparatively large, meet in a scissors bite.

The dense, weather resistant coat is profuse on all parts of the body. The outer coat is wavy or curly, but never silky. The undercoat is soft, wooly and dense. The coat clumps together easily, and if allowed to develop naturally, will form cords in the adult. The cords are wooly, varying in shape and thickness, either flat or round, depending on the texture of the coat and the balance of undercoat to outer coat. The Puli may be shown either corded or brushed. It is essential that the proper double coat with correct texture always be apparent. With age the coat can become quite long, even reaching to the ground; however, only enough length to properly evaluate quality and texture is considered necessary so as not to penalize the younger or working specimens.

Only the solid colors of rusty black, black, all shades of gray, and white are acceptable; however, on the chest a white spot of not more than two inches is permissible. In the black and the gray dogs an intermixture of some gray, black or white hairs is acceptable as long as the overall appearance of a solid color is maintained. The fully pigmented skin has a bluish or gray cast whatever the coat color.

The breed does very well in obedience and agility. Traditionally, the Puli dog breed was used both as a livestock guarding dog, and herding dog as well. They make very good watchdogs, as they are very protective of their master and territory. The Puli is sensitive, fun loving, courageous, but also tough and headstrong sometimes.

They are loyal to their owners and wary of strangers. They are highly active and keep a playful, puppy-like behavior their entire life.

As a working dog, the Puli are very obedient, focused and determined when assigned a task. Some of them are used as police dogs. As a livestock guarding dog they are fiercely protective of their flock, and, despite their relatively small size, will try to scare and drive an intruder away, however they very rarely inflict any real injuries. They are also very good herding dogs.

As a family dog, they make good security dogs and faithful family guardians. They can be very friendly and playful, even at old age. They regard their family as their flock, and will keep their distance until they are sure the stranger is not a threat. When annoyed, they may attack without warning, so a considerable distance may be advisable for strangers not known by the Puli. They can be extremely independent and obstinate, and only accept strong willed individuals as master.