FCI Breed Standard

The FCI Standard for the Mudi is the Breed Standard set by Hungary, the breed's Country of Origin. Since the Mudi is not yet recognised by the UK Kennel Club, the FCI Standard is used here for educational purposes.

All content below is the property of the FCI.

FCI-Standard N° 238
ORIGIN: Hungary.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICIAL VALID STANDARD: 27. 10. 2023.

Utilization

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.

FCI Classification

Group 1 Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (except Swiss Cattle Dogs).

Section 1 Sheepdogs.

Without working trial.

Brief Historical Summary

The breed came into being during the 18th to the 19th century from cross breeding Hungarian herding dogs most probably with various prick eared German herding dogs.

General Appearance

Medium sized herding dog with a wedge-shaped head. Prick ears. Body topline is distinctly sloping towards the rear. The head and the limbs are covered by short, smooth coat. The other parts of the body have a somewhat longer, very wavy to slightly curly coat. There are different variations of colour.

Important Proportions

Length of body/height at withers: 103-105/100
Depth of brisket/height at withers: 40-45/100
Width of chest/height at withers: 30/100
Length of head/height at withers: 40-45/100
Length of muzzle/length of head: 40/100
Length of ears/length of head: 45/100
Width of head/length of head: 58-63/100

Behaviour

The Mudi is extremely able to learn, of lively temperament, courageous, watchful, keen to work, alert and adaptable.

Head

The most breed typical part of the Mudi is undoubtedly the head. To the observer it should give the impression of an alert, always energetic, cheerful and intelligent animal without any trace of timidity or aggressiveness. The head is wedge shaped, tapering evenly towards the nose.

Cranial Region

Skull: Skull and forehead are slightly domed. Occiput not pronounced. Superciliary ridges only slightly developed.

Stop: Barely pronounced.

Facial Region

Nose: Narrow, rounded at front with moderately wide nostrils. Colour is black, except for liver (brown), ash liver and its merle varieties the colour is brown; Ash (blue-grey) and its merle varieties nose colour is blue; for fawn and white, black nose is favourable but blue and brown is accepted.

Muzzle: Moderately strong. Bridge of nose straight.

Lips: Tight-fitting to the teeth. Corner of mouth slightly jagged. The lip pigment corresponds with the pigment of the noseleather.

Jaws/Teeth: Complete scissor bite according to the dentition formula. Regular teeth of medium size.

Eyes

Almond shaped and set slightly oblique. The eyes should be as dark as possible. For merle colours partially or solid, blue eye colour is not a fault. Rims of lids are tight, close-fitting to the eyeball and evenly pigmented.

Ears

High set prick ears which are of a reverse V-shape and covered with abundant hair reaching beyond the edges of the external ears. The response of the ears to stimulation is very lively. The dog can turn the ears independently of each other like a radar screen. Ears are approximately 10 to 15 % longer than their width at the base.

Neck

The slightly high set neck forms an angle of 50 to 55 degrees to the horizontal. It is of medium length, barely arched and well muscled. Without dewlap or pronounced neck ruff. In male dogs there can be a barely developed mane; this must, however, never be noticeable.

Body

Topline: Slightly sloping towards croup.

Withers: Pronounced, long and muscular.

Back: Straight, medium length.

Loin: Short. Firmly coupled.

Croup: Short, very slightly sloping, of medium breadth, muscular. Chest: Forechest slightly curved - reaching the elbows. Ribs somewhat broad and rather flat.

Underline and belly: Slightly tucked-up.

Tail

Set on at medium height. In repose, hanging, with lower third raised almost to horizontal. When alert and during active movement, the tail is carried in sickle shape, above the topline. The tail is abundantly coated; the hair on the underside can even be 10 to 15 cm long. Dogs born with or without a natural stump tail are not regarded as a fault.

Limbs
Forequarters

Shoulder: The shoulder blade is moderately sloping and well muscled. The forechest is curved, the point of the sternum only slightly protruding.

Upper Arm: Of medium length. At 45° with the horizontal.

Elbow: Close-fitting to the body.

Carpal joint: Firm, dry.

Pastern: Steep.

Forefeet: Round with well knit toes. Little hair between and under the toes. Pads springy. Nails slate grey and hard.

Limbs
Hindquarters

General appearance: The hind legs are only slightly overstretched beyond the rear.

Upper thigh: Long, well muscled.

Metatarsus: Short and steep.

Hind feet: Like front feet. Dewclaws not desirable.

Gait/
Movement

The Mudi’s characteristic movement are mincing steps, with a vigorous trot and a powerful gallop.

Skin

Tight, without wrinkles.

Coat

Hair: 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

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 are tolerated but not desired. A white patch on the chest, less than 5 cm in diameter, and small white stitching on the toes are tolerated but not desired.

Size & Height

Height at withers

Dogs: 41 – 47 cm; Ideal height 43 – 45 cm

Bitches: 38 – 44 cm; Ideal height 40 – 42 cm

Weight

Dogs: 11 – 13 kg

Bitches: 8 – 11 kg.

Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points must be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

Disqualifying Faults

Aggressive or overly shy.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities. • 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).

NB

Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation, should be used for breeding.