bullet dog

History of origin

If you have ever been in the Hungarian Carpathians, where flocks of black-headed sheep graze in vast meadows, you must have noticed small black shepherd dogs that look like a tattered rope mop. These bullets are the national Hungarian breed and the pride of the country.

It is still not exactly known how the ancestors of the bullet got into the country of the Magyars, but most scientists are inclined to believe that these small dogs arrived in Europe with trade caravans in the early Middle Ages, and their homeland is Tibet. Shepherd dogs lived there from ancient times, covered with shaggy, matted hair in dreadlocks, as archeological finds unambiguously speak of.

In Hungary, to this day, bullets are used both as shepherds and as hunters – they do an excellent job with the duties of gun dogs, and interest in them has not fallen for many centuries. However, like many other breeds, bullets survived the crisis in the twentieth century, when the number of pastures in the country was greatly reduced, and the services of shaggy shepherds began to be needed less and less, but through the efforts of Hungarian breeders, the breed was revived in order to win a place in the hearts of people again. all over the world, but not only as a working dog (although even the police began to use bullets), but also as a family friend. Smaller varieties were bred: small and decorative.

These dogs were especially fond of in America, and not only due to their cheerful nature and complaisant disposition, but also due to their original appearance: their shaggy black drers resemble Rastafarian hairstyles.

In Our Country, bullets are still less known than in other countries, but the breed is finding more and more admirers.

Breed description

Medium-sized, very strong dog, which is difficult to confuse with any other breed due to its characteristic coat. It is very difficult to determine the outlines of her body and even the shape of her muzzle by eye, because she is completely hidden by long dreadlocks. However, the bullet’s head is gracefully built with a slight transition from the forehead to the nose, the eyes are slightly slanted with a cheerful and friendly expression. Ears hanging.

The back is straight, but the tail thrown over the back gives a feeling of raising the croup. The backbone is powerful – bullets are very hardy dogs, capable of traveling with flocks of sheep for many kilometers.

Medium, small and decorative bullets differ from large ones only in size.

The coat is long over the entire surface of the body, even on the muzzle, matted into dreadlocks – the hallmark of the breed, but they do not appear immediately. Puppies are born with a wavy silky coat, and it reaches its signature length only at the age of one and a half to two years.

The most common color is black, but there are also white, grey, hart with a dark mask, and brindle dogs.

Photos

Character

Kind, cheerful, but without obtrusiveness, loving the owners with all their hearts and responsibly relating to work – these are the bullets. It is not surprising that these dogs have found application even in the police, because they are not inferior to German shepherds in instinct and intelligence, but at the same time they have a friendly disposition.

Bullets are very mobile, love active games and long walks – it seems impossible to tire them. At the same time, they need not only to mindlessly run, but also to solve intellectual problems, so try to communicate and engage more with your shaggy friend and in no case limit him in communicating with other dogs and people.

There are legends about the devotion of shaggy shepherds, in Hungary they even say that this is not a dog, these are … bullets, thereby emphasizing that not every dog ​​lives up to their high moral standards.

In a word, if you become the proud owner of a bullet, you can be sure that you have found a friend for life.

Care and maintenance

The signature coat of those bullets that the owners plan to show at exhibitions require careful care, but if you got a dog for the soul, then taking care of their fur coat will not require much effort from you. It is enough just to periodically disassemble the dreadlocks with your hands so that they do not fall into a felt layer, and cut that hair that prevents the dog from seeing and eating. Often you don’t need to wash them either – unless, of course, your shaggy friend managed to swim in a dirty puddle.

The small dimensions of the bullet make them excellent pets for a city apartment, but only on condition that the dog will walk and communicate a lot.

Bullets are completely insensitive to heat and cold – their fur coat perfectly protects from both, so that even in the most frosty winter they do not need clothes. However, if the street is very dirty, you can put on a thin waterproof jacket on them, so that later the dog does not have to be washed off the dirt.

Education and training

Bullets are very intelligent dogs who sincerely enjoy both the learning process as such and the opportunity to please their owner. True, sometimes they can be stubborn, but you should understand that the dog is not a soulless mechanism, it can also have its own opinion regarding your commands. Especially if you failed to become not only her favorite master, but also the leader of the pack, who is always right.

Bullets successfully pass both the general course of obedience and training, but you should not stop there. Don’t forget that your dog is a multifunctional working dog that is equally good at guarding, investigating, herding and hunting. Choose any direction and work with the bullet further!

And you need to start learning as early as possible, because even the mother begins to teach puppies to graze sheep, as soon as they gain strength. And, as mentioned above, be sure to help the tailed baby learn the world around him: go with him every time to new places, let’s communicate with people and animals. Remember that dog aggression is not anger, it is fear, and it is caused by self-doubt and self-doubt. If there is no fear either of the street or of people, then the dog will grow up balanced and kind.

Health and disease

For hundreds or even thousands of years of existence, bullets have been able to pass natural selection, which has culled all animals with any hereditary pathologies, so bullets are a very healthy breed. Of course, they are also susceptible to such a common canine disease as joint dysplasia, so when choosing a puppy, be sure to find out if this disease was found in his ancestors.

They also encounter problems with the endocrine system in the bullet, and white dogs may be prone to allergies, so if you got a pearl-colored dog, be sure to check his diet with the veterinarian.

For the health of the dog, constant physical activity is necessary, but if they are not there, everything can result in diseases of the musculoskeletal system, nervous system, and obesity.

Word to the breeder

President of NKP PULI Irina Murdavlyatova from Zhukov, Kaluga region, breeder of cattery Matthias Rex: “There are many books about bullets, some of them are true and real, mostly old Hungarian books, and there are just advertisements. First and foremost, this is a working dog. And this means that the bullet perceives life as a task assigned to him and loves to solve it. Puli loves to participate in all family activities. But that doesn’t mean it has to be constantly on the move. Puli is an exceptional guardian and this instinct is more primal than that of the shepherd. This breed is territorial, very sensitive, always responding to every sound. Puli does not like noise, fuss, does not trust strangers, does not like meaningless commands and unpredictable behavior. Never lie bullets.

According to Tibor Zarol»

Popular questions and answers

We asked questions about the content of the bullet to answer zoo engineer, veterinarian Anastasia Kalinina.