“Thought I’d share the story of how our family came to be…

Our wonderful dogs,

are Hungarian Pulis. The breed have worked with shepherds in Hungary for hundreds of years, but they are pretty rare in Australia. We ended up sharing our lives with this unusual breed thanks to a series of fortunate accidents.

Darren (my husband) and I were discussing getting a puppy as a companion for our dear old boxer Syd. I mentioned, jokingly, that Pulis were cool. Darren had never heard of them so we googled ‘Hungarian Puli’. He agreed that they were pretty cool but we didn’t expect that a Puli puppy would be easy to come by.

We were surprised to find that there was a breeder in Sydney, a kennel called Rustufarion. We contacted them by email, were told they’d just had a litter, and were invited to come out and meet some Pulis and learn a bit about the breed. The next Saturday we spent a whole afternoon with the breeder and some of his Puli clan and we left there completely smitten. As well as the new litter, there was a 6 week old pup running around causing mischief and generally giving the older dogs hell…within 2 weeks that Puli puppy was causing chaos in our own home. We named him Loki, after the Norse god of mischief.

When Loki was 13 months old, we had to say goodbye to the wonderful Syd. It soon became clear that Loki didn’t enjoy being the only dog in the house and he developed fairly severe separation anxiety after Syd died. Loki was such a great pup (he learned quickly, was gentle natured etc) and it seemed natural to get a second Puli…and so Juno, his half-sister, entered our lives.

Why we thought getting a pup of the same breed meant she would be a similar dog I’ve no idea!! They now look almost identical (we tie different coloured ribbons in their dreads so our friends can tell them apart!) , but she and Loki are chalk and cheese. Juno puts 150% of her energy into everything she does. This means she’s been a handful at times. Its also one of the reasons we love her so much. Loki, on the other hand, has a much more laid back approach to life and of course we love him just as much. Being a working breed they both like to be active so our daily routine includes time in Sydney Park where they chase and rumble with their furry mates and beg shamelessly for treats from friends and complete strangers alike…

Having an unusual breed means we often get stopped and asked about the dogs. In the 5 years we’ve been lucky enough to have Hungarian Pulis in our lives, the following conversation has been had countless times!!

Q: Wow, do your dogs have dreadlocks? A: Yes

Q: Does that happen naturally? A: Yes. They are fluffy as pups and when they are 8-9 months old the fluff starts to matt together and within another 6 months you have dreads.

Q: Is his name Bob (ie Marley)? A: No! We’re more creative than that…Thankfully one person asked if her name was Whoopi which made a pleasant change” by Kylie 

are Hungarian Pulis. The breed have worked with shepherds in Hungary for hundreds of years, but they are pretty rare in Australia. We ended up sharing our lives with this unusual breed thanks to a series of fortunate accidents.

Darren (my husband) and I were discussing getting a puppy as a companion for our dear old boxer Syd. I mentioned, jokingly, that Pulis were cool. Darren had never heard of them so we googled ‘Hungarian Puli’. He agreed that they were pretty cool but we didn’t expect that a Puli puppy would be easy to come by.

We were surprised to find that there was a breeder in Sydney, a kennel called Rustufarion. We contacted them by email, were told they’d just had a litter, and were invited to come out and meet some Pulis and learn a bit about the breed. The next Saturday we spent a whole afternoon with the breeder and some of his Puli clan and we left there completely smitten. As well as the new litter, there was a 6 week old pup running around causing mischief and generally giving the older dogs hell…within 2 weeks that Puli puppy was causing chaos in our own home. We named him Loki, after the Norse god of mischief.

When Loki was 13 months old, we had to say goodbye to the wonderful Syd. It soon became clear that Loki didn’t enjoy being the only dog in the house and he developed fairly severe separation anxiety after Syd died. Loki was such a great pup (he learned quickly, was gentle natured etc) and it seemed natural to get a second Puli…and so Juno, his half-sister, entered our lives.

Why we thought getting a pup of the same breed meant she would be a similar dog I’ve no idea!! They now look almost identical (we tie different coloured ribbons in their dreads so our friends can tell them apart!) , but she and Loki are chalk and cheese. Juno puts 150% of her energy into everything she does. This means she’s been a handful at times. Its also one of the reasons we love her so much. Loki, on the other hand, has a much more laid back approach to life and of course we love him just as much. Being a working breed they both like to be active so our daily routine includes time in Sydney Park where they chase and rumble with their furry mates and beg shamelessly for treats from friends and complete strangers alike…

Having an unusual breed means we often get stopped and asked about the dogs. In the 5 years we’ve been lucky enough to have Hungarian Pulis in our lives, the following conversation has been had countless times!!

Q: Wow, do your dogs have dreadlocks? A: Yes

Q: Does that happen naturally? A: Yes. They are fluffy as pups and when they are 8-9 months old the fluff starts to matt together and within another 6 months you have dreads.

Q: Is his name Bob (ie Marley)? A: No! We’re more creative than that…Thankfully one person asked if her name was Whoopi which made a pleasant change” by Kylie