Fao Fredpuli :)

[Sharingan]

Hi Fred, I hope you don't mind me asking but I know you know more about Pulis and Komondors than I. As you might know my Alaskan Malamute bitch died recently and my dog is lurking around like a little lost ghost as he's never been without a canine companion before. I've got the chance of buying a Komondor which I've always wanted. Aside from the obvious hours of cording their coats during the juvenile period and continued coat attention, anything I ought to know aside from what applies to any dog? The pup I'm going to see is 8 months old, a bitch, and I just wondered if you (or anyone else with first hand knowledge of the breed) had anything to offer in terms of knowledge that I might not have.
Thanks, Shae:)

[murraymints]

Looks like a lot of work with a komondor shar !

[Sharingan]

I know, they're fabulous dogs though and don't turn up very often in the UK, and I've always admired them. My Mals were long haired so I'm happy to groom every day, I just wondered if anyone had any tips as I'm viewing her later this week.

[Ann]

Wow that is some dog! Looks like hard work though Shar .........
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1016&bih=550&q=komondor&oq=komondor&gs_l=img.12..0l10.2407.2407.0.3922.1.1.0.0.0.0.156.156.0j1.1.0....0...1ac.2.23.img..0.1.156.8GNHzAUA1eA

[Alston]

Hi Shae...I really do admire the enthusiasm you have for life. How do you have so much time for all that you are doing and doing it with such an aplomb at your age.

Incidentally, I was sorry to hear about the recent death of your Alaskan Malamute. It was a great photograph that you posted of her in AB.

Al.

[Sharingan]

Thank you Alston, I don't think I do anything anymore than anyone else does and it's amazing how much anyone can do if they are organised and have a large family to back them up. It certainly beats watching TV and doing nothing, I don't like to be idle, life's too short. My remaining dog is not a happy chap at the moment either and I'm never keen on keeping any animal without another of it's own kind, I don't think it's fair. As you can see form the pic below they were really close and he's missing her dreadfully so I hope if I do get the Komondor it will go no short way to cheering him up.
http://tinypic.com/r/1f9usx/5

[Dee Sa]

puppies look absolutely gorgeous, but don't they get awful hot in summer ?

[FredPuli43]

Komondors, yes , I know about them. Lucky you!

The coat is easy to deal with. The pups have a curly coat; the cords appear naturally as they get older.You have a juvenile in prospect. I expect that is happening already. The cords only need you to run your fingers through them to keep them neatly separated and to discourage plates of fur occurring in them, though even show Komondors have some of those.

Temperamentally they are a bit different from Pulik (flashy writing; the plural of Puli is Pulik. Not many people know that! Though most people say Pulis). The Puli is a herding dog. The Komondor is a herd protecting dog. That means, practically, that you have a dog which is fiercely loyal but also has the guard dog instinct to protect you. You need to be aware of that difference and it's a dog which needs to be socialised well and early, to get used to people and visitors generally. I suspect you'll find it's a bit stubborn on occasion. The Puli certainly is. (If you call a Puli it'll ignore you for a while but come in is own good time, walking like John Wayne, with a rolling swagger).

8 months old? She probably hasn't go into bad habits and is adjusted to strangers, but you've seen her, no doubt. They are still easily trainable at that age, in any case.

[Sharingan]

thanks Fred and all. I haven't seen her yet except in photos and I'm off to see her towards the end of the week. I'm quite excited about her actually and since Mals are also stubbourn gits, I quite like the sound of them temperament wise. Here are some pics of her that I've been sent. she looks a real sweetheart:)
http://tinypic.com/r/1z65zkx/5
http://tinypic.com/r/5lou2g/5
http://tinypic.com/r/16ar4w8/5

[FredPuli43]

Interested why she is being parted with at 8 months. Has the breeder had her for show and decided she's not up to that, and is not worth keeping as another dam? Has the owner got ill and decided they can't now cope with a large dog? Could the breeder not find a buyer? (That's possible; most buyers prefer a dog. I bought a wolfhound bitch that was several months old, because of that. Wolfs, and other big breeds, have very large litters, so there are a lot of pups to shift)

[Sharingan]

She's a Czech import. Well we're going to see her later this week and the story from her present owners is that he's just moved in with his girlfriend and they both had a lot of dogs independently of one another and then ended up overrun once they moved in together so had to thin out their pets. She was previously a house dog, now not room for her so she's outside at the moment and they've rehomed 3 other dogs in the last week. She's got Czech papers and passport apparenlty but I'll be looking cloesly at everything.

[aelmpvw]

Sharingan, your research into acquiring another dog is admirable ... if only everyone did the same

[FredPuli43]

So she may well be from a puppy farm! Sorry, but that's just the kind of story that people give; it may be true in this instance. We do have foreign dogs here, quite properly bred, but they have come from known foreign breeders. One of my wolfs and the Dandie Dinmont have sires imported from behind the old Iron Curtain, but the breeder in each case was known internationally as a breeder of that breed.

But she's here now, and you have the chance to give her a full, adjusted, and happy life. Be interesting to know how old she was when the present owners had her first and what other breeds they've had, which they have 'had to' pass on to others. They may have been stuck with a Komondor. Pulis would shift more easily.