Getting Started
In the early years of the official FCI Mudi breed founding in
Hungary (1963), there was a need to have an open studbook to bring in not
pedigreed Mudis to the registered Mudi fold for further registered Mudi breeding,
this is how every purebred breed was started.
In the Mudi, those dogs with less than 3 full generation
pedigrees had a B in their registration number, for example 1/B/65, the
registration number of the very first Mudi, Rigó (pictured above). When the
pedigree contained 3 full generations, the B was removed from the registration number.
In late 2006, the B was changed to an R, which also remains in the registration
number until the pedigree contains 3 full generations.
What determines closure of a breed’s studbook can be based on
various things such as number of registered dogs, length of time, lack of interest,
and other reasons. The decision to close the studbook can belong to the founding
members of the breed, the current breed parent club or the purebred dog
registry (FCI, AKC, etc.). It is likely
different for every breed how and when it happens.
In the last century and the very early part of this one, it
was highly recommended that these empty pedigree Mudis only be bred with 3 full
generation Mudi partners. That advice
was not always followed and in the most recent decades it is not uncommon for
two empty pedigree Mudis to be bred together.
There is no existing rule how the empty pedigree Mudi can be used in
breeding.
Current Times
In 2003 the Hungarian Parliament declared that the Hungarian dog
breeds are now considered national treasures. And in 2017, the Hungarikum
Committee classified all 9 Hungarian dog breeds, as Hungarikum. The Ministry of
Agriculture is responsible for the management of these 9 breeds. From time to time there have been developments
made to help the Hungarian breeds. For instance, a DNA parentage verification
process for pups of these 9 breeds, born and registered in Hungary, was introduced
several years ago, and from January 2021, free pedigrees are provided to the 9
breeds puppies.
As of July 2021, the MEOESZ studbook for the Mudi is still
open, even though it is highly unlikely there are any Mudis living in secluded
gene pools in the rural areas of Hungary. Mudi breeders in the last 20 years have
scoured the countryside taking all they wanted from those remote stockpiles, either
in the form of a puppy or adult, or convincing the owner to get a B pedigree so
they could breed with it. For some Mudi
breeders it was a side hobby to find new Mudis for breeding. Hungary is not a
huge country, nor heavily sprinkled with isolated villages anymore, as it was 50-100
years ago. There are simply no more untapped
Mudi stashes, or at least not enough to support keeping the Mudi stud book
open.
Additionally, the incidence of professional shepherds in Hungary that use Mudis for herding has dropped considerably over the last 20 years, not that is was very large to begin with. Furthermore, the past and present Mudi breeders helped themselves to the genes of those shepherd owned Mudis as well, especially since many of those professional shepherds used pedigreed Mudis.
Returning to the Fold
To get an R (Registry) pedigree, the owner of dog which resembles a Mudi, takes it to an official breeding exam in Hungary, once the dog is one or more years old. A hip check with a score of A, B or C, is also required before the pedigree will be issued. At the breeding exam, the presented dog must meet the Mudi breed standard characteristics to be given the R pedigree, they can give whatever date of birth seems to be appropriate at the exam. Upon breeding exam approval, this dog will be given a Mudi R pedigree that has no parents’ names listed (examples provided below). Of course, it does involve paying a fee which is not cheap, but it is affordable. Where this ‘Mudi’ came from is not important for registration. To get breeding approval once the R pedigree is issued, this new Mudi must go to another breeding exam with a different judge than the first one that examined the dog. A DNA sample may also be taken at this time, but it may only come later when the new Mudi is bred. Upon approval at the second exam, the R Mudi can now be used in breeding.
What is the benefit of accepting dogs into a breed that do
not have a pedigree as members of that breed? In animals, a restricted breeding group, over
long periods of time, can suffer from lack of vigor and fitness, therefore the
supplementation of different genes not present in the current gene pool, via the
addition of new group members, is useful for improving an existing closed gene
pools vitality and health, but only in those cases where these are truly
different genes and not more of the same genes already widely spread in the
current breeding population.
Why would someone want to pedigree their dog as a Mudi? In the cities, towns and villages of Hungary,
there are Mudi-like puppies often created that do not have pedigrees. Sometimes
one or both parents of these pups will have a pedigree and other times neither
will, however the creator of these ‘Mudi pups without pedigrees’ usually
provides a detailed Mudi parentage history which encourages the purchase of the
pups. For some people it is not important if their new puppy or dog has a
pedigree when they take it home. Many
times owners of these pups decide to do dog sports and the pup and owner team turn
out to be quite talented, which catches the attention of pedigree Mudi breeders
and they convince the owner to get the dog an R pedigree so they can breed with
it. A pedigree in some cases will also enable the owner to compete in a wider
range of sporting events, so if your adult dog looks like a Mudi, you go to a
breeding exam and the world of pedigree dog sports is now open to you and your
Mudi as well as the world of Mudi breeding.
Also there are puppies born here and there in Hungary from once
pedigreed Mudi parents and grandparents that a breeder finds and wants to bring
into their breeding program, many times they are fully aware of the pedigreed Mudis
behind these pups or adults and some breeders even openly share their heritage. In either case, these are not newly
discovered Mudi bloodlines, but Mudis that fell out of the registered gene pool
for one or more generations, from once pedigreed parents. These are in effect recycled Mudis, they are
not new blood.
While the Mudis in the above cases are rather innocently
brought back to the registered Mudi fold by their owners, there are also
planned ways to bring in R Mudis.
What are the rewards of an R Mudi in breeding? The advantage
of an R Mudi is through the empty pedigree which offers certain benefits for
breeding and puppy sales. It is easy to keep a puppy or two born in a litter out
of the pedigree system. With an empty pedigree you can
breed the R Mudi to its’ parent, sibling or offspring without anyone questioning
the high inbreeding levels, as breeding with an empty pedigree R Mudi gives a
0.00% COI (Coefficient of Inbreeding). If the kennel, parents, or close
relatives of the pup have known connections to any disease, temperament issue or
other undesirable problem, the R Mudi will not have that association. You can
claim at the breeding exam that the Mudi is older or younger, which can also
have benefits. Possible breeding interest from other kennels is also a
consideration. Another incentive to make
an R Mudi is the desire of some foreign Mudi owners and breeders for Mudis with
low COI levels they can use in their breeding programs, as there is evidence that animals with low levels of inbreeding are healthier. There are also foreign kennel
clubs which emphasize low inbreeding levels should be maintained in
purebred dog breeds as well. Unfortunately, in
the case of these R Mudis, the low COI level benefit is artificial.
The purpose of the R Mudi registry is not to recycle previously registered Mudi stock. The R registry has run its course and it should be closed as the benefits no longer outweigh the risks of improper usage.
Muddying the Gene Pool
Where a new Mudi comes from might not be important at the
breeding exam, however it is highly important in terms of the gene package that
Mudi is now bringing to the Mudi breed gene pool.
While DNA testing is available and affordable today, it still
cannot detect the genes we want to avoid most in the creation of Mudi puppies,
such as those that produce the many orthopedic issues present in the Mudi as well
as epilepsy, hypothyroidism, several eye diseases and albinism. There is quite a long list of health disorders
that are appearing sporadically in the Mudi now and it is unlikely they will
disappear.
The Mudi with an empty pedigree will not have any known
connections to anything. Which means
breeding with or buying a puppy from one of these R Mudis is playing Russian
Roulette when it comes to health issues they can produce.
Health issues are the most important concern for any dog breed, because without good health, a dog is not able to have an active role in breeding, task performance or sports, and in many cases, the companionship of health troubled dogs is seriously compromised not only due to their physical inability, but from the financial and emotional costs as well. Therefore, health must have first priority in any breeding program.
Recent B/R Contributions to the Mudi Gene Pool
B/R Mudis that were not bred do not cause irreversible
negative effects on the breed. Some B/R Mudis simply wanted to be able to do sports where a pedigree was required.
B/R Mudis that were bred many times however, have the potential
to create a very large negative impact through the health issues carried in the
genes of their puppies. I don’t think it
was the intention for each B/R Mudi to be bred more than a few times, however that
is not the case for many of them.
Some of the B/R Mudis used for breeding in the last 15 years which
have created a serious negative impact on health issues in the Mudi breed are
as follows. Please keep in mind that the number of litters and puppies I list
can be much higher as I am not aware of every Mudi born and registered. Also there can be more
health issues associated with these R Mudis that I am not aware of as well.
The following health issues have occurred in B/R Mudis puppies
or grandpuppies born in the last 15 years:
R Male, born in 2010: 11 litters/35 pups/149 grandpups; some
were affected with Hip Dysplasia (HD), Patella Luxation (PL), Spinal Anomalies
(SA), Elbow Dysplasia (ED), Cataracts (Cat) or Epilepsy (Epi).
R Female, born in 2008: 10 litters/41 puppies/193 grandpups; some
were affected with HD, PL, ED, Cat, Persistent Pupillary Membrane (PPM) or Epi.
B Female, born in 2005: 3 litters/10 puppies/72 grandpups;
some were affected with PL, Color Dilution Alopecia (CDA), Auto-Immune Uveitis
(AIU) or Epi.
R Female, born in 2008: 3 litters/6 puppies/29 grandpups; at
least one was affected with Epi.
B Female, born in 2004: 5 litters/10 puppies/51 grandpups;
some were affected with HD, PPM or Epi.
R Female, born in 2010: 2 litters/6 puppies/24 grandpups; some
were affected with HD, SA, Distichiasis (Dist) or Epi.
R Female, born in 2008: 5 litters/16 puppies/107 grandpups;
some are affected with Hypothyroidism (THY), SA, Missing Teeth, Retained Testicles
or Early Age Blindness (EAB).
Other B/R Mudis bred in the last 15 years have also been the parent
or grandparent of Mudis affected with the above health issues, as well as:
Allergies, Extra Teeth, Deafness and more.
Many other R Mudis are just starting to be bred and it will be
a few years before their negative contribution to the gene pool will be seen.
Of course Mudis with full pedigrees produce health issues too,
but they were not taken into the breed with the intention that their
contribution would be of benefit to the Mudi, as is the belief and reason
behind allowing these R dogs into the breed – the R Mudis are supposed to bring
good things to the breed, but that is obviously not the case.
Also the empty pedigree of a B/R Mudi does not allow cross referencing
of health issues to other members of the pedigree which helps to avoid crossing of affected lines, which is known to reduce the occurrence of any
health issue.
Of course not all B/R Mudis have created a health issue, mostly because they were only bred once or twice, thereby limiting their influence to a smaller portion of the future population, this is how they were meant to be used, instead the B/R privilege has been abused.
Push the Powers
All 9 Hungarian dog breed owners and breeders need to put
pressure on the agencies that can correct these issues and others, that affect
not only the Mudi, but the other 8 Hungarian breeds as well. These agencies
are: the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture which manages the 9 Hungarian Dog
Breed Treasures, the MEOESZ (Hungarian Kennel Klub), the Hungarian dog breed
clubs and the MKOE (Hungarian Small Animal Orthopedic Association). These agencies need to promptly accomplish
the following tasks for the immediate benefit of these 9 treasures:
MKOE: you need to have an official website listing the orthopedic test results
for the 9 Hungarian breeds so breeders and puppy buyers can support those
breeders that do health testing, as well as have confidence in the health test
results being official (and not digitally altered). Ideally all test results should be made
public, but if that is not possible, then the results the Hungarian breed clubs
agree on as publishable, should be made available on an internet accessible list
on the MKOE website.
Ideally MKOE orthopedic screening should be mandatory for
breeding dogs, with breeding ability not connected to test results, which means
dogs with any test result can be bred as long as the test result is made
public. This would significantly increase
the testing being done on the 9 Hungarian breeds and quite possibly improve their orthopedic health. This
practice is successfully installed in many other FCI countries.
Any owner or breeder that brings a dog to an MKOE veterinarian
for health screening must allow the x-rays to be sent to MKOE for evaluation,
they cannot withhold possible poor scoring films from being sent in to MKOE for
grading. This rule is also applied in
other FCI countries, so it can be applied in Hungary as well. This way the MKOE
will have a clear picture of the level of orthopedic issues occurring in these 9
Hungarian breeds.
Orthopedic screening and research should be done with the 9
Hungarian breeds to determine their status and make recommendations to the
breed clubs for improving the orthopedic health. For example, determining which orthopedic
screenings need to be evaluated for each breed’s specific areas of concern. There
should be national grants available for such research.
Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture: all puppies/adults of the 9 Hungarian
breeds cannot be advertised as being a Mudi/Puli/Pumi/etc., unless they have a
pedigree. A pedigree is a birth and identity certificate. Without a pedigree one dog is not different from another, but with a pedigree it becomes an official member of that breed and
should have the benefit of being considered a national treasure in Hungary most
of all, as the official decrees made in 2003 and 2017 intended.
Currently anyone can advertise in any public media outlet in
Hungary that they have Mudi puppies for sale that do not have a pedigree and
will not ever have a pedigree. This practice needs to be forbidden. Only Mudi puppies with pedigrees or have
pedigrees applied for, should be actively sold on any public media source as Mudi
puppies.
If you can
only name a sparkling wine that was grown in a particular region of France,
from particular grapes, Champagne, then only puppies with a pedigree can be
called Mudi (Puli, Pumi, etc.). You
cannot call any cheese Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan), Mozzarella di Bufala
Campana (Mozzarella), Roquefort or Stilton, that was not made in those areas either. You cannot call any sweet wine Tokaji. So why should any puppy/dog that does not
have a pedigree be called Mudi (or Pumi, Puli, Kuvasz, Komondor, Vizsla, Drótszőrű
magyar vizsla, Magyar agár, Erdélyi kopó)?
If the
government wants to preserve and protect these 9 Hungarian breeds, then they need
to start by legally declaring only pedigreed individuals have the right to use these 9 Hungarian breed names in Hungary in any way, shape or form. The selling of unpedigreed 'Mudi' puppies on internet sales websites, and all other public media sources, as Mudi puppies or adults, when they do not have
a pedigree, needs to end now.
Stopping the
advertised sales of unpedigreed Mudis as Mudis, will also have the effect of
creating more pedigreed Mudi puppies, which is what the gift of free pedigrees
for the 9 Hungarian breeds was also meant to support.
Additionally,
provide grant funding for MKOE research and other beneficial research for the 9
Hungarian breeds, such as DNA genetic disease identification that specifically affects
the 9 treasured breeds. For example, CDA
(Color Dilution Alopecia) in the Mudi.
MEOESZ: you need to close the studbook for the Mudi as of December 31, 2021. The
R registry no longer serves the purpose it was intended for. At this point it
does more harm than good for the Mudi breed as shown above.
You need to make sure the pedigrees for the 9 Hungarian
breeds are processed fast and correct so puppies may be advertised as their treasured
breed name and the pedigree is ready to go home with the puppy. The pedigree application process should be given priority for the 9 Hungarian breeds to enable this.
Closing the studbook will also stop the sales of unpedigreed
Mudis that are often promoted to have the ability to become an official Mudi by
procurement of an R pedigree later on.
When this R pedigree loophole is closed, unpedigreed Mudi puppies will become
less popular and therefore less likely to be produced. Pedigreed Mudi puppies will become the only
Mudi puppies available, as it should be.
Hungarian Breed Clubs: You need to make sure your responsibility in the pedigree
process is handled quickly and efficiently and the pedigrees are checked for obvious
errors before they are handed to the breeder.
If the pedigrees are incorrect, as does happen, you need to make sure they
are reprocessed rapidly.
You need to list the litter applications in process on the
club website so the breeders can advertise their litters for sale with properly
identified pedigree processing underway, so buyers wanting pedigreed pups know which
puppies are available that will have a pedigree.
These are just a few things that these agencies can do to assure
that the 9 Hungarian Dog Breed Treasures have the bright future they deserve
and the Mudi is no longer the neglected treasure. Apart from the needed
research grants, these things are not expensive to enact and would likely provide
additional revenue for these organizations.
Mudi R Pedigree Examples
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