01/05/2023
And the English version:
We often hear that mudis bark, and that is a breed characteristic, you can't help it.
But is it true, or are we just ignoring the real causes, which would bring us closer to our dogs and help us avoid barking in many situations that we could easily handle otherwise? Let me share some experience on this, after breeding, training and working with mudis for two decades.
What makes mudi especially perfect for Hungarian-style shepherd work is her ability to read our body language and her willingness to work with us in any normal or even emergency situation. Mudi was the herder's quick leg and quick hand even 80 years ago, in a herding environment really differs from the "usual" british style herding. That's why mudi has a different style and yes, a loud bark (rather than a strong eye such as border collie, mudi herds with barking). Mudi was a good dog if NOT social with other dogs and not kind to other human beings (but prefer to ignore them), but have to be gentle with all the animals in the household. Mudi had to work quickly and accurately and needed endless energy for her work day and night. Mudi needed to combine and thing alone when she was taking care of the whole herd alone and had to use her brain to solve a problem or ask for help. Mudi was a thinking dog and still has all the competences for it. Therefore, the energy efficiency and energy level of this breed is special (in terms of mental and physical aspects).
Today, however, we don't need sheepdogs at all, preferring slow, leisurely walks in an urban environment full of other dogs and people. Without anything to do in a flat during the day, with some walks but no real running and not much problem solving, we can imagine mudis won't accept the new lifestyle easily.
Our main problem is still the barking, as it can quickly become annoying for everyone around. Mudi is very sensitive to any changes in her pack or family and considers her duties whenever she feels something has changed. Which changes can count? Or what counts at all when we hear a mudi barking?
0, too much energy - see above...does your dog have anything to do with her energy? if no, barking only shows frustration
1, Lack of boundaries - you have a sheepdog and you may have learned a lot about dog behavior so make sure you have to show your boundaries to your four legged friend to live happily together
2, Any changes in the pack structure (add or loose a pack member, be it dog or human!)
3, Changes in circumstances (moving to another place or new place of training)
4, Owner does not listen enough, does not give signals to mudi or cooperation is not perfect between owner and mudi
5, Separation (At this point, mudis are not at all barker than other dog breeds)
6, Playing Mudi (Mudi must learn to play with other dogs and must be accepted by them when they actually start playing. Their game is different as they are much faster and louder than other dogs and also lack of trust can lead to confusion. Dogwalk areas are perfect places to find trouble in 5 minutes, and not because the mudi is problematic, but because each owner is a different world and the dogs (mudis and non-mudis) are mirrors of their own owners' decisions.
7, Lack of OFF button - mudis don't teach themselves how to stop and how to avoid situations, this is something you have to train
8, The owner is frustrated, sick or sad. Yes, you count more than you ever thought 🙂 when you are not on top, your mudi feels she has to handle situations and she does it in a mudi way. Since the situation is new, the mudi is even a little afraid to do this and may find it too overwhelming. You can hear all this in the barking.
9, Barking is a learned bad habit that helps your dog to release stress. With focused learning, this bad habit can be turned into something more fun and quiet.
So, if your mudi barks, reconsider the upper 10 points and find out what is causing the barking. Your dog has one of the highest intelligences of all dog breeds and you think he barks for nothing? Then you should think again what you may have missed. Even older "crazy barking" mudis can quickly learn to walk beautifully and behave perfectly, the key is in your hands - do you train or accept that "this is such a breed".
