The Puli, Hungary's corded herding dog, is one of the more recognisable silhouettes in the dog world and one of the less common breeds to buy. Puppies do not show the famous cords yet — the coat develops its texture as the dog matures — which means you are relying on records, far more than appearance, to confirm that the fluffy puppy in front of you comes from genuine, health-tested Puli breeding. A serious Puli breeder expects that scrutiny and papers a litter accordingly.
The identity documents
Begin with the sale contract, signed by both parties, setting out the purchase terms, any health guarantee, return provisions, and whether the registration transfers as full or limited. The kennel club registration application follows, ready for you to submit. Then the lineage record: at least three generations, with the sire and dam identified by registered name and number. In a breed this numerically small, lineage is not decoration — breeders plan matings across kennels and sometimes across countries, and the record shows you exactly which Puli lines your puppy combines. The breeder's litter notes should identify your individual puppy by sex, coat colour and any distinguishing detail, plus a microchip number if one was placed.
The puppy's own early health record
A vet-signed record should itemise the puppy's examinations, vaccinations, worming treatments with dates, and chip details. Ask whether the record notes a skin and coat check: in a breed whose adult coat forms dense cords, a healthy skin baseline from the first vet visits is genuinely useful history for whoever grooms or examines the dog later. As with any breed, the sheet must describe this puppy specifically. If it reads as a summary of the whole litter, ask for the individual version before you complete the purchase.
Screening the parents of a corded herder
The parent results to request are hips, eyes and breed genetic screening. Hip evaluation results for both parents address the joint condition most associated with the breed's health testing. Eye examination results cover inherited eye disease recorded in Pulis. Many breeders also run a genetic panel that includes screening for a degenerative spinal cord condition known in the breed, and they will include those certificates in the folder. Check names and dates across documents: the sire and dam on the test results must be the pair heading your puppy's lineage record, and eye examinations in particular should be recent, since they are repeated examinations rather than once-in-a-lifetime tests.
Handling the paperwork conversation
With a rare breed, some documents may travel: a parent's test certificate may be held by a co-owner, or a registration may be processed through the breed's parent organisation. None of that is a problem if it is documented — copies provided, originals identified, and any outstanding item written into the contract with a date by which it will reach you. What you should not accept is a folder that is thin because the testing was never done. In a small gene pool, untested breeding is precisely the risk the paperwork exists to rule out.
A record that grows with the coat
Your Puli's file will matter for years: the vaccination history starts his vet's schedule, the lineage documents his place in a rare breed, and the parent screening informs what your vet watches as he ages. Photographs in the record also help, because a corded adult looks dramatically different from the puppy you collected, and dated pictures bridge that change for anyone verifying his identity. Starting with the complete breeder packet and keeping it assembled protects all of it. Through KinsLe, the Pet Passport keeps your Puli's registration, lineage and health screening filed together as one portable record for every vet, groomer and boarding handoff.