As Puli owners, we mention to anyone who inquires about the corded coat that a hard working Puli in Hungary was typically shorn with the sheep, but it wasn’t the only breed with a seasonal haircut in its history.

Historically, Tibetan Terriers were used by nomadic herdsmen in Tibetan villages to herd flocks of sheep. The breed has a long hair-growth cycle, and in the summer, Tibetans sheared their TT’s coats along with the sheep’s wool. This hair was then woven with yak hair to create cloth for the garments  worn by villagers. We’re not sure if this counts as chiengora, but we speculate that the haircuts had less to do with keeping the dog cool, and more to do with efficiency of movement: Like the Puli, TTs were known to run across the backs of the sheep , especially when passing through narrow ravines. This isn’t entirely surprising since it’s possible that both breeds share a similar root dog in the little herding dog that migrated with a people called the Cuman as they fled the Mongols around 900 A.D.

Image by Mr407SW – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3736587