--- title: Pumi: America's Newest Dog Breed description: The American Kennel Club just officially recognized the canine breed in the U.S., giving these curly-haired dogs a shot at "Best in Show." canonical: https://time.com/4380499/pumi-new-dog-breed/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-23T20:13:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:33:43.682Z og:title: Meet the Pumi, America's Newest (Very Fluffy) Dog Breed og:description: The American Kennel Club just officially recognized the canine breed in the U.S. og:url: https://time.com/4380499/pumi-new-dog-breed/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meet the Pumi, America's Newest (Very Fluffy) Dog Breed twitter:description: The American Kennel Club just officially recognized the canine breed in the U.S. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Introducing the Pumi, America's Newest (Very Fluffy) Dog Breed  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 23, 2016 8:13 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 23, 2016 8:13 PM UTC It’s a great day for dog lovers, because the American Kennel Club has [officially recognized](http://www.akc.org/news/akc-introduces-190th-breed-the-pumi/) a new canine breed in the U.S. The breed is called the Pumi, and these fluff-monsters are absolutely adorable. The Pumi, which is of Hungarian origin, is widely recognized in other parts of the world and is already quite popular as a pet in Scandinavia. Being recognized as an official breed in the U.S. makes these bundles of fur finally eligible to compete in major national dog shows for that elusive “Best in Show” title. The Pumi is the 190th breed to join the elite list, after the American Hairless Terrier and Sloughi were welcomed [earlier this year](http://time.com/4168681/dog-breeds-american-kennel-club/?iid=sr-link1). “This lively, adorable dog makes a wonderful companion for a family willing to provide lots of exercise and mental activity,” said AKC Vice President Gina DiNardo in [the announcement](http://www.akc.org/news/akc-introduces-190th-breed-the-pumi/). Pumik — that’s the plural — are historically known as efficient herders, which carries over into their present, very active temperament. They come in many colors, but all share a fluffy coat, perky ears and a “[whimsical expression.](http://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/pumi/detail/)” But words don’t do justice to the fun-loving nature of these dogs. Expect to see a huge boom in Pumi puppies, because who could resist this: > [](https://twitter.com/akcdoglovers/status/745627144353611776) > [](https://twitter.com/jmolinet/status/745723089196040197) > [](https://twitter.com/arkvethosp/status/735553721631952896) > [](https://twitter.com/alldogbreeds8/status/727584635308392449) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4380499/pumi-new-dog-breed/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4380499/pumi-new-dog-breed/"},"headline":"Introducing the Pumi, America's Newest (Very Fluffy) Dog Breed","datePublished":"2016-06-23T20:13:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:33:43.682Z","description":"Man just got another (quite snuggly) potential best friend","url":"https://time.com/4380499/pumi-new-dog-breed/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4380499/pumi-new-dog-breed/","name":"Introducing the Pumi, America's Newest (Very Fluffy) Dog Breed"}}]}] ```