5 STAR

THE 5 STAR MUDI BREEDING PROGRAM

The 5 Star Mudi breeding program recognizes the essential 

requirements breeders need to create the very best Mudi puppies.

 HEALTH TESTS

  

LOW COI

HERDING INSTINCT TESTS

TEMPERAMENT TESTS

BREEDING EXAMS

The 5 Star program was created in 2004 by the Magyar Mudi Klub, the parent club for the Mudi in Hungary, and the American Mudi Association, the USA parent club candidate with AKC.

While both clubs have since chosen to step aside from their parent club positions, the 5 Star Breeding Program is still a valuable program that can be used for promotion and recognition of quality Mudi breeding, The 5 Star program is described here with the hopes that current Mudi parent clubs will adopt the program to promote and recognize quality Mudi breeding in their countries.

Breeders apply to the Mudi parent club for recognition of each litter individually.  Breed clubs verify that the litter has met the 5 Star requirements before the litter is posted to the clubs website and given 5 Star recognition.

5 Star breeders must meet the litter requirements for every litter they have bred.  This is very difficult to achieve.  The other alternative is to award recognition from a particular date forward.  As in '5 Star breeder since February 2022', which means that kennels litters born from that time forward have met the requirements.  Breeders must submit their litters 5 Star requirements for every litter they produce going forward or they forfeit their 5 Star acknowledgement.

It is vitally important that Mudi clubs give special recognition to the 5 star litters and breeders/kennels on their club websites to prevent fraudulent claims.

Health Tests

Orthopedic screening and scoring by recognized orthopedic associations in the country the breeder is located in is mandatory.  For example in Hungary it is the MKOE, in Finland it is the FKK, and in the USA it is the OFA and PennHip.

Orthopedic screening results must be made public, either by listing on the official orthopedic associations website, or on the parent clubs website, or on IMuDI (future planned addition).

Health test results not available on OFA, FKK or other public databases, must be sent to the Mudi club sponsoring the 5 Star program or IMuDI (available soon), for verification and posting on their website, if requested by the breeder.  The breeder may also post the health tests to their own website. The meaning here is that the health test results are publicly available, they should not be kept private, difficult to find, or spread over several locations. 

These are the mandatory health tests:

Hip screening with: A,B,C, Mentes, Ámeneti, Enyhe, Excellent, Good, Fair, scores (there are minimum age requirements for testing required by each ortho association, preliminary testing is not considered valid)

Hip Screening with PennHip: Distraction Index not greater than 0.68, no signs of osteoarthritis and cavitation free (minimum age requirement is 16 weeks)

Elbow screening with: 0/0, clear, mentes, normal, score (minimal age requirements apply)

Patella screening with: 0/0, clear, mentes, normal, score (minimal age requirements apply)

Spine screening with: LTV0, VA0, Spondylosis negative (minimal age requirements apply)

Thyroid test: normal levels (needs to be rechecked annually)

Eye exam by qualified eye veterinarian (ophthalmologist vet), not primary vet (needs to be rechecked annually)

DNA testing with either Embark or MyDog/Wisdom/Optimal Selection (Embark is preferred for several reasons: GCOI is easily understandable and usable by breeders and owners; test for MHC complex; ALT test; easy to understand test results; shareable link to test results on the Embark website which means the test results are original-have not been tampered with)

MPAC report for litter

Other health tests recommended, but not mandatory:

Heart/cardiac, basic or advanced test: normal result

BAER hearing test; hearing in both ears is verified

Addisons, Cushings and Diabetes testing: all normal results

Low COI

COI (pedigree coefficient of inbreeding) for litter is under 10% and was provided by IMuDI (COI is provided by IMuDI for free to anyone, anytime) - mandatory

GCOI (genetic coefficient of inbreeding) for litter is under 10% and was provided by Embark (Wisdom/MyDog/Optimal Select does not provide GCOI) - recommended

Herding Instinct Testing

HIT (herding instinct test) can be given by many authorized clubs, associations and organizations in almost every country around the world.  A passing result is required.

Temperament Testing

Temperament testing can be done with any authorized clubs, associations and organizations.  A passing result is required.

In the USA, the CGC test can be used as a basic level temperament test.  Also in the USA, ATTS also has an acceptable test. The BH exam and any obedience competition entry with a passing grade can also be used. Any Mudi club can develop a Mudi breed appropriate test and provide qualified judges for testing.  However the test parameters must be written on the clubs website, along with what is considered to be an acceptable behavior for each parameter.

Breeding Exam

Any Mudi club can hire a qualified conformation judge to conduct a breeding exam if the kennel club does not already provide official breeding exam events.  

The purpose of the breeding exam is to make sure the Mudi being examined is of good quality based on the breed standard, as well as general objectives known to be correct in good breeding stock, such as non-human-aggressive behavior.

The breeding exam should check for correct testicles on males (two descended), correct bite (scissors), complete dentition, firmly pricked ears, standard color and minimal white markings - with or without merle, correct behavior for the breed, etc.  The judge provides a written report of their findings which is shared with the owner of the dog being examined.  They give a final judgement of breedable or not-breedable on the report.

A conformation Champion title given by any kennel club would also be considered as a breeding exam pass.

While Mudi parent clubs may wish to impose other requirements for 5 Star recognition, it is not recommended to do so without very careful consideration.  Having different 5 Star requirements by each Mudi parent club will confuse puppy seekers and discourage breeders from seeking recognition.

The purpose of the 5 Star program is to encourage and reward breeding of high quality Mudi litters, by making identification of high quality litters easily identifiable for those seeking a responsibly bred Mudi puppy.

While acquiring a Mudi puppy from a 5 Star litter will not guarantee the future of the puppy, it will give the puppies in those litters the best possible chance for a long, healthy life.  This should be the goal of every Mudi breeder and puppy seeker.