As the name would suggest, this rare canine originates and is exclusively confined to Hungary. It is among the few breeds that carry a hairless gene; a gene that typically expresses itself as what is often referred to as "hairy hairless," where there are patches of hairlessness on the dog rather than it being fully nude. This results in a rather feral or unruly appearance, but some find it to be a charming look! Regardless of your thoughts on the aesthetics, one thing is for sure; this dog is unique.
As you've hopefully gathered from the title, this canine is nearly extinct. Generous current estimates place the total population at just under 100 individual dogs. However, more experts tend to agree that this is a vast over estimation, placing the population at fewer that 35 individual dogs. This leads to a grave concern among the breed's few enthusiasts; genetic diversity.
As it stands, the population may be too small to increase the breeds population to a sustainable degree. Often, the only option to reestablish a breed on the brink of extinction would be what is known as outcrossing. Outcrossing is the breeding of two breeds that are substantially removed from one another on the canine lineage tree, with their last common ancestor being considerably far back. Unfortunately for the Majzli, other breeds are so distantly related that the likelihood of complications from outcrossing are high. When two breeds that are too distantly related are bred together, there is a potentially unfortunate result known as "outbreeding depression." This can manifest in a number of ways, sometimes the sudden appearance of issues not previously seen in the two parent breeds such as dysplasia or patella issues, to the even more unfortunate; stillbirth.
As a result, the Majzli is almost certainly destined for extinction. So lets take a moment to appreciate this unique and immensely rare canine from Hungary while it is still with us.
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