Hovawart

Description

Balanced build of the moderate Nordic-molossoid type: males 63-70 cm / 40-50 kg, females 58-65 cm / 25-35 kg. Medium-length, slightly wavy coat, with three official colors: solid black, black and tan, blond. The black-and-tan coat — the most sought after — shows symmetrical tan markings on the legs, muzzle, and eyebrows.

Temperament

A natural guardian without any specific training: it watches over its territory and its people by hereditary instinct, without misplaced aggression. Reasoned wariness of strangers — it observes at length before accepting; early socialization before 16 weeks is essential to calibrate this threshold. Good tolerance of children in the household, supervision recommended with unfamiliar outside children. Doesn't bark compulsively — it vocalizes to signal an intrusion, then stops.

Training

Decent trainability (3/5) but characteristic independence: it understands quickly and sometimes decides not to obey if it sees no point in it. This independent judgment, inherited from its role as a solitary guardian, calls for regular positive-reinforcement training from a young age. Practiced in obedience, amateur tracking, and light dog sports. Less suited to protection disciplines than the Malinois or German Shepherd Dog — its guarding stays passive and deterrent rather than active.

Feeding

280 to 420 g of premium kibble a day for a 35-45 kg adult, split into 2 meals. Large-breed kibble with 24-28% animal protein and a reasonable fat content to maintain body condition without excess weight. Since weight gain is a warning sign of hypothyroidism: check the body condition score (BCS) every quarter. Glucosamine recommended as a supplement from age 5 for active dogs.

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Living conditions

A house with a fenced yard is the reference setup: its size and territorial instinct make it unsuited to an apartment in a dense urban area. One hour to 1.5 hours of daily activity is enough to channel its moderate energy (3/5) — hiking, long walks, obedience work. Its cold tolerance is good thanks to its medium-length double coat; heat tolerance is decent as long as intense effort is avoided above 27 °C.

Grooming and coat care

Weekly brushing under normal conditions to detangle the medium-length coat and remove debris. During the two seasonal molts (spring and fall), brushing twice a week is advised to manage undercoat loss. No regular professional grooming required — a quarterly session is enough for the ears, pads, and tail. Not a hypoallergenic breed, with a moderate level of shedding on fabrics year-round.

Health

Life expectancy 10 to 14 years according to German breeding data (Hovawart-Verband). Documented predispositions: hip dysplasia (mandatory radiographs on breeding stock, an A or B result required by serious breeders) and hypothyroidism (estimated prevalence of 10-15% in some lines, TSH testing recommended at the first signs: unexplained weight gain, lethargy, hair loss). No specific DNA test is available to date for either condition — selection remains phenotypic, which makes the parents' screening results all the more decisive.

Breed history

The name "Hovawart" derives from the Old High German "Hofwart" (yard guardian). The earliest written trace goes back to the Schwabenspiegel (13th century), a Swabian legal compendium, which spells out the value of a farm guard dog. The breed declined gradually until the 20th century. In 1922, German breeder Kurt König undertook its reconstruction from regional farm stock, with documented introductions of Leonberger, German Shepherd Dog, and Kuvasz. Recognized by the FCI in 1937, then re-registered after the Second World War. In France, numbers remain small but stable, overseen by the Club Français du Hovawart, affiliated with the SCC.