On this page Visiting a Hovawart breeder

Hovawart Facts

Character sketch	The German Hovawart is a versatile, active robust dog who enjoys home comforts. Being a loyal companion and combining beauty with stamina, he is not a dog for the lazy owner.
Good family dog ?	Yes.
Original function	Guardian of the property, watchdog and companion
Is the breed a natural guard dog ?	YES
Attitude to strangers	Good, but can be reserved towards strangers. They love people but they have a keen sense of discrimination and will warn off people if necessary.
Good with other dogs ?	Generally good but might need control. Can be dominant.
Good with cats ?	Good with own. Take care with others.
Town or Country ?	They require space.
Living in kennel if necessary ?	They are not suited to kennel life.
Adapt to flat ?	Not recommended.
Ease of training	Learn quickly. Can get bored with training, so it must always be fun.
Special considerations	They require on-going training in order to keep mentally healthy. Loves to do things for and with you.
Average life span	12 -14 years
Age at maturity	About 4 years for females, older for males.
Colours	Black; Blonde; Black & Gold.
Coat type	Moderately long. Soft, shining, with some undercoat.
Is professional grooming needed ?	No. How to Groom Hovawarts
Coat maintenance, matting and tangling	Moderate. A quick brush daily keeps coat tangle free. Dead undercoat needs plucking or combing out at times of moulting.
Special trimming for showing ?	No, but some people trim excess hair on feet and ears.
Does the breed suffer in cold, heat or wet?	Do not like the heat. Loves the cold and wet.
Exercise	A good couple of hours or more. Free running, play and training essential.
Height	Dogs 63 - 70 cm. Bitches 58 - 65 cm.
Weight	Should be proportionate to size of dog. Bitches can be as much as 35kg, males 40kg plus.
Adult Quantities of dry food	Between 350grm. and 500grm. daily according to size of dog and exercise/work given.
Availability	Rare, becoming more popular. There are often waiting lists which vary in length throughout the year.
Place of origin	Germany
Group	FCI Group 2 Working

More Hovawart questions ? read more complete information about the Hovawart

It's a fact - Hovawarts love their home comforts.

When visiting with a person breeding Hovawarts establish that :-

the sire and dam of the litter are at least two years old, are healthy and have passed the Hovawart breed related tests.
the breeder volunteers information on the health and breed related testing of most immediate relatives of the sire and dam, and volunteers proof.

Dorka as puppy Only proceed with buying a hovawart puppy if you are satisfied with the integrity, honesty and reliability, expressed or implied, of the breeder.

"Ik wil een puppy," Hovawart Puppy informatie van de Belgische Hovawart Club

Vertaling altavista Babel Fish Translations For other languages.

Fact - Originaly bred to be intelligent guardians of the home, the inhabitants, its surrounds and livestock the lively hovawart retains his guarding instinct today. Decades of careful breeding of the hovawart have culminated in a working dog that is attractive, highly intelligent, hardy, alert, fun loving and faithful. They have gifts of instincts and characteristics which cause many people fall in love with the Hovawart. These characteristics have endured and not changed over time, they remain intact mainly due to not overbreeding and because of concentrating on the character and health of the dogs rather than on looks alone. Today most hovawarts become pets, and are probably best suited to active people and families. Hovawarts do make excellent pets provided that potential owners realize that their hovawart must receive proper training from a young age and must be given 'work' to do.
Fact - the Hovawart needs to have a job to do, otherwise he will use his creative nature to find one.

Visit the Links page for the national Hovawart breed club web sites .

All official hovawart clubs are affiliated to and come under the umberella of the International Hovawart Federation