The Hovawart is an ancient German working dog breed that has been documented in the arts and paintings of the Middle Ages. The word HovaWart is made up of two words, HOVA which means = Hof= yard or farm and WART which stands for W�chter (= watchman). So the word Hovawart means "an estate or farm guard", and this is the role the Hovawart dog breed is so successfully playing for hundreds of years. This breed holds a distinguished place in the German history for saving Eike von Repkow, who later became a legendary figure in German law, from Slovak attackers.
This breed was almost instinct by 20th century due to decline in popularity after some new working and guarding breeds like the German Shepherds, replaced this dog. In 1915, efforts for its revival went underway. Similar type dogs from Black Forest region (where from the original breed originated) were used for renewing this old breed and bloodlines from the Newfoundland, the Leonberger, the Hungarian Kuvasz and possibly German Shepherd and African Hunting dogs were used. Strict breeding rules and regulations made revival of this breed possible.
This medium to large dog stands between 23-29 inches and weighs between 55-90 lbs. Its slightly longer than tall body comes with a strong head and broad and rounded skull. Muzzle is slightly tapering with a straight nose bridge. Black nose is well developed with open nostrils. Medium size oval shaped eyes are dark to medium brown in colour. Moderate size ears are set high and wide on the head and hang loosely down the cheek. Medium length neck is strong without any dewlaps. The body is rectangular in shape with a straight and firm back, strong loin and deep, broad and strong chest. Long bushy tail reaches below the hocks but does not touch the ground. It is carried low or high depending whether dog is at rest or excited. The skin is tight all over the body with a bluish sheen in black, black and gold dogs and pink sheen is visible in blonde dogs. The dog has a double coat with a strong and long, slightly wavy and close fitting outer coat and only a little undercoat.
This breed is NOT recognized by AKC however it is recognized by FCI, UKC, CKC.