Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Hovawart Breed Overview
- History of the Hovawart Breed. Where Hovawarts came from
- What the Hovawart Looks Like
- Hovawart Growth
- What Colors do Hovawarts Have?
- Hovawart Litter Size
- How Fast Hovawarts Can Run
- Health Problems in Hovawarts and How to Prevent Them
- How to Take Care of Hovawart
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Hovawarts
- Other Things to Know About Hovawarts
Hovawart Breed Overview
The Hovawart is a large-sized dog.
The adult Hovawart stands 23 to 29 inches.
The Hovawart belongs to the Working Dogs group.
Dogs in the Working Dogs group, like the Hovawart, were developed to assist humans in some capacity – including pulling sleds and carts, guarding flocks, guarding homes, and protecting their families.
Breeds in the Working Group are known for their imposing stature, strength, intelligence, and fearless.
Because of their size and strength, working dogs require a structured home life and firm, fair, consistent training by someone who can provide leadership without resorting to anger or physical force.
The fact that Hovawarts belong to the Working Dogs group is one of the reasons why Hovawarts have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Hovawart is generally described as:
- Active
- Devoted
- Even Tempered
- Familial
- Reserved
- Watchful
History of the Hovawart Breed. Where Hovawarts came from
The Hovawart descends from Newfoundland and Hungarian Kuvasz ancestors and is a hardy breed.
The double-coat on this breed protects it from the elements so this dog can live outside comfortably, especially in Germany, where it comes from.
The Germans used the Hovawart as a guard dog; it’s name means watcher of the yard.
Hovawarts are great companion animals and are excellent as part of larger families.
Make sure to supervise them with small children who pull tails and ears, however, to avoid incidents where the children might get nipped.
A Hovawart is reserved when it comes to its space.
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What the Hovawart Looks Like
Hovawart is a medium to large breed of dog and a purebred breed of dog.
They have a thick double-coat with the outer layer being long and silky, and the inner coat is short and soft.
The Hovawart can be in several colors, including black and blonde, but most commonly seen as black and gold two-tone.
A Hovawart only needs to be brushed weekly to maintain a healthy coat.
This breed is a laid-back version of a guard dog and can alert owners when something new or interesting is near.
Hovawarts need their space and freedom, so make sure you have land to roam on and keep them busy.
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Hovawart Growth
New Hovawart owners need to know about the growth of their Hovawarts. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.
Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Hovawart will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Hovawart early.
See our calculator for predicting how big your Hovawart puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Hovawart at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Hovawart
What Colors do Hovawarts Have?
Hovawarts come in the following beautiful primary colors:
Hovawarts come in the following lovely secondary colors in addition to their primary colors:
Hovawart Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 12 different Hovawart birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Hovawarts can have is 7 puppies. Also, the Hovawart can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 13 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Hovawart will have depends on factors such as the age of the Hovawart, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Hovawart will have and how the litter size of the Hovawart compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Hovawarts Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 2 different Hovawarts, the average speed of the Hovawart is 24.2 mph (38.9 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Hovawart ran in a race is 25.55 mph (41.1 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Hovawart is 23.03 mph (37.1 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Hovawart compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Health Problems in Hovawarts and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Hovawart is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Hovawart puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Hovawart breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Hovawarts for:
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Hovawarts here.
How to Take Care of Hovawart
To take good care of your Hovawart, you need to make sure that you groom your Hovawart regularly.
Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Hovawart regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Hovawart`s preventative care.
Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Hovawart daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Hovawart.
Also, you need to feed your Hovawart high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Hovawart from getting overweight or underweight.
See our recommendations on what to feed the Hovawart and how much food to feed the Hovawart at different life stages.
Finally, you need to make sure that your Hovawart has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Hovawart needs to drink at different ages.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Hovawarts
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Hovawart.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Hovawart:
- Catahoula Leopard Dog (78 percent match with Hovawart). Learn more about the Catahoula Leopard Dog here.
- Spanish Mastiff (81 percent match with Hovawart). Learn more about the Spanish Mastiff here.
Other Things to Know About Hovawarts
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Hovawart that you need to know about the Hovawart breed: