Kuvasz

This former hunter and herding dog has now become a companion, guardian of property and defender of the people. Unfortunately, the Kuvasz is rather difficult to adopt. Even if he is a little more widespread than his counterpart the Komondor, he is still very rare. His size and coat, requiring very regular maintenance, sometimes hinder his expansion. Even if he is not very widespread and rare to find, knowing him is worth going to Hungary to find such a superb specimen.

 

Height 66 to 75 cm
Weight 30 to 52 kg
Life expectancy 13 to 14 years
Home country Hungary

Index

Personality Appearance Health History

Quick Overview of the Kuvasz

Temperament

  • Faithful and gentle
  • Player and alert
  • Courageous
  • Dominant nature

 

 

Appearance

  • Strongly developed musculature
  • Almost square body
  • Great nobility
  • Overall pleasant look

 

 

Health

  • Robust and very solid
  • Generally in good health
  • No particular genetic disease
  • Appreciable life expectancy

 

 

Temperament of the Kuvasz

Very intelligent, gentle and affectionate with his family, this large, loyal dog is a very courageous specimen who will stop at nothing to protect his own.

An excellent herding dog at the root, the Kuvasz has kept his natural instinct for protection and will protect people and property without fear, at the cost of his life if necessary. 

Generally calm and in no way aggressive, the Kuvasz, being very reactive, can be convincing and if the message does not get through a first or second time, he can even bite to be understood.

He never backs down. In charge of leading herds and guarding them against wolves and bears, no human will make him back down or change his mind. He reacts to the slightest provocation.

Formerly used to fight off wild animals and protect herds, today, he accompanies police and security officers in their work. However, he needs a more specialized education in these cases.

He can adapt to all family situations. He is gentle and very kind even with children. However, he hates brutality and prefers to move away rather than stay and suffer the blows of the younger ones.

The Kuvasz makes an excellent life companion, faithful and present, bringing a great joy of life and reassuring consistency to the family.

 

 

kuvasz personnalité

Breed Appearance

kuvasz

The Kuvasz is endowed with a highly developed musculature. His body is almost square and slightly elongated.

His physique evokes great strength and a certain nobility. His general appearance is pleasant.

 

 

Height

Between 71 and 75 cm (27.95 to 29.53 inches) for the male
Between 66 and 70 cm (25.98 to 27.56 inches) for the female

Weight

Between 40 and 52 kg (88.18 to 114.64 pounds) for the male
Between 30 and 42 kg (66.14 to 92.59 pounds) for the female

Color

His dress is one-color. It is all white.

 

 

Hair

His wavy coat is a bit tight, moderately harsh and has no felting. It has a thinner, slightly downy undercoat.

 

 

Morphology

His head is large and imprinted with great nobility, and has a slightly pronounced stop.

His dark brown eyes are almond shaped, and slightly slanted. His floppy ears are set at mid-height, v-shaped and close to the head.

His nose is black. His tail falls vertically while the tip is slightly raised upwards.

 

 

According to the FCI breeds nomenclature, this breed belongs to group 1, section 1 and is #54

Health of the Kuvasz

Sturdy and very strong, this rustic dog enjoys generally very good health and is rarely sick.

No genetic disease or congenital tare particularly affects the breed, but some specimens occasionally develop hip dysplasia.

It is best to check the ancestral genes of the puppy at birth. The Kuvasz usually enjoys a very good life expectancy, for such a large size.

 

 

GROOMING

The beautiful white coat of the Kuvasz requires regular brushing, once or twice a week. During periods of moulting, it is necessary to brush him more often, to allow his dress to keep its superb appearance, and to maintain it in excellent health.

The forming of knots is common, and it is preferable to take care of the coat on a very regular basis, in order to avoid potential knots that can affect its health.

However, no other specific maintenance is necessary, but daily maintenance requires a minimum of allotted time to be considered when buying a Kuvasz puppy.

 

 

FEEDING

 

 

History of this breed

This very ancient breed made his appearance in the 13th century in Hungary. Apparently having originated in Tibet, the Kuvasz would have reached his adopted country through Turkey.

His first origins are totally unknown, but they seem very close to the Abruzzo Shepherd.

This ancient native Hungarian sheepdog was already used in the 15th century by the Magyars to keep and protect flocks.

Thanks to his excellent hunting instinct, the Kuvasz was also used to hunt wolves and bears. He was even preferably used as a hunting dog in the time of King Matthias Corvinus.

This formidable herding dog suffered enormous losses during the two great wars. The decline in herds in Hungary was another major blow to his numbers.

Become much rarer and less in demand as a herding dog, some enthusiasts then undertook to maintain the breed in order to protect him from potential disappearance.

Due to the decline in demand as a herding dog, the Kuvasz adapted, first to life in villages and then acclimatized to life in urban areas.

Originally used as a herding and hunting dog, the Kuvasz subsequently became a companion, guard and security dog.

In particular, in 2011 the government of Viktor Orban adopted a tax on dogs but the Kuvasz is exempt on the grounds of being, in the sense of Great Hungary "of Hungarian race".

 

 

Related Breeds

French spaniel French Spaniel
braque auvergne white background Braque d'Auvergne
curly-haired retriever Curly-coated Retriever
redtick coonhound Redtick Coonhound
podengo portugais Portuguese Podengo
tibet mastiff Tibetan Mastiff
deerhound Deerhound
burger stickup Burgos Pointer
Last Updated: 10/10/2020

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

best fresh dog food 5 brands

We Tried 5 Fresh Dog Food Brands

Is all the marketing hype worth it? Did our dogs enjoy them? Here’s our dogs’ totally honest review.

read our review