• New FCI Standard- English Translation


​​TRANSLATION:     English

                                    Official Language: German 

ORIGIN:                    Germany 

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICIAL VALID STANDARD: 28 March 2025 

UTILISATION:                    Working dog

FCI CLASSIFICATION:     Group 2           Pinscher and Schnauzer – Molossoid – Swiss                        Mountain and Cattle Dogs.

                                                Section 2.2      Molossian breeds, Mountain type.

                                               

With working trial 

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY: The Hovawart is a very old German working dog in the traditional sense of the term. The name derives from Middle High German: Hova meaning “farm” and wart meaning “guardian”. Starting in 1922, the breed was developed using dogs of a similar type still found on farms at the time, along with crossbreeding with German Shepherds, Newfoundlands, Leonbergers, and others. It was recognised as a breed in 1937 and as a working dog in 1964. With the goal of a breed free from hip dysplasia, and through a consistent breeding selection process that began in the 1960s, the disease is almost entirely eradicated in the Hovawart. 

GENERAL APPEARANCE: The Hovawart is a powerful, medium-sized, slightly elongated, long-haired working dog. The differences between the sexes are particularly apparent in head shape and body structure.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS: Withers to body length: The body length exceeds the height at the withers by 10 to 15 percent.  

BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT: The Hovawart is a recognised working dog suitable for versatile use. By nature balanced and good-natured, it possesses a protective instinct, self-confidence, resilience, a moderate temperament, and an excellent aptitude for scent work. Its harmonious physical proportions and special attachment to its family make it especially well suited as a watch, companion, protection, rescue, and tracking dog.

HEAD:
CRANIAL REGION:
The nasal bridge is straight and runs parallel to the skull. The muzzle and skull are approximately equal in length. The skin fits tightly over the skull.
Skull: The strong head has a broad, slightly arched forehead.
Stop: The stop is clearly defined.

FACIAL REGION:
Nose: The nostrils are well developed. In both black dogs and black with markings dogs (black & gold/black & tan dogs), the pigmentation is black; in blond dogs, the pigmentation is dark; a snow nose is permissible in blond dogs.
Muzzle: The muzzle is strong and tapers only slightly when viewed both in profile and from above.
Lips: The lips are tightly-fitting.
Jaws/Teeth: The Hovawart has a complete, strong scissor bite with 42 teeth according to the dental formula. The teeth are set perpendicularly in the jaw. A pincer bite is acceptable.

EYES: The eyes are oval, neither protruding nor sunken. The colour is dark to medium brown. The eyelids fit tightly.

EARS: The loosely fitting, medium to large, triangular drop ears are set high and wide apart, appearing to broaden the top of the head. They reach at least to the corners of the mouth. The tips are slightly rounded. At rest, they lie flat; when alert, they may be carried slightly forward. The front edge is positioned about midway between the eye and the occipital bone.

NECK: The strong neck is of medium length, and the skin is tight to the throat.

 

BODY:
Back: The back is straight and firm.
Loin: The loin is strong and somewhat longer than the croup.
Croup: The croup is lightly sloping and of medium length.
Chest: The chest is broad, deep, and strong.

TAIL: The bushy tail reaches below the hock but not to the ground. Depending on the dog’s emotional state, it may be carried arched over the back or held low.

LIMBS:
FOREQUARTERS:
General appearance: The forelegs are strong, straight, and perpendicular when viewed from the front and side. The shoulder blade is long and well-sloped.
Shoulders: The shoulders are very well-muscled.
Upper arm: The upper arms are held close to the body.
Elbows: The elbows are held close to the ribcage.
Forearm: The forearms are strong and well-muscled.
Carpal joint/Wrist: The carpal joint is firm.
Pastern: The pastern, when viewed in profile, is moderately sloped.
Front feet: The paws are round, strong, and compact. The toes are arched and lie close to each other. The nails are black in both the black dogs and the black with markings dogs; in blond dogs, the nail pigmentation may be lighter.

HINDQUARTERS:
General appearance: The strong hind legs are straight when viewed from behind. The upper thigh to lower thigh ratio is 1:1.
Upper thigh: The upper thigh is very well-muscled and moderately sloped.
Lower thigh: The lower thigh is very well-muscled and moderately sloped.
Hock: The hock is strong and low set.
Pastern: When viewed from behind, the pastern is straight and parallel to the other.
Hind feet: The paws are round, strong, and compact. The toes are arched and lie close to each other. The nails are black in both the black dogs and the black with markings dogs; in blond dogs, the pigmentation may be lighter in colour. Dewclaws are not a fault.
 

GAIT/MOVEMENT: In all gaits, the Hovawart moves straight when viewed from the front and rear, and it shows ground-covering movement when viewed from the side. The trot is long-reaching with a strong drive from the hindquarters.  

SKIN: The skin is overall tight. In both black dogs and black with markings dogs it has a bluish tinge, and in blond dogs it has a mostly pink shimmer.

 
COAT:
Hair: The strong, long coat is slightly wavy and lies close to the body with little undercoat. It is longer on the chest, belly, back of the forelegs, back of the thighs, and the tail. On the head and the front of the legs, the coat is short. The coat is dense. 

Colour: The Hovawart comes in three colour varieties: black with markings, black, and blond. 

Black with markings (AKA Black & Gold or Black & Tan): The coat is black and shiny, and the tan markings are medium blond. On the head, the markings begin below the bridge of the nose, extend around the corners of the mouth to the throat markings. The dot-like spots above the eyes are clearly visible. The chest markings consist of two adjacent patches, which may be connected. On the forelegs, the markings run from the toes up to about the pastern when viewed from the side, extending on the backside of the leg to elbow height. On the hind legs, the markings appear—when viewed from the side—as a broad stripe below the hock and above the hock as a narrower stripe that continues along the front of the hind legs up to the level of the abdominal wall. There is also a marking present beneath the base of the tail. In all areas, the markings are clearly defined. The pigmentation of the eyelids, lips, and pads is black. 

Black: The coat is black and shiny. The pigmentation of eyelids, lips, and pads is black.
 

Blond: The coat is medium blond, shiny, and becomes lighter towards the belly and legs. Pigmentation of eyelids, lips, and pads is black or predominantly dark.

 SIZE:
Height at the withers:             Males:              63–70 cm.

                                                Females:          58–65 cm.

FAULTS: Any deviation from the foregoing points must be considered a fault, the seriousness of which should be assessed in exact proportion to the degree of deviation and its impact on the dog’s health and well-being.

EYES:

  • One or both eyes are light brown. 


LIMBS:

  • Straight angulation in either the forequarters or the hindquarters.
  • Excessively steep angulation in either the forequarters or the hindquarters.
  • Weak carpal joints.
  • Outward turning of the elbow.
  • French front.
  • Cow-hocked.


 COLOUR:

  • Isolated white hairs on the inner thighs.
  • Isolated white hairs at the tip of the tail.
  • Isolated, small groupings of white hair on the chest or one larger grouping of white hair on the chest not exceeding 8 cm at its largest extent.
  • Mottled or completely white toes.

Blond:

  • Isolated white hairs on the nasal bridge or top of the skull.
  • Slight, light shading on the nasal bridge.

 SIZE:

  • Males measuring 71–73 cm at the withers.
  • Females measuring 66–68 cm at the withers.

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS:

  • Aggressive or overly timid dogs.
  • Dogs with evident physical abnormalities or behavioral disorders.

GENERAL APPEARANCE:

  • Dogs whose appearance deviates significantly from the breed standard.
  • Strongly masculine females.
  • Strongly feminine males.
  • Markedly incorrect body proportions.


IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:

  • Dogs with withers to body length ratio of less than 100:100 or greater than 100:120. 


BEHAVIOUR/TEMPERAMENT:

  • Aggressive dogs.
  • Fearful dogs.
  • Gun-shy dogs.
  • Lethargic dogs.


HEAD:
Stop:

  • The absence of the stop.

FACIAL REGION:
Jaws/Teeth:

  • Overshot.
  • Undershot.
  • Crossbite.
  • Missing any teeth other than the P1s and the M3s.

 EYES:

  • One or both eyes blue.
  • Wall eye (China eye)

EARS:

  • One or both ears erect.
  • One or both ears semi-erect.
  • Rose ear present for one or both ears.
  • One or both ears are outward facing.


BODY:

Back:

  • Pronounced sway back or roach back.

Chest:

  • Narrow or barrel-shaped chest.

TAIL:

  • Anatomical anomalies.
  • Significantly shortened tail (the tail ends more than 5 cm above the hock).
  • Ring tail.

LIMBS:

  • Markedly overbuilt hindquarters.
  • Very straight angulation in forequarters or hindquarters.
  • Extreme angulation in forequarters or hindquarters.


COAT:
Hair:

  • Predominantly curly coat (ringlets).


Colour:

  • Colours not conforming to the standard, e.g. blue-grey, wild-coloured, brown, white, particoloured, blond with a sooty tinge, or predominantly irregular multi-tone coat.
  • Groupings of white hair [EK1] [MD2] outside the chest.
  • White on the feet extending beyond the toes.

Black with markings (AKA Black & Gold/Black & Tan):

  • Grey or brown markings outside the designated markings.
  • Undercoat predominately a colour other than black.
  • Markings that are predominantly grey or whitish in colour.

Black:

  • Grey or brown patches.
  • Undercoat predominately a colour other than black.

Blond:

  • Uniform reddish-blond colour without lightening.
  • Whitish-blond colour, including on the ears.
  • Presence of a dark mask or dark markings.

 
SIZE:
Withers height:

  • Undersize.
  • Females over 68 cm; males over 73 cm.


 

N.B.:

  • Males must have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
  • Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.