Hovawart

Feed your Hovawart a high-quality diet matched to its life stage, whether puppy, adult, or senior, and to its activity level. As a large breed, it also benefits from formulas made for large-breed dogs. What you feed is an individual choice, so work with your veterinarian or breeder to set meal frequency for a puppy and the right adult diet. Keep clean, fresh water available at all times.

To keep your Hovawart at a healthy weight, monitor its food intake carefully. Use a measuring cup when portioning meals to avoid accidental overfeeding, and count calories from treats in the daily total. As a guideline, treats should make up no more than 10% of a dog's daily calories.

The Hovawart has a double coat with little undercoat, so it needs little grooming. Outside the shedding period, an occasional brushing will do, and an occasional bath keeps the coat clean. During seasonal shedding, brush more often to clear loose hair.

The breed's nails grow fast. Trim them regularly with a clipper or grinder to avoid overgrowth, splitting, and cracking, since overgrown nails can cause pain or trouble walking and running.

Long ears can make the Hovawart more prone to ear infections, so check and clean them regularly to head off a buildup of wax and debris. Good dental hygiene matters too. Alongside professional cleanings, build an at-home routine that includes regular teeth brushing.

The Hovawart is a large, active breed, so the more running room it has, the happier it will be. A large fenced yard is ideal, giving the dog space to run and play. When that is not available, long walks, hikes, and trips to the dog park help make up the difference. Apartments are not typically large enough for the activity this breed wants.

Plan on at least a one-hour walk a day, plus three or four shorter walks. Training for dog sports such as agility, obedience, and rally is another good outlet, and many Hovawarts also enjoy search and rescue and tracking, which engage both body and mind.

Early socialization and exposure to different situations are central to the Hovawart, helping shape its guarding instincts into a measured response. Appropriate guarding is learned, so educate the dog by exposing it to varied situations. Without direction, a Hovawart will decide for itself, and its choice may not match yours.

The owner has to be more alert, intentional, directive, and consistent than the dog. The Hovawart needs a leader it can trust, and it does not respond to harsh methods at all. Far more important is building and sustaining the trust it wants to feel toward its pack leader.

Hovawarts can be strong-willed and stubborn, so consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement are what carry training forward.