Hungarian Kuvasz

About the Hungarian Kuvasz

The Hungarian Kuvasz guarded flocks and estates across Hungary for centuries and was the dog of King Matthias Corvinus, who is said to have trusted it further than his courtiers. It is a livestock guardian in the same mould as the Maremma and the Pyrenean, bred to work alone at night and to act without instruction.

Dogs stand 71 to 76 cm, always white, with a wavy medium-length coat, black pigment on the nose and eye rims, and a good deal of substance. The Kuvasz matures slowly, often not settling until three, and is naturally suspicious; a stud should be discriminating rather than indiscriminately hostile, and should accept handling by a vet or a judge without a scene.

Hip dysplasia is the screening priority in a heavy, slow-maturing breed, so ask for hip scores and elbow scores under the BVA/KC schemes and for a current eye certificate. Hypothyroidism appears in the breed and is worth raising, as is bloat. Because the Hungarian breeds went through severe bottlenecks in the twentieth century, ask about the coefficient of inbreeding and where the line behind the stud was imported from.

Health & breeding

We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.