Earlier, we asked if you could name the breed of the puppy whose photo we showed you – – – did you guess he was a Hovawart? For the uninitiated, “Hovawart” may sound like a fabricated breed, but this is a dog whose ancestry has been chronicled in literature as far back as the 1200’s.
It’s probable that the Hovawart started out as a landrace because it wasn’t so much breed as a type, and this type originated in and around the farms of the Harz Mountain district of Germany. “Hovawart” stems from German which translates to “guardian of the farm” or “yard watchman,” and that was their job: Guardians of home and hearth.