UTILISATION:
The Kuvasz is used as a
watch and guard dog for houses, property and other valuables, as
well as for people. He has also been used as a hunting and
scenting dog.
CLASSIFICATION FCI: Group 1
Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs (except
Swiss Cattle Dogs). Section
1 Sheepdogs. Without working
trial.
BRIEF HISTORICAL
SUMMARY: The Kuvasz is a
long established, ancient Hungarian Shepherd Dog. His ancestors
came into the Carpathian basin at the time of occupation by the
Magyars. These dogs were needed to watch and guard their flocks
against beasts of prey and thieves. Because of his hunting
instinct, the Kuvasz was the preferred hunting dog at the time of
King Matthias Corvinus. Since the deciine in stock-herding, he has
much less been used for his original duties and he has settled in
villages and later even in towns.
GENERAL APPEARANCE :
The dogs of this breed are strong and large and carry a dense,
wavy, white coat. Their pleasing appearance radiates nobility and
strength. The individual body parts fit together harmoniously, the
limbs being neither too short nor too long.
The
bone structure is strong but not coarse. The strong muscles are
lean, the joints show clear outlines.
Seen
from the side, the body forms a prone rectangle, almost a square.
Well muscled he shows a strong build, a lively temperament and
great agility. His appearance embodies a tireless working ability.
IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS
- The body length
sligthly exceeds the height at the withers.
- The deepest
point of the brisket is approximately on a level with half of the
height at the withers.
- The rnuzzle is
slightly shorter than half of the length of the head.
BEHAVIOUR /
TEMPERAMENT: The
Kuvasz is brave and fearless. He defends the people entrusted to
his care and his protection and their property, even with his
life. He is self-confident and may become aggressive if
ill-treated. He is faithful, dependable and loves his master and
his surroundings. He needs plenty of excercise and must be kept
busy. He is undemanding. His care is easy and he can stand very
severe weather conditions. He appreciates any love and solicitude
given to him.
HEAD :
The Kuvasz' head is typically wedge-shaped, in harmony with his
body, pleasing, noble, and it shows a considerable strength. The
Kuvasz can mainly be distinguished from other breeds by his head
shape. The head is characteristically lean and dry. In dogs the
head is slightly more massive than in bitches.
CRANIAL REGION
Skull:
Broad,forehead sligthly protruding. In the middle of the forehead, there
is a distinct furrow.
Stop:
Barely pronounced.
FACIAL REGION: Broad,
long, well muscIed.
Nose : The black
noseleather is cut off blunt.
Muzzle:
The bridge of nose is straight. The muzzle tapers gradually but is
never pointed.
Lips :
Black, tightly fitting. The comer of the mouth has jagged rims.
Jaws/Teeth:
Well developed, strong, regular and complete scissor bite,
according to the dentition formula.
Eyes:
Set in slightly slanting, almond shaped, dark brown. The rim of
the eyelids is black and close-fitting to the eyeball.
Ears:
Set on at medium height. One third of the ears lifts from the base
away from the skull in a curve, then dropping, lying close to the
head. The leathers are V-shaped with rounded tips. When alert, the
ears are slightly raised. Never prick or twisted.
NECK :
Rather short than of medium length and well muscled. Forms an
angle of 25 to 30 degrees to the horizontal. Crest of neck is
short. Skin on throat taut, no dewlap. In male dogs, collar and
mane are significant.
BODY:
Seen from the side, the body forms a prone rectangle, only
slightly differing from a square.
Withers:
Long, rising markedly above level of back.
Back Of
medium length, straight, broad, well muscIed and taut.
Loins Short,
in taut continuation of the back.
Croup:
Slightly sloping, well muscled, broad. The very dense coat gives
the croup the appearance of being slightly overbuilt.
Forechest:
Because of the strongly developed muscles, the forechest is
rounded, the point of the sternurn only slightly protruding.
Chest : Deep, long and slightly arched.
Underline and belly: In continuation of the
ribcage, tucked up towards the rear.
TAIL : Set on low following the ligthly sloping
croup. in a
staight line. Vertically down with the tip curved slightly upwards,
but not crooked. When the dog is alert or roused, it may, at most,
be raised to the level of the topline.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS : The front legs, supporting the body, are vertical down to the
carapl joints. They are parallel and moderately far apart. Seen
from the front, the position of the front legs is correct if a
vertical line drawn from the shoulder joint runs along the axis of
the front legs and meets the feet between the 3rd and 4th toes.
Seen from the side, the position is correct if a vertical line
drawn from the elbow joint to the ground, runs through the centre
of the legs down to the carpal joints.
Shoulders: Shoulder blade long, sloping,
muscled. Closefitting and tight to the ribcage, but flexible.
Upper Arm: Of medium length, well muscled. The
upper arm and the shoulder blade form an angle of 100 to 110
degrees.
Elbows : Dry, close-fitting to the ribcage,
tuming neither in nor out. Upper and lower arm form an angle of
120 to 130 degrees.
Forearm : Relatively long, straight, compact
with lean muscles. With strong sinews reaching down to the carpal
joint.
Carpal joint : Well developed, taut, with sinews of
steel.
Pastern : Relatively short, lean, sloping
slightly (angle to vertical 10 to 15 degrees).
Forefeet : Round or slightly oval, taut. Toes
are short and highly arched so that their middle part does not
touch the ground. Elastic, well knit. Pads are springy, black.
Nails are hard, strong, black or slate grey in colour.
HINDQUARTERS :
The position of the hind legs seen from the side is correct if the
stifle joint is positioned vertically below the iliac crest and
the foot under the hip joint. A vertical line from the ischiatic
tuberosity touches the heel bone. Seen from the rear, the position
of the hind legs is correct if a vertical line from the ischiatic
tuberosity runs along the axis of the limbs, being parallel to
both sides and meeting the ground moderately wide apart.
Upper thigh :
With long, broad, massive muscles closely connected to the pelvis.
Pelvis and upper thigh form an ang le of 100 to 110 degrees.
Stifle : Voluminous.
The angle between upper thigh and lower thigh is 110 to 120
degrees.
Lower thigh :
The long massive muscles extend to the hock with strong sinews.
Seen from the rear, vertical and parallel on both sides, also to
the axis of the body.
Hocks : Broad,
voluminous, dry, sinewy. Angle of hock 130 to 140 degrees.
Rear pastern :
Long, vertical.
Hind feet
: Oval, otherwise like the forefeet.
GAIT / MOVEMENT :
Wide, slow steps. When trotting, the movement is light footed,
springy, ground covering, lively, constant and tireless. Elbows
turning neither in nor out.
SKIN: Well
pigmented, slate grey and tight.
COAT
HAIR: Moderately
harsh, wavy, slightly stiff, not tending to mat. Under the coarser
topcoat, there is a finer downy undercoat. The head, ears and feet
are covered by short (1-2 cm long), dense, smooth hair. The front
and sides of the front legs as well as the hind legs below
the stifies are covered by equally short (1-2 cm long) straight
hair.
There are
featherings of 5-8 cm in length on the back of the legs; on the
hind legs, they reach to the hocks. The neck has a ruff which
extends to a mane reaching to the chest. This is particularly
pronounced in male dogs.
On body, upper
thigh and upper arm, the coat is of medium length (4-12 cm long),
abundantly wavy and it forms crests, ridges and tassels. The tail
is covered, along its entire length, by dense, wavy coat which can
even reach a length of 10-15 cm at the hip of the tail.
COLOUR: White,
ivory colour is permitted. Noseleather, rim of eyelids and lips
are black. Pads are black or slate grey. A dark colour is desired
for roof of mouth but pink patches are permissible.
SIZE AND WEIGHT
HEIGHT AT WITHERS
Dogs: 71 - 76 cm
Bitches: 66 - 70 cm
WEIGHT
Dogs: 48 - 62 kg
Bitches: 37 - 50 kg.
FAULTS: Any
departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault
and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should
be in exact proportions to its degree.
ELIMINATING FAULTS
- Pronounced
Stop.
- Lack of pigment
on noseleather, lips, rims of eyelids.
- One or more teeth
missing (Incisors, Canines, Premolars 2-4, Molars 1-2). More than
2 PM1 missing. The M3 are disregarded.
- Under- or overshot, wry mouth. Gap between
upper and lower incisors of more than 2 mm.
- Entropion, Ectropion.
-
Prick ears.
- Tail which is raised above topline even in repose or
curled towards rear.
- Coat tending to be shaggy, curly or not wavy
or wiry.
- Legs covered by long hair.
- Any departure from the
permitted colour.
NS: Male animals must have two apparently
normal testicies fully descended into the scrotum.
