I got acquainted with Hovawarts 15 years ago when being in Switzerland. We could watch these absolutely stunning dogs, that amaze not only with their bright appearance but also good behavior and intelligence. Some time later, having studied several encyclopedias about dogs breeds we came across this breed’s description. That was our first meeting with this wonderful ancient German dog breed – the Hovawart.

I got eager to find a Hovawart puppy for my family. That turned to be a tough task as at that time there were no dogs of this breed in Ukraine and there were only two dogs in Russia! The desire to have a dog was so strong that we didn’t stop searching and soon Olivia, the Hovawart female, appeared in our family. Later she became mother and grandmother of many Ukrainian Hovawarts. Olivia was my first so much loved dog… Despite the fact she is gone, all members of our family remember and love her! Faithful, kind, ready to be by my side all the time she was my soul mate, my children’s babysitter… Thanks to Olivia our  affection for Hovawarts became strong and lasting.

A bit later we got Enormous Cherokee Chef, our Rokee, as we call him. He is the most beautiful, faithful and brave! Rokee is the embodiment of strong character and charisma. This is the dog that has never lost his dignity even when obeying the owner's commands on the playground. We call him “Tsar”. My husband and I have always been competing for his love. He is the elder dog now, the oldest and the top dog in the pack of Hovawarts.

As for our young dogs, each of them appeared in our family by chance, having their unique stories. Today we have four Hovawarts. Is that a big number? Not for me! They are like children for me, and how many children to have in the family each of us decides for himself/herself. Dogs are as different as people: they have different characters, temperaments and emotions.

We had our first Hovawart-litter in 2008. I was nursing the puppies along with Olivia though I had a toddler at that time. And we did it! We coped! Rearing puppies dog breeders tend to give them to kind and caring people who will not just feed them but also love and make friends with Hovawarts.

“Hovawart” is translated from German as “watchdog”. Nowadays the Hovawart is a multipurpose working dog with a wide range of duties. Hovawarts have a well balanced mind, excellent health and stamina. They are rather endurable and clever. The dogs have a well-developed instinct for defending the owners and their territory. Besides they are very beautiful.

Being faithful to the owners, the Hovawart will be an excellent dog for the whole family. Proper and substantial training of the dog will turn it into a reliable friend and defender.

What is the Hovawart for me? It’s a friend and daily companion for all members of the family. This is a dog that has its own opinion, and you need to deserve its love and trust.

I can’t help mentioning enthusiastic German breeders of Hovawarts who managed to get such a great result after the process of selective breeding!

Many thanks to our friend Anna Pieczynska (Poland) for her trust, help and support in all issues connected with our Hovawarts. Thanks to Anna we managed to take our Olivia, Rokee and Ring to Ukraine. With Anna’s help we try to develop breeding of these wonderful dogs in Ukraine following the grandest European tradition. Huge thanks to our German and Austrian mentors: Michael Kunze,  Fr. Sabine Kerschner (Österreich), Thomas Feldbusch, fr. Sigrid Darting-Entenmann. Thanks to their support we could organise not only several seminars for Hovawarts breeders and championships for their pets but also adult dogs kerung. They also provided us with a lot of useful and necessary information about the process of breeding and training of Hovawarts.

As for me, I like Hovawarts’ stamina, balanced mind and beauty most of all. Rearing puppies I try to stick to German breeding rules as German breeders are really the best ones caring about physical and mental health of dogs. When buying a puppy you’ll need: love, patience and commitment. It’s important to constantly keep in touch with new families of puppies. For Hovawarts it’s better to have active owners eager to spend time with the dogs walking with them and training them.

We hope on our site you’ll find a lot of useful information about our so much loved dogs. We’ll be happy to find like-minded people – fans of Hovawarts. If you decide to have a trusted friend – the Hovawart – we sincerely wish you to get as much happiness and pleasure from communication with these dogs as we get today from communication with our pets.

Best regards, Elena and Victor Subbotin.