Breed Priorities – The Kuvasz

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290 – June, 2024

By Nikki Riggsbee

The Kuvasz is an ancient Hungarian flock guardian breed. One theory has it in Mesopotamia thousands of years ago and traveling north with herdsmen to central Europe and the area that became Hungary. Another has it coming from the steppes of the Ural Mountains in Siberia then traveling west with the Magyar tribes. In the fifteenth century in Hungary, the breed was kept and bred by royalty and used to hunt large game as well as for protection. Kuvaszok were exhibited at a dog show in Germany in 1863 and at the first dog show in Hungary in 1865.

The second world war decimated the breed in Hungary, when soldiers from both Germany and Russia shot Kuvaszok. The breed was rebuilt after the war with the few remaining individuals. It was successful enough that 240 Kuvaszok were entered in a show in Budapest in 1970.

The first Kuvasz was recognized as part of the working group by the AKC in 1931. The parent club Kuvasz Club of America was established in 1966. The breed ranked 173rd in AKC’s registration statistics in 2023.

We found twenty-six Kuvasz experts to take a survey on the priorities in evaluating their breed. “Experts” for the purposes of these surveys are breeder-judges, parent-club breed mentors, and others who would qualify to judge the breed as a new breed applicant to AKC if they wanted to; they may or may not be currently active, but they have the requisite knowledge of the breed. Twenty-three people agreed to participate. By the deadline, sixteen surveys were submitted. The experts averaged nearly twenty-eight years in the breed. Those who judge have been approved for eight-and-one-half years on average.

Kuvasz Virtues

Click here to read the complete article
290 – June, 2024

Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=289490

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