What Is A Breeding Committee and Why Is It Important?

Today I turn the blog over to Claus Harding Hansen from the Danish Hovawart Club, who will reveal what those mysterious Breeding Committee's in Hovawart breed clubs exactly are doing behind the scenes, and why their work is important.

The Hovawart, Next In "Pedigree Dogs Exposed?"

Two weeks ago I came across this heartfelt shout-out of Carmen Töller on Facebook:



The post was shared in a couple of Facebook groups dedicated to Hovawarts and quickly went "viral" - or, as viral as a post about Hovawarts can possibly go.

Sexy Tilde On A Walk With The Danish Hovawart Club

Around 15 Hovawarts and their people showed up on a drizzling Saturday afternoon in one of Copenhagen's most beautiful parks, "Dyrehaven". It was a colorful group with Hovawarts in all ages, sizes, genders and colors, except black - black Hovawart owners, please remedy this next time?

König The Hovawart Founder Revisited: From Mice and Hovawart, to Heimwart

As you could read yesterday, in König The Hovawart Founder Revisited: The Myth Of The Hoffwart, it was the conviction of Max von Stephanitz, to favor function over looks in the breeding of German Shepherd dogs, what appealed to Kurt F. König. König was a diligent breeder of German Shepherd dogs and became a very active member in the local branch of the "Verein für Deutsche Schäferhunde" founded by Max von Stephanitz, in Thale, Germany.

König The Hovawart Founder Revisited: The Myth Of The Hoffwart

During the dark ages, dog breeds as we know them today, weren't established yet. Dogs were kept and bred mainly for their function. And in Germany during that time, one of those types was the "Hoffwart", the farm guard. The alleged predecessor of todays Hovawart.

Does The Netherlands Really Need a Third Hovawart Club?

To my suprise, a third Hovawart club, "Hovawart Rasvereniging Nederland", was born in the Netherlands.

The need for so many clubs in a country with so few Hovawart litters is difficult to see.

And what are the other Dutch clubs - here and here - doing wrong, that can only be solved by erecting a new club?

Father and son

Finally the big day arrived. Kenzo participated in his first dog show ever and delivered a "good". But we will remember this day for something completely different.

4 years ago, when we got Kenzo from the breeder, we also received a stack of papers. Inside all the papers was a photo of his dad "Odin". A personal message to Kenzo was written on the back. Kenzo's mother was a black and brown Hovawart. But Odin was a blonde, just like Kenzo. We always kept that photo and wondered if Kenzo would grow up to look like - and act like - his dad Odin.

The breeder unfortunately retired, and contact with the litter and both parents was lost before it could start. But we were glad we had the photo. I researched Odin, officialy named "Chaccomo vom Bohrertal", and found out he even made it to Danish Champion 2009. And when Kenzo reached maturity, he did become the spitting image of his dad on the photo.

When we drove up the parking lot to the show area, people were walking their Hovawarts and made show preparations. I couldn't believe my eyes when we drove by one particular couple. The resemblance with Kenzo was striking, and then it flashed through my mind: could it be Odin?.

What must have looked like an emergency stop, I hit the brakes and opened the car window, asking: "Is that Odin?!". The man, surprised by the sudden commotion, gave a hesitated "Yes?". And I answered: "I have his son in the back" and got Kenzo out of the car so we all could meet.

It felt like a family reunion. Kenzo and Odin couldn't care less, but for us humans it was a little emotional roller-coaster. For us it was awesome to finally meet Odin in real life. And for Odin's parents it was awesome to meet the lost son.

Kenzo (left) and his dad Odin (right)

As we were all nervous for the show, this wasn't what we needed to calm down, but we got through the day before entering some state of nervous break down. Kenzo, aka "Sveablik's Igor", got his "good" and we were all proud.

Due to my ill preparations and non-existing knowledge of ring-etiquette, Kenzo pulled this one through all by himself. Odin's dad gave a lot of good tips from his vast show experience and told were we - read: me - should improve. Odin himself scored an "excellent".

After we came out of the ring, people came to see Kenzo up close, arguing how it could be he didn't score higher. A Swedish breeder fell in love with him and asked me a thousand questions about Kenzo, scribbling everything down on a piece of paper.

From the jury report it showed that Kenzo scored highest on the shape of his head. It is so distinctive, and also what he has in common with Odin. The reason I could pick Odin out of 60 Hovawarts in a split second was his face. Other areas praised in the report were the width and depth of his chest, and his overall angles. And last but not least, probably the most important of all, he was judged a "Freundliches Wesen". German for a "Kind Spirit". Thats my boy.

We had to leave early and couldn't stay to see the finale, as we had to see to Viva back home. All those dogs would just have been too much for her. It was an amazing day, mostly thanks to Odin and his dad. A dog show can appear to be all talk about lines and characteristics. But when you know and love the dogs personally, it is so much more than that. I am so glad to have found this missing piece in Kenzo's tale. Boy, I am so proud of him, that sometimes it hurts.