Kuvasz 

  HISTORY 

We have to mention here that well-known German, Swiss and Hungarian scientists credit the origin of the Great Pyrenees from Kuvasz ancestors, in opposition to the views of some dog writers of the last decade. Just as one example, even at the time of this writing, the Great Pyrenees Breed Club in West Germany is still a subchapter of the Hungarian Herding Dogs Club. The Hungarian Herding Dog Breeders Association, since their first publications dating from the early 1920's, put much emphasis on working quality and set it as number one goal for hobby breeders. The Association's first president, Dr. Emil Rajtsits, put down the foundations to adapt the Hungarian herding breeds to the rapidly modernizing life in our century. His work was a success and so encouraging that many dedicated kynologists and breeders joined him to achieve the goals he set. As a result, to breed or to own a Hungarian dog became a national pride in the Kuvasz' native country, and this in itself is the greatest assurance for the future of the breed. In the 1930's, the Kuvasz became the fashion dog among the large breed enthusiasts in Hungary and Western Europe alike. This progress was greatly harmed by the Second World War. Dogs suffered from shortages of food and other essentials such as vitamins and medicines. Kennels voluntarily reduced their breeding stock to a minimum, individual owners were forced to give away their most valuable animals due to military duty, and other wartime complications.
Faithful guard dogs were killed by the hundreds, first by the Germans, later by the Russian occupying forces in order to let them move freely on their ransacking missions.  The end of the war found the breed in a very sad state. Many Kuvasz fanciers were dead, most dogs had been destroyed or were missing. Numerous dogs were scattered all over Europe with their owners escaping before the Russian take-over. A new start could not be made immediately. For a long time mail service was unheard of, and it took years to measure up the extent of the loss. The occupying Russians and the new regime looked upon dog breeding as a luxury hobby of the aristocracy, and treated it accordingly. Nonetheless, as long as life goes on people have the desire to return to normal life, and will make all the sacrifices for their strongest interest. In the post-war chaos breeders met in secrecy to establish a direction to follow. The first puppies and dogs were sold for cigarettes, food and natural goods before currency stabilization. The Kuvasz, like all other large breeds suffered a setback in popularity because of the feeding difficulties compared to smaller dogs, and this situation held true until the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Since then, the living standard improved to the point where the Kuvasz began to regain his pre-war popularity. During the period immediately following the war, living conditions in Western Europe improved at a much faster pace, and this helped the sport of dog breeding. Today, besides Hungary, there are Kuvaszok and active breed clubs advancing the breed in Holland, Switzerland and Germany. 

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 proportion to its degree.

Note   Male animals should have two apperently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum. 

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