ANCIENT TYPE (“OLD-COLORS”)

 

In the summer of 2025, a new chapter began in the life of my kennel.
I have long been fascinated by the “old-color” Hovawarts, which represent the original, ancient type of the breed. These are the color varieties originally named by Kurt F. König, the German zoologist who played a key role in breeding of the Hovawart breed. They include the so-called wild colors – wildmarken (wild-marked) and blondmarken (blond-marked) – as well as Berliner blond (a darker golden blond shade), hellblond (light blond), rotblond (dark reddish blond), leo (lion-colored), and also the schwarzmarken (black and gold) and black variants, which have continued to be bred by most Hovawart kennels alongside the blond variety.
Only very few kennels breed ancient type Hovawarts today, and most of them are located in Germany.

I decided that in the future I would also dedicate my kennel to preserving these “old-colored”. I will breeding Hovawarts, which represent the original, ancient type.

I got in touch with Christiane Rogge, the owner of the long-established German “vom Silberberg” kennel. We immediately felt a mutual sympathy during our correspondence. We agreed to mate our dogs in the autumn of 2025. The meeting of blond Buda Side Alinda “Linda” and wildmarken Churchill vom Silberberg “Sir Winston”, alias Winnie took place at the end of October, and the puppies of the Buda Side C-litter arrived just in time for Christmas.

My kennel – previously operated within the framework of the FCI – has now joined the OTK, a member organization of the Magyar Kutyások Szövetsége (MKSZ)
and the Hungarian member of the World Cynologic-Hunting-Sports Alliance (WCHSA).
From now on, puppies born in the Buda Side kennel will be registered in the OTK as HOVAWART /ancient type/.

It is both an honor and a source of pride for me that the father of the C-litter is Churchill vom Silberberg “Sir Winston”, a stud dog with such a majestic appearance and excellent qualities, whose family tree traces directly back to the first registered Hovawarts, to the dogs of the German zoologist
Kurt F. König, who bred the breed!
The lineage of the dogs of the German vom Silberberg kennel (pedigree with photos):
https://www.die-hovawart-familie.de/html/unsere_wurzeln_.html

It is particularly interesting what Christiane Rogge – who has been breeding “old-colored” Hovawarts
for decades – writes on her website:
“Even Hovawarts that do not descend from the old lines carry and pass on the rare blond and wild
colors. Even in those associations where breeding with wild colors or blond shades outside the FCI
standard has been prohibited for more than 50 years, puppies with these rare colors are still being
born today.
For me, this is clear evidence that these beautiful colors are an integral part of the Hovawart breed,
and that we humans cannot eradicate them. Ancient-type Hovawarts are characterised not only by
their color, but above all by their temperament. They are brave, reliable, balanced and confident
family dogs who also enjoy learning and working!”

Although less well known, there are also shows specifically for ancient type Hovawarts.