Kuvasz

Fearlessly protective, independent and strong-willed.
A Kuvasz
Photo: Svenska Mässan from Sweden
Adult male
48–62 kg
106–137 lb
Adult female
37–50 kg
82–110 lb
Lifespan
10–12 yrs
Class · Watchdog
also Working

What it's like

The Kuvasz is loyal and devoted to its own people and fearless in protecting them. It is reserved with strangers and watchful over its home ground. Because it was bred to guard the flock and act on its own judgement, it tends to be independent and strong-willed.

Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs an experienced owner
With people
Affection
Likes its own space
Loyalty
Sticks close to its people
Independence
Decides for itself
Around the home
Sensitivity
Average
Voice
Very vocal
Prey drive
Chases; needs managing
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
Is a Kuvasz right for you?
Take the breed matcher

Living with one

It has a wavy coat. Most of the shedding comes when the seasons change. Plan on brushing a few times a week, plus daily brushing through the seasonal moult. It needs plenty of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

A Kuvasz is a giant dog, about the weight of a grown Rottweiler. Males end up clearly heavier than females.

The double coat is always white, sometimes with an ivory tinge. It is wavy on the body and short on the head, ears and paws. Under the coat the skin is heavily pigmented and slate grey, and the nose, lips and eye rims are black.

Two types

The growth curve, the weight table and the size class on this page use the UK / FCI type's weights.

UK / FCI type

FCI 54
Adult weight
Males
48–62 kg
Females
37–50 kg4
Height at the withers
Males
71–76 cm
Females
66–70 cm4
Its weights are the ones used on this page.

American type

AKC standard
Adult weight
Males
45–52 kg
Females
32–41 kg5
Height at the withers
Males
71.1–76.2 cm
Females
66–71.1 cm5
Its weights are not the ones this page uses.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Kuvasz puppy is already as heavy as a grown Labrador. They grow fastest between 4 and 5 months old. They keep growing past their first birthday, longer than a Beagle does. Most males grow into the size large-breed puppy foods are made for.
Fully grown
13 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight6
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
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Age
Male
Female
2 months
8.4–10.8 kg 18.5–23.8 lb
6.4–8.7 kg 14.1–19.2 lb
3 months
13.4–17.4 kg 29.5–38.4 lb
10.4–14.0 kg 22.9–30.9 lb
4 months
19.9–25.7 kg 43.9–56.7 lb
15.4–20.8 kg 34.0–45.9 lb
5 months
27.0–34.9 kg 59.5–76.9 lb
20.8–28.1 kg 45.9–61.9 lb
6 months
33.5–43.3 kg 73.9–95.5 lb
25.8–34.9 kg 56.9–76.9 lb
7 months
38.6–49.8 kg 85.1–109.8 lb
29.7–40.2 kg 65.5–88.6 lb
8 months
42.1–54.4 kg 92.8–119.9 lb
32.5–43.9 kg 71.7–96.8 lb
9 months
44.4–57.4 kg 97.9–126.5 lb
34.3–46.3 kg 75.6–102.1 lb
10 months
45.9–59.3 kg 101.2–130.7 lb
35.4–47.8 kg 78.0–105.4 lb
11 months
46.8–60.4 kg 103.2–133.2 lb
36.0–48.7 kg 79.4–107.4 lb
12 months
47.3–61.1 kg 104.3–134.7 lb
36.4–49.3 kg 80.2–108.7 lb
15 months
47.8–61.8 kg 105.4–136.2 lb
36.9–49.8 kg 81.4–109.8 lb
18 months
48.0–61.9 kg 105.8–136.5 lb
37–50 kg 82–110 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Kuvasz dogs live yet. The 10–12 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Kuvasz is a Hungarian flock guardian whose ancestors reached the Carpathian basin with the Magyars, where it kept predators and thieves off the herds. Under King Matthias Corvinus it was also prized for the chase, and the king, it is said, trusted his Kuvasz dogs more than his palace guards. As herding declined it moved into villages and towns as a guard of homes and people4,8.

The Kuvasz came close to disappearing in the twentieth century. Hungary's dogs suffered heavy losses in the Second World War, and it is commonly said that many were shot because they defended their households against soldiers. Hungarian breeders rebuilt the breed from the few dogs that survived. It is also kept elsewhere in Europe and in North America. Its name is often linked to a Turkic word for an armed guard, though where the word comes from is disputed. It is a large, sturdy dog built to spend long hours outdoors with livestock, guarding them rather than herding them.

Breed standard

The American standard asks for a lighter dog than the UK and international ones.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Kuvasz figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a giant breed is most likely at the late end.

Compare with related

Great Pyrenees
Pinschers & molossoids · Giant
Komondor
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Giant
Beauceron
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Large
German Shepherd
Sheepdogs & cattledogs · Large
Or compare the Kuvasz with any breed you choose
Track your own Kuvasz
Log a minute a day and watch them sit on these curves. Free.

Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
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Parts of this page were written by AI ·