In a nutshell: A German working dog, enthusiastic

Description: Medium to large, hairy, working dog. Not heavy-bodied.

Temperament: A guard dog from the Black Forest. They are inquisitive, keen, arrogant, people friendly, idiots with a terrible sense of humour.

Advantages as an agility dog:

• Very agile for a 'big' breed
• Very owner orientated
• Can think

Disadvantages as an agility dog:

• Bigger than a collie!
• Can look at the owner too much
• Some are slow to learn NEW things
• CAN THINK!
• Males are not for the inexperienced handler

Rating out of 10: I'm biased. 10/10 ok ok - well, 8/10 then.

Examples of dogs that have done well in agility: There are not many, but there are few in the country. The best got to Novice. Min Inches got 14th in a Novice (180) There are quite a few Agility Champion Hovawarts in Europe.

What's it like to live with as a pet: All the Hovawarts in GB are pets. Some people show and others do some sort of sport (work) with their Hovawart - like obedience, working trials, tracking and agility. They are not pets in the usual sense of the word - they're a way of life - quiet in the house, mad fool on a walk. They can be guardy. Usually great with kids and other animals. If challenged could well fight. In Germany, they are used as guide dogs, search and rescue and police dogs.

For more information, see http://website.lineone.net/~trevox/hofmeester/