The Hovawart is a medium to large size German dog breed.

The name means "yard-watcher" or "farm-watcher", from the Middle High German words hova ("court", "yard", "farm", modern Standard German: Hof) and wart ("watchman", modern Standard German: Wart).^{[better source needed]}

The Hovawart is a muscular, medium sized, long-haired working breed. The breed is slightly long with length being between 110-115% of the height at withers.

The bridge of the nose is straight. Muzzle is roughly the same length as the skull and the skin is tight. Facial pigmentation is black. Eyes are oval shaped with a dark-to-medium brown colour. Ears are triangular shaped and drop down. They should reach down far enough to be in line with the mouth.

The tail reaches to the hocks but not the ground.

The long-haired coat lies close to the body with only a slight amount of undercoat. Coat is longer on the chest, belly, and rare of legs. There are three different colours: black, black and gold, and blonde.

Dogs are 63–70 cm (25–28 in) at the withers and bitches are 58–65 cm (23–26 in)

Hovawarts are protective dogs who can make good family pets when trained due to their guarding instincts and desire to be part of a pack.