The Kuvasz is bold, strong-willed, clever, and independent and does best in a home with humans who are kind but firm leaders. For thousands of years, the Kuvasz has been used for predator control and as a bodyguard. Because of these traditional duties, the Kuvasz personality is unique. If the Kuvasz will be a companion rather than a working dog, early obedience training and endless socialization are critical. If you are too busy to pursue these activities with your dog, another breed might suit you better.

The Kuvasz is fiercely loyal and devoted to its owners, territorial, and suspicious of strangers. If you have carefully trained and socialized your Kuvasz, however, it will be polite.

The Kuvasz is strong, fast, tough, and stubborn, yet with its own family is calm, playful, clownish, and affectionate. Some are very protective, loving and mellow whereas others are protective, loving, and total brats who steal socks out of the hamper, shoes out of the closet, and your fresh-baked quiche off the kitchen counter.

Despite its rugged exterior, the Kuvasz is quite sensitive and forms deep emotional attachments to its loved ones. For this reason, ownership of a Kuvasz must be considered a serious and permanent commitment, and care should be taken to include the companion Kuvasz in family home life and activities.

If any family member is apprehensive about owning a guard dog, then please do not adopt a Kuvasz. Your insightful Kuvasz will quickly recognize hostile or fearful individuals and may test them relentlessly. If some members of your household are not willing to interact with and assert clear but loving leadership over the Kuvasz, the dog may feel justified in moving up the hierarchy to assume dominance over them. Everyone in the home, including children, needs to be in agreement about bringing a Kuvasz into the home.

Although they are athletic dogs and thrive on a reasonable amount of exercise, Kuvasz are not hyperactive and will adjust to your lifestyle easily. However, you may find they are less likely to bark, dig, or chew if exercised regularly, and they will definitely be healthier for it.

If you are choosing a dog primarily for your children, Collies, Labradors, and Golden Retrievers are also big, intelligent, and beautiful, and they are much better choices for the average family. Choose a Kuvasz to protect your children, not as a playmate for them. Although a Kuvasz is typically gentle and forgiving with children, the children must not be left unsupervised with any animal, including the family Kuvasz. Before considering a Kuvasz, think about whether you will be able to supervise your children and their friends with your dog 100% of the time. Alternatively, think whether you can confine the dog when you are not present.

Rumor has it that your Kuvasz will bark at insects, birds, and the wind. Some do. And some will sleep at the foot of the bed and bark only enough to alert the family, then stop. Remember that a guard dog is supposed to bark.

Most Kuvasz sound off only for good reasons, but a good reason in your dog's opinion might be the UPS truck, evil joggers, or the iguana next door. Be aware that your Kuvasz will also protect the houses next to yours. If your neighbors cannot accept a moderate amount of barking, don't get a Kuvasz.

The Kuvasz is a guardian dog, bred to instinctively protect anything within its territory. Without a clearly defined boundary like a fence, your Kuvasz will vigorously expand its territory, and the possibilities are endless. Your unfenced Kuvasz is not roaming, it is enlarging its kingdom.

Because of the Kuvasz' stoicism, an electronic fence will usually not provide a sufficient barrier. Your dog will blast through the shock to go after its prey but is far too smart to take the shock again to come back in. An electronic fence also will not keep animal or human intruders out of the territory.

For the owner who will be gone all day, the conditions that will work best are a securely fenced yard, a doggie door, and a Kuvasz-friendly house. That means a house that has trash and dangerous or valuable objects well out of reach, a big spin-proof bowl of clean water, and a cool, comfortable place for the dog to sleep. Remember that a bored, lonely dog will find ways to "entertain" itself. Two dogs are usually happier than one.

The Kuvasz was not meant to live out its life in a crate, a kennel run, or alone in the backyard. There are many rueful stories about the confined Kuvasz who barked helplessly while the family home was robbed. Your Kuvasz needs the freedom to protect you and your possessions.

Kuvaszok are deviously clever and will attempt to neutralize or modify your training efforts if you bore them with mindless repetition. They are highly intelligent and are intriguing to train. Due to their independent and imperious natures, Kuvaszok aren't candidates for obedience stardom like Golden Retrievers or Border Collies, but they can excel if they are motivated.

Use your imagination to vary your practice routine, and persevere. Consistency, patience, a sense of humor, and a generous reward system (usually praise and/or food) are the most effective tools when training a Kuvasz. Harsh or unfair training methods, such as the alpha roll, will not be tolerated or forgotten by this proud dog, who will always associate training with punishment and misery if handled improperly.

Group lessons will be the most effective. In group training your dog will get exposure to other dogs while it learns to obey you and behave politely around others. Even an adult Kuvasz that is adopted as a rescue should go through obedience training with its new family to help establish them as its leaders and build confidence and the bond of trust.

People in rural areas often inquire about adopting an adult Kuvasz as protection against coyotes, other predators or loose dogs that are killing their livestock. As a guard, the Kuvasz usually does not herd, but instead works at a distance from the livestock, watchful and ready to frighten, chase, or if challenged, kill predators.

When properly selected, the instinctively protective companion Kuvasz can easily perform a dual role as a family pet and part-time livestock guardian, alternating between the home and the livestock. The livestock dog is best chosen as a puppy that has been raised around livestock. The breeder will know which pups display the temperament required in a livestock guardian. A breeder who sells Kuvasz puppies indiscriminately as a livestock guardians does a disservice to you, your livestock and the breed.

Whether it will be used as a part-time or full-time guardian, the puppy should be raised with gentle animals that will not intimidate or injure it. If the puppy is intended to be a full-time livestock guard, it should be introduced to its duties at around six weeks of age, and should receive minimal contact with humans until bonding with the livestock is complete at about fifteen weeks of age.