| Country of Origin: | Germany |
| Registries: | AAH, GEH |
| Breed Group: | AAH: working group Sheepdogs under European breed category, GEH: endangered and listed in the Red List in Category III |
| Occupation: | Herding dog and family pet |
| Size: | Height: 50-60cm (20-24 inches) Weight: 25-30kg (55-66 lbs) |
| Longevity; | 12-14 years |
| Exercise: | Requires permanent physical or mental activity |
| Training: | Obedience, socialization and sport activities |
| Grooming: | Average |
| Color | Gold-colored, red or red-brown fur |
In german, Fuchs means fox, and since these dogs do look like foxes, this is from where they got their name – Harzer Fuchs. This dog breed is a border collie-sized herding dog, and it reminds of German shepherd dogs as well as Belgian and Dutch shepherds. The other part of their name – Harzer, comes from the geographic location of these dogs. This dog breed is very common in the Harz mountains of northern Germany.
Different dogs of this and similar type existed in the German speaking world for hundreds of years. Many years ago, German working class people preferred dogs that were varied in appearance and type. Saying this, it means that they didn’t have time to breed giant German shepherds for example. For them, it was just important to breed a dog that will be able to do the task. Therefore, some dogs were red, some were fox-like, some of them were shaggy.
The Harzer Fuchs is so varied that it is quite obvious that this breed has very little ancestry from modern breed dogs. As a matter of fact, perhaps this dog breed didn’t even exist as a true breed dog.
This dog breed carries something from a variety of dog breeds. For example, shaggy Harzer Fuchs could origin from proto-schnauzers or poodles. The so called “tiger dogs” might have played a role in founding the Australian shepherd, while from the other side some can see collie in some of these dogs, along with Dutch, German, or Belgian shepherds.
The Harzer Fuchs is also considered to be the root stock of many European breeds.