Due to his social character this is certainly no dog to keep in a kennel ! The Hovawart is very attached to his owners and prefers to stay in their neighbourhood. By keeping him in the house he will consider this as his territory and defend it to all costs.
With patience and persistance the Hovawart can be trained to become : tracking- avalanche- defence- and guarddog. He also is an excellent companion. The golden rule for a Hovawart is to train him in a playful way. Putting him under pressure will have a negative effect and slow down the learning process.