Cavalier King Charles Spaniël

Country of Origin

Great Britain

History

Small toy spaniels like this have been known in Europe since the sixteenth century; they were bred as companions and to hunt small game. In the seventeenth century the toy spaniel became a special favorite of King Charles I, and was popular with royalty throughout the reign of King Charles II. By the late seventeenth century, however, it had become rare and almost disappeared.

The Breed wasn’t revived until the 1920s, when an American came to Britain looking for the breed he’d seen in old paintings. For five years, he offered money for the best old-type spaniel at the Crufts Dog Show, stirring a revival of what was to become know as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniël. The breed has had a following in the U.S. and UK since and has become more popular than the original English toy spaniels.

Physical Description

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is small, well-balanced, and graceful. The skull is slightly rounded but appears flat because of long, high-set drop ears. The full muzzle is slightly tapered and the eyes are round, large, and dark. The nose is black with large nostrils. The tail is naturally long; occasionally it is docked to two-thirds its length. The coat is moderately long, silky, and straight or slightly wavy, with feathering on the ears, feet, back of the legs and tail. The coloring can be black and tan; rich red (ruby); with with chestnut markings (Blenheim); or black, with and tan (tricolor).