Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Walking Your Dog

2012-01-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

Every dog needs to be walked on a regular basis. It's key to keeping them happy and healthy and in our lives for a long time. Aside from being with you, that's the highlight of their day. You must remember that when walking your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that the walk is about them and you need to let them sniff, look around or mark. This is what dogs do.

This dog breed doesn't require as much exercise as some of the other breeds but it's still needed. Playing with them in the yard or even in the house makes them as happy as can be. You do need to keep in mind that these dogs do enjoy a good chase so if you have them in an unfenced area, they make take off after that squirrel or cat.

Cavaliers travel well and can adapt to almost any environment you put them in as long as you are with them. They aren't picky when it comes to their exercise routine just as long as you interact with them everyday in some way or another is what makes them content.

Dog Care

2010-11-24T09:55:00.000-08:00

A few health issues to be aware of in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel are Mitral Valve Disease which can cause heart failure, Syringomyelia which is a condition that affects the brain and spine, Hip Dysplasia and eye or ear problems. Taking your dog in for regular check-ups at the vet can help with early detection and prevention.

When it comes to choosing the best food for your Cavalier, try to find a well balanced nutritional diet which includes poultry, oats, lamb and potato. They have been known to do best on a diet that has some or all of these ingredients. Just make sure you feed them the proper amount daily.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel requires a good amount of grooming regularly. The grooming will help with the shedding. They need to be brushed weekly, frequent bathing, nail and pad trimming and of course their ears and eyes should be cleaned and monitored as they can develop infection easily if not properly cared for. Dog care should be routine and not overlooked if you want to keep him/her healthy.

This dog breed can live in smaller spaces such as an apartment or condo but they do need room to get their exercise. It's ideal if you have access to a grass area or small yard for them to run around in.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Breeders

2009-10-08T11:48:00.000-07:00

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels make great family dogs. They have fun loving personalities and are very loyal to their loved ones.

If you are looking for a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breeder, try these resources:

Cadeaucavaliers.com

Cruisincavaliers.com

Mtcavalier.com

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breeders at DogChannel.com

Luckystarcavalierrescue.com

Mayfieldcavaliers.com

Remember, there are thousands of FREE Cavalier King Charles Spaniels that need homes at PetFinder.com - Click here to see some Cavaliers who need some love.

The Crufts Challenge

2009-01-01T14:19:00.000-08:00

In the 1920s, an American named Roswell Eldridge came to England and was dismayed to find that the toy spaniels he so admired in the paintings of the old masters had all but disappeared. The fashion of the day was so dramatically in favor of the flatter-faced toy spaniels that spaniels with the “old-fashioned head” were considered incorrect and when one arose in a litter of puppies, it was never bred.

Eldridge preferred the look of the old toy spaniel and so, in order to seduce breeders into reviving this old type, offered a prize at the 1926 Crufts Dog Show in England for the best female and the best male of the old type, with the Blenheim markings, that most closely resembled those in the familiar paintings. His challenge was met largely with disdain, as this style of spaniel was no longer considered correct, yet the prize money also sparked the interest of breeders. “The purpose of his challenge was to encourage breeders to resurrect the breed as it once was,” Gammon says.

A month after Eldridge’s death in 1928, Miss Mostyn Walker presented a dog called Ann’s Son at the Crufts show and was awarded Eldridge’s prize. Unfortunately, Eldridge never got to see the dog, but the appearance of this old-style toy spaniel spurred a group of interested fanciers to name the breed the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and to form a breed club in order to seek official recognition by the Kennel Club. “As an English woman [and an American citizen], I find it very interesting that it took an American to revive this breed that is now so incredibly popular in England,” Wilson says.

The club wrote a breed standard (a written description of the ideal specimen of a breed) to describe this “new” old breed, based on careful study of Ann’s Son and of reproductions of many of the paintings picturing toy spaniels from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The goal of the club was to create, preserve and maintain a natural dog of the old type by breeding to longer-nosed toy spaniels — the very dogs considered undesirable because they didn’t match the current fashion of flatter-faced spaniels.

According to Gammon, purists claim that only these throwbacks of the older type from English Toy Spaniel litters were used to create and solidify the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, but some believe that other breeds, such as the English Cocker Spaniel, Scottish Spaniel and the Papillon may have been introduced to more quickly solidify the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel type, although nobody knows for sure.

In 1945, England’s Kennel Club recognized the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as a separate and distinct breed from the flatter-faced King Charles Spaniel (the breed later known in America as the English Toy Spaniel). The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel’s career began anew, and in 1970, a few short decades after recognition, a virtually unknown Cavalier named Alansmere Aquarius won Best in Show at Crufts, before he had even attained the title of Champion. “That’s what shot the breed to recognition and enormous popularity in England,” Wilson says. Since then, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel continues to be the most popular toy breed in England.

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The Evolution of the Toy Spaniel

2008-12-03T13:51:00.000-08:00

When King William III (1650 to 1702) and Queen Mary II (1662 to 1694) ascended to power in 1689, the toy spaniel’s popularity waned, because the new monarchs preferred Pugs and other short-faced breeds recently imported from Asia. The Cavaliers endured in and around certain country estates, most notably at Blenheim Palace (home of John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough). The Blenheim variety of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel — a white dog with chestnut markings — was favored by the Duke of Marlborough, and one legend explains the origin of the desired lozenge (diamond-shaped) mark on top of the toy spaniel’s head.

One evening, when the Lady Marlborough was particularly anxious about her husband during the war, she sat up all night with her favorite female Cavalier, which was about to whelp a litter of puppies. The legend says that in her anxiety, she continually stroked and pressed on the head of her pet, and when the puppies were born, they all carried her thumbprint on their heads. This mark, called the Blenheim spot, is still desirable in the Blenheim variety of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel today.

In other parts of England, the toy spaniel evolved over the next few centuries to look more like the Asian breeds favored by William and Mary: shorter face; undershot jaw; domed skull; and larger, more protruding eyes. “Whether Pugs cross-bred with the little spaniels or whether shorter-faced spaniels were imported from Asia, we don’t know for sure, but the toy spaniel began to develop a much shorter, upturned nose,” says Cavalier breeder Barbara Garnett Wilson of Nordland, Wash.

This flatter-faced spaniel evolved to become the English Toy Spaniel (called the King Charles Spaniel in England). But what happened to the longer-nosed, flatter-skulled spaniel so beloved by the European aristocracy of centuries past? Where had it gone?

A King's Toy - Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

2008-11-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

Small spaniels have long been a fixture among the British aristocracy, as far back as the 13th century. Sometimes called Spaniel Comforters or Spaniels Gentle, these small dogs served as companions for ladies and children, lap warmers for residents of chilly castles and travelers in drafty coaches, and as a target for fleas that would distract the tiny parasites from feeding on humans and passing the plague.

Some accounts say that doctors sometimes wrote prescriptions that included more time with the toy spaniel, and these small dogs with their affectionate and attentive temperaments served as confidantes and companions. However, before the 19th century and the advent of dog shows, breeds weren’t distinguished the way they are today. Everyone knew about small spaniels, but dogs varied widely in size and appearance. “A lot of toy breeds claim the same historical role, including the Papillon, the Japanese Chin and especially the English Toy Spaniel,” Gammon says.

Many of these modern breeds share similar roots, but it was King Charles II (1630 to 1685) who lent the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel his name and helped distinguish the breed from other toy spaniels. His extreme devotion to these beautiful and tractable companions is the stuff of legends.Charles II’s affinity for the toy spaniel must have begun in childhood, because his father, Charles I (1600 to 1649), was similarly taken with the small spaniels. Charles I’s black-and-white spaniel, Rogue, accompanied him everywhere, even to his execution.

As an adult, Charles II, often called the “Merry Monarch,” kept a pack of spaniels in his bedroom, even allowing females to whelp puppies in his personal chamber, a practice many members of the household viewed with disdain. Charles II, who ruled from 1649 to 1660, kept many spaniels and probably took the larger, sturdier dogs on his travels by horse and ship. The smaller, more delicate specimens made perfect gifts for ladies of the court.

Charles II and his brother, James II (1633 to 1701), had a pact to continue breeding the toy spaniels, even in the event of Charles’ death. James was so committed to the preservation of the dogs that one story tells of a shipwreck in which James was heard yelling, “Save the dogs!” and, as if an afterthought, “…and the Duke of Monmouth!” When Charles II died in 1685 at the age of 54, 12 toy spaniels mourned at his bedside.

From Royal Origins

2008-11-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

Discover how the Cavalier went from royal favorite to near extinction and back.

Every lady of the aristocracy cradled one in her arms. Every privileged child frolicked with two or three. Artists bedecked their subjects with them, and no upper-class household was complete without one. Toy spaniels have been an integral part of personal life in Europe for centuries, a mark of the privileged class who could afford a non-working dog purely for the luxury of comfort and companionship. Their beautiful, silky coats, melting eyes and adoring temperaments endeared them to kings and queens, as well as servants, shopkeepers and children.

Yet, the toy spaniels of yore experienced many changes throughout their colorful history, and the dog we know today as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was, at one point, almost completely extinct. Its revival and subsequent popularity has brought this toy spaniel full circle. “The dogs in the paintings are back,” says John Gammon of Clarksville, Tenn., a Cavalier breeder and former president of the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club. “Even though these toy spaniels weren’t called Cavalier King Charles Spaniels at the time, that is exactly what breeders were shooting for when they revived the breed.”

Click here to see how it happened.

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