Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Personality

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is considered to be a Sporting Toy Breed in the dog world. They love to play and be active and really enjoy being around their family. If they see anything in the yard or through the window, just know that they will be chasing after it. This is where the fenced yard comes in, you will need one with one of these dogs.

Kind hearted and gentle, this dog breed could also be considered some what of a lap dog. They just love to be close and snuggle up. They don't like to be left alone for too long, so they may become destructive if you do so. I would suggest, if you are getting one of these wonderful dogs that you have a pet companion for them, or even take them with you when you leave the house if possible. They are great with other dogs and most of the time, other cats. They are also good with children.

The Cavalier needs plenty of exercise so daily walks and some play time in the yard or house are in order. Lack of exercise with these dogs can also lead to destructive behavior out of frustration. Begin to socialize them at a young age if possible, this way they will be great with everyone and very balanced. These dogs just love people and they love to please. You could almost get them to do anything for a good treat!

The Evolution of the Toy Spaniel

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?

From Royal Origins

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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