Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

King Charles, Cavalier, C.K.C.

This cute little adorable dog has become a pleasant life companion for any type of owner. Whether his owner is old or young, sedentary or active, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel will be accommodating. As long as he is close to his owner, he will be happy. This dog is made to live alongside humans, otherwise his vivacity will gradually fade and die out. Human contact is his source of daily joy.

Height 25 to 34 cm
Weight 5 to 8 kg
Life expectancy 12 to 14 years
Hair Loss Medium
Excercise Need High
Home country United Kingdom (UK)

Index

Personality Appearance Characteristics Price Pictures Tips Health History

Quick Overview of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Temperament

  • Happy to live and energetic
  • Always on the move, exuberant
  • Happy and bubbly
  • Not sedentary

Appearance

  • Graceful and lively look
  • Very well proportioned
  • Great joie de vivre
  • Long, silky, curl-free coat

Health

  • Some genetic diseases

Temperament of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Happy to live, energetic, always on the move, exuberant, joyful and bubbly are all qualities representing him. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is not sedentary.

He is constantly looking for the toy to seek the attention of his master. This very playful companion dog has the unique ability to calm down on the spot when he understands that the master is not inclined to play.

This small dog, totally devoid of aggression, is by no means a guard dog.  On the contrary, he will welcome visitors with a great joy, all without exception.

His lack of aggressiveness and his great patience make him an excellent dog for children. He is very family-oriented and loves to participate in all the games that children invent.

Children will get tired of their games long before he does and he will still be moving when they stop. His great joie de vivre is very communicative and has a very positive effect on all members of the household.

Some Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are very famous today, such as Dash, Queen Victoria's dog or Rex, Ronald Reagan's, the former American president's dog or more recently, Charlotte, Princess Dandyridge Brandywine's dog in the movie Sex and the City.

Cavalier king Charles Spaniel

Breed Appearance

rider king charles spaniel

This graceful and lively looking dog has very well balanced shapes. Well proportioned, he exudes a great joie de vivre and displays a happy air at all times. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has a pleasant doggie appearance.

Height

Between 25 and 34 cm (9.84 to 13.39 inches) for the male
Between 25 and 32 cm (9.84 to 12.60 inches) for the female

Weight

Between 5 and 8 kg (11.02 to 17.64 pounds) for the male
Between 5 and 8 kg (11.02 to 17.64 pounds) for the female

Color

The dress of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel can be ruby, blenheim (chestnut and white), tricolor, or black and tan.

Hair

The hair of his coat doesn't have any curls, is long and very silky.

Morphology

His head has an almost flat skull between the ears. His eyes are round, dark, large, not too prominent but set wide apart. His ears are set high and long. The color of his nose will vary according to the color of the coat. His tail is very well proportioned and in total harmony with the size of his body.

According to the FCI breeds nomenclature, this breed belongs to group 9, section 7 and is #136

Characteristics of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Does this dog suit your lifestyle?

Every dog breed has its own characteristics. However, the actual character of a dog can vary from one to another within the same breed.

Find out if the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is your ideal dog breed with our quiz.

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Life in an apartment
Good first dog
Tolerates solitude
Tolerates cold weather
Tolerates hot weather
Affectionate
Friendly with children
Friendly with strangers
Friendly with other animals
Hair loss
Drooling level
Easy to care for
Robust health
Easy to train
Intelligent
Tendency to bark
Tendency to nibble
Protective
Instinct to hunt
Adventurous spirit
Energy level
Level of intensity
Need for exercise
Playful

Price and monthly budget

Price you can expect to pay for a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy: between 900 € / $ 1054 / £816 and 1400 € / $ 1640 / £1268
These prices are indicative and may vary from breeder to breeder
Average monthly budget for a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: 70 € / $ 82 / £64
The monthly budget includes the average expenses for food and hygiene products (grooming, anti-parasite...)

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel pictures

Tips About this breed

If he can play, run and spend his inexhaustible energy, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel will be very happy. Not sedentary at all, this very energetic dog with an explosive character is always on the lookout to play.

He loves the company of all humans, but especially children, whose games he shares without ever getting bored.

Because his education is very easy to manage, he can adapt to any household. However, it is important to make him understand what is allowed and what is not, because he tends to go above the rules quite regularly if they are not clear enough.

In spite of his liveliness, he calms down the moment he realizes that the game has ended. He can even go unnoticed and be forgotten, therefore leading the master to go searching for him.

Even if he prefers the indoors, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel can spend several hours outdoors to benefit from exercise. Whether indoors or outdoors, he will be happy in the presence of his master.

His small size allows him to be either a city or country dog. As he only barks to say hello to visitors without any aggression, he can live in an apartment without disturbing or in a large house with or without garden.

Health of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Some genetic diseases characterize the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed and can be transmitted to the dog generally due to poor selection of breeding stock from inbreeding crosses.

Heart murmur, or Mitral Valve Disease (MVD), often occurs in dogs that have the hereditary form of this disease. Since it is only detected at about three years of age, it is essential to choose your puppy carefully and to ensure the good health of the parents in order to avoid this kind of surprise.

A monitoring protocol exists to enable breeders to choose the right breeding stock.

Dysplasia, syringomyelia, keratoconjunctivitis and femur dislocation are also possible hereditary diseases.

Despite these possibilities, a puppy from a good line of healthy parents will enjoy excellent health and robustness.

GROOMING

In general, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel should receive a bath, using bath products adapted to his fur, approximately every two months. His eyes must be watched and maintained daily, as well as his ears. The ears, because of their length, require regular checking and maintenance.

History of this breed

Even though the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has only been known for a short time, about ten years, the breed would still have appeared around 1924. It descended from a very old breed, the King Charles Spaniel, whose origins date back to the 16th century.

He would have acquired his notoriety during the reign of Charles II of England who reigned between 1630 and 1685. He simply adored the English Dwarf Spaniels and never travelled without them. Dogs were even allowed to enter parliament.

Due to this fact, the dogs were then nicknamed King Charles Spaniel, the ancestor of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. There are even rumors that Charles II preferred to play with his dogs and even neglected affairs of state to have fun with them.

The arrival of the Pekingese and Pugs among the royalty and nobility led to a slight change in the King Charles Spaniel. Due to the fashion for the flat nose created by these two other breeds, breeders began to create spaniels with shorter noses.

Because of his great success, the Toy Spaniel Club was created in 1886 to establish the standards of the breed and avoid unwanted crossbreeding.

At the time, the name could change depending on the color of the dog's coat. It was King Edward VII who intervened, in 1903, to establish the name of the breed to King Charles, regardless of the color of the coat.

It wasn't until 1928 that the true standards of the breed were established and in 1945 that the Kennel Club gave him his current name.

At the time, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was widely used for the comfort of high society ladies. His job was to warm their lap in halls of castles or during car journeys.

He was then prescribed as a remedy by the doctors of the time. He was also used as a fleabag for the ladies to prevent them from contracting certain diseases transmitted by these parasites.

Fortunately for him, he is nowadays very appreciated as a companion for family life.

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Last Updated: 06/10/2020

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