Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

AKC Group: Toy

Club: American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, Inc.

Corresponding Secretary : David Kirkland
Address: 387 Holly Brook Road, Sanford, NC , 27330
Website: www.ACKCSC.org
Email: rokirk@alltel.net
Club Type: Specialty

General Apperance:

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is an active, graceful, well-balanced toy spaniel, very gay and free in action; fearless and sporting in character, yet at the same time gentle and affectionate. It is this typical gay temperament, combined with true elegance and royal appearance which are of paramount importance in the breed. Natural appearance with no trimming, sculpting or artificial alteration is essential to breed type.

Size:

Size - Height 12 to 13 inches at the withers; weight proportionate to height, between 13 and 18 pounds. A small, well balanced dog within these weights is desirable, but these are ideal heights and weights and slight variations are permissible. Proportion - The body approaches squareness, yet if measured from point of shoulder to point of buttock, is slightly longer than the height at the withers. The height from the withers to the elbow is approximately equal to the height from the elbow to the ground. Substance - Bone moderate in proportion to size. Weedy and coarse specimens are to be equally penalized.

Coat:

Of moderate length, silky, free from curl. Slight wave permissible. Feathering on ears, chest, legs and tail should be long, and the feathering on the feet is a feature of the breed. No trimming of the dog is permitted. Specimens where the coat has been altered by trimming, clipping, or by artificial means shall be so severly penalized as to be effectively eliminated from competition . Hair growing between the pads on the underside of the feet may be trimmed.

Temperament:

Gay, friendly, non-aggressive with no tendency towards nervousness or shyness.

History:

Dogs of the small spaniel-type have existed for centuries and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has documented its place among them. They have been recorded in paintings and tapestries for centuries together with the aristocratic families who enjoyed their loyal companionship. Cavaliers were obviously a luxury item, for the average person could not afford to keep and feed a dog that did not work.

Today's Cavalier is directly modeled on its royal ancestors but this did not happen without the effort of an American fancier, Roswell Eldridge. Mr. Eldridge traveled to England in the early 1920's hoping to buy two spaniels. He was unsuccessful, finding a diversity of type and none of the "old type", particularly the head type he desired. Employing Yankee ingenuity and determination, Roswell offered prizes of twenty-five pounds to the best male and best female of the "old type" exhibited at Crufts each year. The motivator worked; interest was generated among breeders to revive the original spaniel.

In 1952, the first Cavaliers were sent to America and a national breed club was formed soon after, but because of the small numbers of Cavaliers they did not gain full breed recognition for 40 years. January 1, 1996 saw the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel enter American Kennel Club competition as the 140th recognized breed.

Fun Facts:

• The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is AKC's 140th breed.
  
  
• The Cavalier became fully recognized by the AKC in January 1996.
  
  
• The Cavalier was featured on the hit HBO series, "Sex and the City", as Charlotte York's dog.
  
  
• The Cavalier was a favorite of King Charles I of Britain (the breed's namesake).
  
  
• When the house of Stuart fell, it became a political liability to be associated with the dogs of King Charles (the Tudors favored the Pug), and the Cavalier breed became extremely rare.
  
  
• Queen Victoria brought back the breed, but the Cavalier had changed radically from its original form; the original version of the breed had all but disappeared.
  
  
• In 1928, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club was founded in England in attempts to support a revival of the "Old Type", and since then, the dog has grown to become one of the most popular breeds in Great Britain.