Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Description

A toy breed with a moderately long silky coat, official colors are Blenheim (chestnut-white), tricolor, ruby (solid red), or black-and-tan. Rounded head with large expressive dark eyes, long high-set ears, tail carried gaily and horizontally. Noticeably more athletic than its appearance suggests: it descends from hunting spaniels and retains an instinct to chase birds and butterflies.

Temperament

Hyper-attached to one reference person, it follows its owner from room to room. Separation anxiety is present in 60-70% of individuals from as little as 4 hours alone. Barks little but may signal a doorbell. Sociable with absolutely everyone: children, dogs, cats, strangers — a poor guard dog by design. Playful up to 8-10 years old, not particularly energetic but enjoys short play sessions.

Training

Good trainability (top 50 according to Coren), eager to please and motivated as much by food as by human contact. Positive reinforcement exclusively: it shuts down completely under any pressure. Short sessions of 5-10 minutes, 2-3 times a day. Housetraining learned quickly (3-4 weeks on average). Not suited to technical disciplines (agility, IGP) but excellent for pet therapy.

Feeding

120 to 180 g of premium kibble a day for a 7 kg adult, split into 2 meals. A breed with a strong propensity for obesity — always weigh the ration, treats strictly counted (10% of calories max). Excess weight dramatically worsens MVD and shortens life expectancy by 1 to 2 years.

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Living conditions

A breed built for indoor life: a studio, urban apartment, or house all suit it equally, as long as it is with its people. Suited to apartments under 30 m² thanks to its modest size. Avoid temperature extremes: a medium coat protects it neither from cold below 5 °C (a coat is helpful) nor from heat, being sensitive above 28 °C.

Grooming and coat care

Brush 2 to 3 times a week to prevent tangles in the feathering (ears, culottes, belly, tail). Optional professional grooming every 2-3 months to even things out. Bathe monthly at most, with a gentle shampoo for sensitive skin. Bi-weekly inspection of the closed long ears (frequent ear infections) and the facial folds.

Health

A breed heavily marked by 2 severe hereditary conditions. Mitral valve disease (MVD): 50% of individuals have a murmur by age 5, 100% past age 10, the leading cause of death. Syringomyelia (Chiari-like malformation, CM/SM): 70% of Cavaliers show an occipital malformation, 30-50% develop chronic neurological pain. Annual cardiac ultrasound from age 3 plus a brain MRI recommended if scratching-at-air behavior or unexplained yelping occurs.

Breed history

The breed was reconstituted in the 1920s-1930s by American breeder Roswell Eldridge, who in 1926 offered a prize of 25 pounds sterling to the British breeder presenting a King Charles Spaniel most closely resembling the dogs in 17th-century royal portraits (a longer muzzle, without the brachycephaly introduced in the 19th century). The FCI standard was set in 1955 under the name Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to distinguish it from the original King Charles Spaniel (FCI 128). Imported to France in the 1970s, it ranked in the top 20 of LOF registrations in 2025.