|
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a small breed of Spaniel type, usually considered a toy dog. It has a medium length silky coat (Blenheim, Tricolour, Black and Tan, and Ruby) and long ears. The breed originated in the 20th century but has its roots in the older King Charles Spaniel of the Restoration.
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is perhaps the largest toy breed: though historically a lap dog, modern day fully-grown adults comparable in size to adolescents of more conventional spaniel breeds. Height is typically between 30 and 33cm (12-13 inches) with a proportionate weight between 6 and 10kg (10 and 18 lb) Unlike most other spaniels, the Cavalier has a full-length tail, well-feathered with long hair, which is typically carried aloft when walking. The Cavalier's head is nearly flat between the ears and has a well defined nose, its eyes are large and round and this gives the dog its characteristic endearing look. Its neck is strong and is slightly arched and its ears are long and drooping and have plenty of feathering. The body of the Cavalier is small but well balanced. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel moves with a somewhat elegant or "royal" gait.
The breed is highly affectionate. Most dogs of the breed are playful, extremely patient and eager to please and are usually good with children and other dogs. A well-socialized Cavalier will not be shy about socializing with much larger dogs. Cavaliers will adapt quickly to almost any environment, family, and location. Their ability to bond with larger and smaller dogs make them ideal in houses with more than one breed of dog as long as the other dog is trained. Cavaliers are great with people of all ages, from children to seniors, making them a very versatile dog. They are of average working/obedience intelligence.
The extremely social nature of the Cavalier KC Spaniel means that they require almost constant companionship from humans or other dogs, and are not suited to spending long periods of time on their own. Some Cavaliers have been known to exhibit traits in common with cats, such as perching in high places (the tops of couches, the highest pillow, etc), cleaning their own paws and can also show some birding qualities.
Cavaliers can suffer from a number of severe genetic defects so it is important to check the breeder and the dog's parents health. background Unfortunately, two possible genetic conditions, mitral valve disease (MVD) and syringomyelia (SM), can be both severe and very common. Breeders who breed for health will screen their breeding dogs for heart, syringomyelia, hip, eye, hearing, and patella problems and follow recommended breeding protocols to try to reduce the incidence of all these defects in the breed. Heart Problems are the most common.
Some of the content on this page was originally published on Wikipedia
Search the Internet for Breeders for this breed.
|
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel image courtesy of Wikipedia.
| |
