Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are reknowned for their playful, calm nature and are usually friendly dogs. Their calm nature makes them well suited for use in animal-assisted therapy. Not with standing them being a small breed, they are quite intelligent and can participate in dog sports such as agility, tracking, and obedience as sport.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are often food motivated, this facilitates learning and training and furthers the dog's bonding with their family. They have a reputation as a good family dog allowing them to be around children; however, as with all dogs, extremely close supervision is needed to prevent accidental injury to the child or dog and avoid the dog's subsequently developing fear-based defensive aggression.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel History:

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dates back to the sixteenth century and is a direct descendant of the King Charles Spaniel and the English toy spaniels of the period. They were oiginally bred and developed to be a ladies’ lap dog, offering both companionship and warmth. The dog also assisted the owner with its fleas attracting dangerous insects, thereby protecting its owner from the plague.

King Charles II loved his spaniels so fondly that he established a law allowing the dogs to walk within the House of Parliament, something that had previously been unthinkable. In the 1920’s a gentleman by the name of Roswell Eldridge went to a dog show and offered prize money to those who would show a King Charles Spaniel with a long nose. As the breed developed and the long nose became increasingly common, King Charles Spaniels featuring the longer face were classified as Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, to differentiate them from the King Charles Spaniels with the shorter snout. The breed was exported to the United States in 1952 and received American Kennel Club recognition in 1996.