General Appearance
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, Proportion, Substance
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.
Head
Proportionate to size of dog, appearing neither too large nor too small for the body.
Expresion: The sweet, gentle, melting expression is an important breed characteristic.
Eyes: Large, round, but not prominent and set well apart; color a warm, very dark brown; giving a lustrous, limpid look. Rims dark. There should be cushioning under the eyes which contributes to the soft expression. Faults: small, almond-shaped, prominent, or light eyes; white surrounding ring.
Ears: Set high, but not close, on top of the head. Leather long with plenty of feathering and wide enough so that when the dog is alert, the ears fan slightly forward to frame the face.
Skull: Slightly rounded, but without dome or peak; it should appear flat because of the high placement of the ears. Stop is moderate, neither filled nor deep.
Muzzle: Full muzzle slightly tapered. Length from base of stop to tip of nose about 1½ inches. Face well filled below eyes. Any tendency towards snipiness undesirable. Nose pigment uniformly black without flesh marks and nostrils well developed. Lips well developed but not pendulous giving a clean finish. Faults: Sharp or pointed muzzles.
Bite: A perfect, regular and complete scissors bite is preferred, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square into the jaws. Faults: undershot bite, weak or crooked teeth, crooked jaws.
Neck, Topline, Body
Neck: Fairly long, without throatiness, well enough muscled to form a slight arch at the crest. Set smoothly into nicely sloping shoulders to give an elegant look.
Topline: Level both when moving and standing.
Body: Short-coupled with ribs well spring but not barrelled. Chest moderately deep, extending to elbows allowing ample heart room. Slightly less body at the flank than at the last rib, but with no tucked-up appearance.
Tail: Well set on, carried happily but never much above the level of the back, and in constant characteristic motion when the dog is in action. Docking is optional. If docked, no more than one third to be removed.
Forequarters
Shoulders: Well laid back.
Forelegs: Straight and well under the dog with elbows close to the sides.
Pasterns: Strong and feet compact with well-cushioned pads. Dewclaws may be removed.
Hindquarters
The hindquarters construction should come down from a good broad pelvis, moderately muscled; stifles well turned and hocks well let down. The hindlegs when viewed from the rear should parallel each other from hock to heel. Faults: Cow or sickle hocks.
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.
Color
Blenheim: Rich chestnut markings well broken up on a clear, pearly white ground. The ears must be chestnut and the color evenly spaced on the head and surrounding both eyes, with a white blaze between the eyes and ears, in the center of which may be the lozenge or “Blenheim spot.” The lozenge is a unique and desirable, though not essential, characteristic of the Blenheim.
Tricolor: Jet black markings well broken up on a clear, pearly white ground. The ears must be black and the color evenly spaced on the head and surrounding both eyes, with a white blaze between the eyes. Rich tan markings over the eyes, on cheeks, inside ears and on underside of tail.
Ruby: Whole-colored rich red.
Black and Tan: Jet black with rich, bright tan markings over eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest, legs, and on underside of tail.
Faults: Heavy ticking on Blenheims or Tricolors, white marks on Rubies or Black and Tans.
Gait
Free moving and elegant in action, with good reach in front and sound, driving rear action. When viewed from the side, the movement exhibits a good length of stride, and viewed from front and rear it is straight and true, resulting from straight-boned fronts and properly made and muscled hindquarters.
Temperament
Gay, friendly, non-aggressive with no tendency towards nervousness or shyness. Bad temper, shyness, and meanness are not to be tolerated and are to be severely penalized as to effectively remove the specimen from competition.
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Your new puppy will miss its mom and litter mates and may whine the first few nights. It is your decision as to how much comfort to offer at first, but the sooner he is able to get himself to sleep, the better for all. My pups are used to the comfort of soft music playing most of the time. A ticking clock, television, or radio playing softly may also help.
Here are some tips for the first few days. Remember, your pup is just a baby and must be treated as such. It’s natural to want to hold and cuddle a baby, and this is necessary for bonding. However, over-handling can be harmful and even stressful to a young puppy. At first, most of his time should be spent sleeping quietly in his partially-covered crate, have brief playtimes, regular feeding times, and frequent potty trips to whatever potty spot you have chosen. For more info on this subject, please scroll down to “House Training Your Pup”.
To me, the best book on the market for Cavalier enthusiasts is The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Fact and Fancy by Barbara Garnett-Wilson.
Your pup is being fed Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy Food. Do not change the diet unless your vet recommends it. If you make a change, do it very gradually. By 9-10 weeks your puppy will be eating dry food. You can pretty well gauge your pups overall health by its stool. Over-feeding or stress can cause diarrhea. Your pup should have a firm stool. A soft or watery stool is a signal that you may want to cut back on food and talk to your vet, a stool with blood or mucus means a trip to the vet. Keep clean water available at all times. Offer a dish of water after feeding, and leave a bowl of fresh water at all times. You will be given the medical record of your pup’s vaccinations and worm prevention. Take this record to the vet at the first vet checkup. He will tell you when the next vaccination is due. These shots are very important so please do not neglect this. Until the full series is given, please keep your pup out of public places and away from other dogs that may not be protected. Ask your vet about heartworm, flea and tick prevention. If you do all this, you are off to a good start! Congratulations and best wishes for a happy life with your new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel!
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All dogs have specific health issues common to their breed. There are a few such issues that the potential Cavalier owner should be aware of. These are conditions of the heart, eyes, patellae (knees) and hips.
HEART
Veterinarians give Cavaliers special attention when examining their hearts due to a condition known as Mitral Valve Disease (MVD), which is more common in this breed than in others. The veterinarian listens carefully for any heart murmur that may be suspect. Murmurs are usually caused by vibrations in the heart or blood vessels, due chiefly to valve turbulence. A murmur is graded from grade 1 to 6. High velocity blood flow, often seen in puppies, can promote turbulence that may be heard as a murmur. They are generally “innocent” and should disappear as the puppy matures, usually by four months. If your puppy should have a low grade murmur, have your veterinarian or a cardiologist follow up to asses what changes, if any occur over a few months’ time. Best yet is to purchase your puppy from a well-informed breeder who breeds only from adult Cavaliers who are tested and clear of MVD. These breeders will have all pups checked for murmurs before placing them.
MVD is a degeneration of the left-sided mitral valve, which results in a backflow of some blood from the left ventricle to the left atrium. That backflow vibration is the basis of the perceived murmur. This condition is progressive and varies considerably. Should a diagnosis of MVD be made, with proper management a Cavalier can still live a normal life. Medical management, proper diet and exercise are vitally important if your Cavalier develops MVD. Let me repeat, the best way to insure your puppy is healthy is to buy from a breeder who does proper testing on parents.
When looking for a healthy Cavalier puppy, it is vitally important to find out about the health of the parents and other generations if possible. Reputable breeders will have the dogs in their breeding program tested yearly by a board certified cardiologist and recorded in the OFA database. (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals)
EYES
Cavaliers, as a breed, do not have a tendency towards many debilitating eye diseases but in order to keep it this way, it is important that Cavaliers have their eyes cleared by an ophthalmologist who is a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO). The results of this examination should be recorded in the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF). The examination is non-invasive, painless, and easily performed yet the results are vital to the future eye health of the Cavalier.
Juvenile Cataracts, Geographic Retinal Dysplasia, and Cherry Eye are diseases that, if found in a Cavalier, should not be bred.
Some of the minor eye issues that are breeder’s choice with regard to breeding are: Retinal Folds, Corneal Dystrophy, Y Suture Cataracts, and Cataracts of undetermined source.
PATELLAE (Kneecaps)
Luxating patella entails a dislocated kneecap that cannot stay in its groove. Normally the kneecap moves neatly up and down in a groove along the femur. But when this groove is abnormally shallow, the kneecap is free to move and slip in and out. This condition can be either traumatic or genetic in origin. It can be repaired surgically. Responsible breeders have their adult dogs for breeding cleared of this condition and recorded with the OFA health database.
HIPS
Since Cavaliers are in the Toy Group (not the Working/Herding Groups), hip dysplasia is not a major concern. Cavaliers do sometimes develop hip dysplasia but the “breed risk” for HD in Cavaliers is not high. The hip is a ball-and-socket joint connecting the pelvis to lower limbs. In unaffected canines, the ball fits deeply and snugly into the socket. A fibrous joint capsule filled with fluid holds the cartilage between the ball and socket in place, maintaining stability of the joint. As an afflicted puppy grows, diminishing fluid and laxity in the hip joint reduce the cushioning properties of the joint’s cartilage. These factors cause the ball and socket rim to erode and loosen their fit, causing cartilage to wear down and small fractures to appear in the bone below the cartilage. An affected dog may not show symptoms or it may exhibit a wide range of signs including irregular gait and difficulty changing positions. Reliable x-ray techniques are available to diagnose the disease definitively.
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In the past I recommended crate training your puppy as you potty train. This worked very well, but now that I know about litter boxes for puppies…yes, litter boxes for puppies…this is a better way to go until your puppy is ready to go outside. This training will have begun when you take your new puppy to your home.
You will want to purchase from PetCo or any good pet store a medium or large size litter pan with a bag of litter (for puppies, not cats). The system I use is called “Second Nature“. The litter is made of hard paper pellets, very absorbent and deodorized. If you want your puppy to be trained to “go” outside, this is merely a stepping stone to that area. Another dog litter system preferred by some breeders is “Puppy-Go-Potty“.
Your pup has been trained to the following:: He/she and litter mates have their own puppy room with soft beds (WallyBed is my choice) at one end, the litter pan (2 pans with more than 3 pups) at the other. At 5 weeks this training begins. At first we have some “misses”, but soon they know where to go. Remove solid waste as soon as possible, change or replace litter as needed. This is an amazing product and you will be pleased to continue using it indefinitely if you choose. If you wish to train your pup to go outdoors, I recommend gradually moving the litter pan towards the door you want to use as an exit. Perhaps take some of the used litter with you to the desired area of the yard first. You get the idea!
If you are training your puppy to a crate, you can still use the litter box. When your puppy is old enough to have control for several hours, place his crate (with very soft bed inside… They love their soft bed and instinctively don’t want to soil it) in a confined area with the door opened but near the litter box. The utility room or bathroom with spring gate at the door is a good idea. At this age, do not allow your puppy full access to your home unsupervised. Once he/she has made its “mark”, it’s hard to erase. When you notice your puppy sniffing or anxiously making circles (an indication he is about to go) you can quickly and gently guide him either to the litter box or outside.
NEVER punish your puppy by pushing or forcing him into his crate or confined area. And please, NEVER punish your dog by spanking, yelling, or rubbing his nose in his mistakes. Puppies do not think as we do and this only makes the problem worse, confuses the puppy, and hurts his feelings. Remember, it’s a baby!
House training a puppy is a lot of work, but is worth the effort. Consistency is the key!
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If possible, we prefer that you pick up your puppy in person. An extremely long automobile trip isn’t advised for a small puppy. So, if an automobile trip isn’t possible, the next best suggestion is for you to fly your puppy home with you. Most airlines will allow you to carry-on your pup in a soft side crate that will slide under the seat in front of you. There are various brands available at pet supply stores. Many breeders who show their dogs and travel often with them recommend a “Sturdi” bag. You can read about Sturdi Bags at petcarrier.com. Another brand of soft side crates is Sherpa sherpabags.com . If you are able to arrange to fly home with your puppy, please check with your airline for details. If you wish, I will assist with helping you find an airline, flight, etc.. If you cannot drive or fly to pick up your puppy, please contact Crystal Ridge Cavaliers and we can discuss other possibilities.
When you pick up your puppy, please bring the following:
1. Bottled water and a non-tipping bowl are a good idea
2. We will send a starter bag of food—limit any food given on the way home
3. Soft collar and small leash if you have a good distance to travel
4. Paper towels
5. Sealable plastic bag
6. Wet wipes
7. Warm blanket, or soft towel. (Something in which to snuggle your new baby.)
8. Crate for travel if picking up in person. (Maybe a blanket to cover the crate so the pup will feel secure)
9. A soft chew toy
10. Suggestion: wear appropriate clothing—(i.e. Nothing fancy! It’s a puppy!)
