All About Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Colors of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIELS COME IN MULTIPLE COLORS
You can find Cavalier King Charles spaniels in four distinct color patterns. They include Blenheim, or chestnut/tan and white; tricolor, or black, tan, and white; ruby, which is a solid red-brown color; and the self-explanatory black-and-tan pattern.
Pictured: Blenheim (left) and tricolor (right) Cavalier King Charles spaniels.
King Charles II of Britian
CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIELS ARE NAMED AFTER KING CHARLES II OF BRITAIN
King Charles II, who lived and ruled England in the 17th century, was an extremely devoted fan of the toy spaniels that came to be named after the monarch. It is said that the king instituted a law that said no King Charles spaniel could be barred from any public place, not even the House of Parliament, where animals otherwise were forbidden. His decree is still in place today.
The Retro Spaniel
THE CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL IS A “RETRO” VERSION OF THE KING CHARLES SPANIEL
Around the same time as King Charles II reign, breeders began to cross the spaniel — to which the monarch gave his name — with pugs. Before long, this gave the King Charles spaniel the pug’s signature short muzzle and domed skull shape. It wasn’t until the 1920s that an American named Roswell Eldridge showed interest in “rebuilding” the breed the way it appeared in 17th-century portraits of Charles II. Eldridge even offered prize money to whichever breeder could successfully reverse the “pugization” of the King Charles spaniel and restore its snout.
The Name, Cavalier Kings Charles Spaniel
THE FATHER OF THE MODERN CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL WAS A DOG NAMED “ANN’S SON”
Roswell Eldridge did not live to see his dream of a long-snouted King Charles spaniel come true, but in 1928, just a month after Eldridge died, a woman named Mostyn Walker won the promised prize money for her dog, Ann’s Son. Before long, this revival of the “original” King Charles spaniel gained enough popularity for its fans to found a club for the breed. It was given the name “Cavalier Kings Charles spaniel” to distinguish it from the still popular, pug-faced King Charles spaniel.
The Recent Recognition
THE AKC RECOGNIZED THE CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL ONLY RECENTLY
Although its history goes back centuries, the Cavalier King Charles spaniel as it exists today dates back only to the 1920s. The canine is a relatively new entrant of the American Kennel Club. The AKC first recognized the Cavalier breed in 1995.
The Toy Spaniel
DESPITE BEING SPANIELS, KENNEL CLUBS CLASSIFY CAVALIERS AS TOY DOGS
Spaniels are gun dogs by definition, but Cavalier King Charles spaniels have never truly been used for hunting in their modern incarnation, and even very rarely back in King Charles II’s day. Cavaliers are lap dogs first and foremost, so it makes sense that the AKC categorizes them in the toy group rather than the sporting group with other spaniels.
