Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, todays featured dog breed..

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a small breed of dog usually considered one of the toy dog breeds. It is a small spaniel with substantial silky coat of moderate length, often with a mild wave, and long ears. Four colours are recognized. The breed originated in the 20th century, though has its roots in the older King Charles Spaniel of the Restoration.

Appearance:
Build: Small, balanced
Weight: 13-18 pounds (5-8 kg.)
Height: 12-13 inches (30-33 cm.)
Coat: Silky, sometimes with a slight waviness
Color: Blenheim, tricolor, ruby, or black & tan
Head: Proportionate to body
Teeth: Scissors bite
Eyes: Large, round, but not prominent and set well apart; color a warm, very dark brown; giving a lustrous, limpid look, with dark rims and cushioning under eyes contributing to the soft expression.
Ears: Set high, but not close, on top of the head, with leather long with plenty of feathering
Tail: Well set on, carried happily but never much above the level of the back
Limbs: Parallel
Feet: Compact with well-cushioned pads
Life span: Median 9-14 years

The Cavalier (along with the Pug) is perhaps the largest toy breed: though clearly a lap dog, fully-grown adults tend to fill one rather amply. It is nonetheless quite small for a spaniel, with fully-grown Cavaliers roughly comparable in size to adolescents of more conventional spaniel breeds. Breed standards call for a height between 29 and 33 cm (12–13 inches) with a proportionate weight between 4.5 and 8.5 kg (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.

Coat
The breed naturally grows a substantial silky coat of moderate length. Breed standards call for it to be free from curl, with a slight wave permissible. In adulthood, Cavaliers grow lengthy feathering on their ears, chest, legs, feet and tail; breed standards demand this be kept long, with the feathering on the feet cited as a particularly important feature of the breed.
A cavalier's coat may be beautiful, but, because it can be long, it is very important to keep it well groomed. This can be done by yourself, or you can hire a professional groomer. If the coat is not properly cared for, the dog will shed quite a bit. Daily brushing is recommended to ensure that the coat does not get matted and that foreign objects, such as grass and sticks, do not become entangled in the feathering. It also should not be bathed more than twice a week otherwise it may cause skin irritation.

The breed has four recognized colours:

• Blenheim (rich chestnut on pearly white background)


• Tricolour (black and white with tan markings on cheeks, inside ears, resembling eyebrows, inside legs, and on underside of tail)


• Black and Tan (black with tan markings)


• Ruby (rich reddish-brown all over)

Parti-colours are the colours that include white: Blenheim and Tricolour. Whole-colours have no white: Black and Tan, and Ruby. The Blenheim is the most common colour.

Temperament
The breed is highly affectionate, and some have called the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel "the ultimate lap dog" or the "love sponge" of dogs. Most dogs of the breed are playful, extremely patient and eager to please. As such, dogs of the breed are usually good with children and other dogs. A well-socialized Cavalier will not be shy about socializing with much larger dogs. (However, on occasion, this tendency can be dangerous, as many cavaliers will presume all other dogs to be equally friendly, and may attempt to greet and play with aggressive 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. Cavaliers are great with children to seniors making them a very versatile dog. The breed is most comfortable in areas with a temperature of 30-85 degrees.