A Short History of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
They have been companion dogs
ONLY for hundreds of years. They are descended from the small Comforter
Spaniel of the 16th Century. They were the court dogs of European Royalty,
especially the British Royalty. Thus, they do not make good guard dogs,
for they are much too friendly. They are not hunting dogs, nor are they
sporting dogs. While all dogs may have, compared to humans, an excellent sense
of smell, most people would say that the Bloodhound excells in the canine world
as being first among dogs with his keen sense of smell. So, too, while almost
any breed of dog may make a fine companion, yet it is the Cavalier King Charles
Spaniel that excells among other breeds of dog as making an EXCELLENT
companion. They therefore make superior therapy dogs as well as
exceptional companions for senior citizens or for anyone who lives in relative
solitude.
While they are cute, and that's
often commented upon, their primary value does not lie as show dogs, but, again,
in their personalities as companions. They have only competed for "conformation"
prizes in the American Kennel Club since January of 1997. They still have
their own separate organization. (In the United States, that would be the
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, U.S.A.) They should never be bred for
cuteness only, for there would be the danger of distorting their personalities.
If you want a dog that's loving, devoted, gentle, and very easily trained,
at least consider the possibility of a Cavlier.
While Toy Spaniels were quite common
in England under the reign of the Tudors, it was under the Stuarts that
they were given the royal title of "King Charles Spaniels." They were the
favorites of Charles Stuart, King Charles II of England, "the Merry Monarch"
who led the Restoration. (His great-grandmother, Mary Stuart, Mary, Queen of
Scots , was also fond of these dogs. See the little story about her
on Page 1.)
Royal Bashing, by the way, was common then as it is now. Like so many
British monarchs, Charles II was a dog lover. His Secretary of the
Admiralty, Samuel Pepys, criticized "the silliness of the King
playing with his dog, all the while not minding his business."
Pepys was scandalized that the King allowed her to nurse pups in
the Royal bedchambers, which "made the whole court nasty and
stinking." Well, after all, Pepys might have considered, here was
a man whose great-grandmother and father were both beheaded. He,
himself, had to flee to France in order to safeguard his life. After
all that, he was called back to England to be the monarch. Such a
man might well look elsewhere (other than to fellow humans) for
trust, loyalty, and companionship. His "silliness" may have been
Charles II's way of keeping his sanity.
When William and Mary became co-regents
of England, the popularity of the Toy Spaniel was eclipsed by the
pug. Perhaps that's why these spaniels were bred to have a pug faced appearance,
and so became somewhat different looking from the King Charles Spaniels
who appear in the paintings of Titian, Van Dyck, Stubbs, Gainsborough,
Reynolds, and others who painted these animals and their Royal owners.
Thus, there is a distinction to be made between the King Charles Spaniel,
also known in the United States as the English Toy Spaniel, and the King Charles Spaniel of today.
In other words, the
King Charles Spaniel of today is an attempt to resurrect the dog of the
1600s so dearly beloved of Charles II that it was given his name. And how
did this resurrection occur? For that, we must thank an American.
In the mid-1920s, an American millionaire
named Roswell Eldridge traveled to England in search of one of these precious
little dogs that he had heard and read so much about. The appearance
of the dog was fixed in his mind through his study of European historical
paintings. Once in England, however, Mr. Eldridge was dismayed that he could
find none of those "nosy" spaniels he had seen in the paintings.
Thus, he offered a prize of 25 pounds annually for five years at the Crufts
Dog Show (highly prestigious in England) to the person or persons who could
present to him a dog and its mother "as
shown in the picture of King Charles II's time, long face, no stop, flat
skull, not inclined to be domed and with the spot in the center of the
skull." (Ah, yes, the famed "Blenheim
Spot," desired but not required today; some Blenheims have it and others
don't.)
A Mrs. Amice Pitt was among
those who took up the challenge. (Later, she took up the stewardship of
the breed and influenced its development.) The revival of the breed did
not go so far as to return to the small eyes and snipey muzzle, but instead
opted for a softer, gentler look.
A club was formed on the second
day of Crufts in 1928 and a standard was drawn up. "Ann's Son" was
the dog who had satisfied Roswell Eldridge and who was used as a model.
In 1946, separate registration status was awarded, and thus the breed was
distinguished from its closest cousin, the King Charles Spaniel.
It is the
King Charles Spaniel, however, that looks more like the King Charles Spaniel
of King Charles II's day. The breed continued to grow in numbers until
it became the number one toy breed in England, and so it remains to this
day. It also appears, from sites on the internet, to be extremely popular
in Japan.
It was not until 1952 that the first
Cavalier King Charles Spaniels were sent to America. The American Kennel
Club gave full recognition to the Cavalier King Charles Spaniels on January
10, 1995, with full registration for Cavaliers opening in March of 1995.
On January 1, 1996, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel entered the ring
as the 140th breed recognized by the American Kennel Club.
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