Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

They share ancestors but are separate breeds. The King Charles Spaniel (called the English Toy Spaniel in the US) has a short, upturned face and a domed head, and weighs around 4 to 6 kg. The Cavalier was recreated in the 1920s with a longer muzzle, a flatter skull and a slightly larger frame, closer to the dogs painted in the 1600s. Both are gentle, though Cavaliers tend to be a little more outgoing.

Mitral valve disease appears to be strongly inherited in the breed, and because the modern Cavalier descends from a small group of founding dogs, the genes behind it spread widely. Many Cavaliers have a murmur by middle age. Choosing a puppy from parents with clear cardiologist results, and ideally grandparents that were still clear at five years or older, is the best way to tilt the odds in your favor.

Most are. A Cavalier raised alongside a cat usually treats it as part of the family, and even adults tend to be polite once introduced. The spaniel chase instinct can switch on for a cat that bolts, so keep first meetings calm and make sure the cat has a high shelf or gate to escape to. Unfamiliar cats in the garden are a different matter for many Cavaliers.

Not usually. A typical Cavalier barks once or twice at the doorbell, then goes back to greeting whoever walks in. Persistent barking in this breed is far more often a sign of boredom or long hours alone than of territorial guarding. If a normally quiet Cavalier starts barking through the day, look first at how long it is being left and how much company it gets.

It is a small chestnut mark in the middle of the white blaze on top of the head in Blenheim-colored dogs. Legend says a Duchess of Marlborough pressed her thumb on the head of a pregnant spaniel while waiting for news of the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, and the puppies were born carrying the mark. Show judges like to see it, but for a pet it makes no difference at all.