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 for this breed type.

Size, Proportion, & Substance

Size-Height 12-13 inches at the withers: weight proportionate to height, between 13-18 pounds. A small, well balanced dog within these weight is desirable, but these are ideal heights and weights and slight variations are permissible.

Proportion- The body approaching 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 specimen are to be equally penalized.

Head

Proportionate to size of dog, appearing neither too large nor to small for the body.

Expression- The sweet, gentle melting expression is 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 rim.

Ears- set high but not close, on top of the head. Leather long with plenty of feathering wide enough so that when the dog is alert, the ears fan slightly forward to frame the face.

Skull- Slightly rounded, but without dome 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 1 1/2inches. Face well filled below eyes. Any tendency towards snappishness 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. ie the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square into the jaws.

Faults-undershot bite, weak or crooked teeth, crooked jaws.

Neck Top line, Body

Neck- Fairly long, without throatiness, well enough muscled to form a slight arch at the crest. Set smoothly into nicely sloping shoulders give an elegant look.

Top line- Level both when moving and standing.

Body- Short-coupled with ribs well spring but not barreled. Chest moderately deep, extending to elbows allowing ample heart room. Sightly less body at the flank than at the last rib, but with not tucked up appearance.

Tail- Well set on , carried happily but never much above the level of the back, and in constant characteristic motion when dog is in action. Docking is optional. 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. Paws strong and fee 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 hind legs 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, leg as 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, clipped or by artificial means shall be so severely 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 surround 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 on a clear, pearly white ground. The ears must be black and the color evenly spaced on the head and surround both eyes, with a white place between the eyes. Rich tan markings over the eyes, on cheeks, inside ears and on underside of tail.

Ruby- Whole colored high 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 actions, with good reach in front and sound, driving rear actions. When viewed from the side, the movement expresses 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.