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General Appearance The Cavalier is an active, graceful, well-balanced toy spaniel, elegant and royal in his appearance, with the fearless character of a sporting dog and the affectionate nature of a true companion. The cavalier must have no exaggerated features in size or shape and should have a totally natural coat. The lovely, flowing stride of a dog with a correct structure emphasizes the cavaliers relationship to the larger sporting spaniels and his use as a hunting dog. The Cavalier should be friendly with no tendency to be nervous, shy, aggressive, or bad-tempered.
The Body When ful grown, a Cavalier stand ten to twelve inches at the highest point of the shoulder and weigh between twelve to eighteen pounds. The body should be slightly longer than it is tall, and the chest should be moderately deep. The body should taper behind the ribs but not have the tucked-up appearance. The tail should be carried level with or slightly above the line of the back and should be waving happily when the dog is moving. Docking is optional.
The Head The beautiful head, with it's essentially sweet expression and soulful eyes, best express the character of the breed. The neck is long, well-muscled, and gently arched at the crest. The head should be in good proportion to the body, with large, round, dark brown eyes that are not prominent and are well set apart. Cushionining under the eyes add to the dogs soft and gentle expression. Cavaliers have long ears with lots of feathering. The skull is slightly rounded but without a dome or peak, and it should appear flat because of the high placement of the ears. The ears themselves should be set well enough apart that, when the dog is alert, they fan forward to frame the face. The stop, which is the spot on the skull were the muzzle meets the face, should be moderate, and the muzzle itself cushiony, well-tapered, and about one and a half inches long.
The Coat The coat should be moderately long, silky, and free from curls. No trimming is permitted. There should be long feathering on the ears, chest, tail, and legs. The feathering on the feet known as bedroom slippers is left long and untrimmed. Hair growing between the pads must be clipped for the comfort of the dog. Agian, the emphasis is on the natural appearance of the dog.
Cavalier Colors There is a choice of four colors on the Cavalier. Two are known as particolors because they have white markings, and two are known as wholecolors because they have no white. Blenheim and Tricolor are known as the two particolors. The Blenheim has rich chesnut markings on a pearly white ground. the chestnut around the eyes and on the ears. Between the eyes there is a white blaze. The Tricolor is a black and white dog with body marks placed similarly to the Blenheim, but with bright tan marks over each eye, down the side of the cheek, on the underside of the ears, and under the tail. The Black and Tan and Ruby are known as the two wholecolors. The Black and Tan is, as her name implies, black with the same tan marks as the Tricolor. The Ruby is rich true red all over. They are all pleasing to the eye, and there sweet nature is such that the color is just the icing on the cake.
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