subject: About The Utah Cavalier [print this page] People love their pet Utah Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. This spaniel has been kept as a pet since the 16th century. King Charles I and II thoroughly enjoyed their pet spaniels. King Charles II regularly moved about his grounds with his spaniel by his side. The first iteration of the Utah Cavalier King Charles Spaniel had a long pointy nose. As these dogs were overshadowed by the Pug's popularity, breeders began to breed out the long pointy nose. The Cavaliers were soon born with short, rounded snouts instead. The shorter snout affected the eyes in a undesirable way. Breeders soon understood their mistake and started to favor dogs with the longer snout once more. The result was a pup with a medium length snout that is perfect for its face size and shape.
Although the Utah Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is considered a toy breed, it is quite large for that designation. The spaniels are still the best lap dogs though. Today's Utah Cavalier King Charles Spaniel stands about a foot tall at the shoulders. These dogs should weigh between ten to twenty pounds once they reach adult size. These spaniels will not reach adult size until they are at least three years old. The English Toy Spaniel looks a lot like this breed with one distinction: size. The Toy Spaniel is about half the size of the Cavalier when fully grown. The two breeds separated from each other approximately one hundred years ago.
The Cavalier's markings are beautiful to look at. The most common markings found on these dogs is the plain while with chestnut splotches. Some of these pooches have a big chestnut spot on their forehead. This is typical of the breed and remains desirable in the show ring. Breeders have also developed a black and tan colored Cavalier. The black and tan spaniels have the exact same markings as Rottweiler and Doberman dogs. Cavalier Spaniels that are just the chestnut color only are called ruby Cavaliers. The tricolor features a black and white coat color with some tan markings here and there. All of the Cavalier Spaniels have medium length hair that feathers on the legs, ears and tail.
The Utah Cavalier King Charles Spaniel must be groomed on a regular basis to keep their coat smooth and healthy. The coats on these dogs easily tangles due to its length and texture. The coat should be washed with a high quality pet shampoo at least once a month. A leave in conditioner will make the coat soft and supple. A soft coat is easy to style and groom throughout the week. Since these dogs are used to being lapdogs, they are quite tolerant of the grooming process. This makes it really easy to clip and paint the Cavalier's nails. The pup will sit through the nail painting process without bothering the groomer once. After the nails are finished, the
Cavalier will very rarely chew the polish off. The Cavalier Spaniel truly enjoys being pampered and admired.
In addition to being a great companion, these spaniels are a lot of fun to play with. They are easy to train due to their willingness to please their owner. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel will quickly adapt when the family moves or goes on a trip. This trait makes these spaniels great travel companions for seniors. People that like to work with their dogs will enjoy the Cavalier's willing spirit. Cavalier Spaniels often participate in sporting events like fly ball and agility trials without complaint. Unfortunately, the breed is plagued with genetic medical problems. People can avoid heartache by selecting a reputable breeder with healthy parent dogs.
