FCI-Standard N° 136 / 12.01.2009
/ GB
CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL
ORIGIN : Great Britain.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID
STANDARD : 04.11.2008.
UTILIZATION : Companion and Toy.
CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 9 Companion
and Toy Dogs.
Section 7 English Toy Spaniels.
Without working trial.
GENERAL APPEARANCE : Active, graceful and
well balanced, with gentle expression.
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT : Sporting,
affectionate, absolutely fearless.
Gay, friendly, non-aggressive; no tendency towards nervousness.
HEAD
CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Almost flat between ears.
Stop : Shallow.
FACIAL REGION :
Nose : Nostrils black and well developed
without flesh marks.
Muzzle : Length from base of stop to tip of
nose about 1 1/2 ins. (3,8 cm).
Well tapered. Face
well filled below eyes. Any
tendency to snipiness undesirable.
Lips : Well developed and not pendulous.
Jaws/Teeth : Jaws strong, with a perfect,
regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. the upper teeth closely
overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Eyes : Large, dark, round but not prominent;
spaced well apart.
Ears : Long, set high, with plenty of
feather.
NECK : Moderate length, slightly arched.
BODY :
Back : Level.
Loin : Short-coupled.
Chest : Moderate; good spring of ribs.
TAIL : Length of tail in balance with body,
well set on, carried happily but never much above the level of the back.
Docking previously optional when no more than one-third was to be
removed.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS : Legs moderately boned,
straight.
Shoulders : Well laid back.
HINDQUARTERS : Legs with moderate bone.
Stifle : Well turned.
Hocks : No tendency to cow- or sickle-hocks.
FEET : Compact, cushioned and well feathered.
GAIT / MOVEMENT : Free-moving and elegant in
action, plenty of drive from behind.
Fore-and hindlegs move parallel when viewed from in front and
behind.
COAT
HAIR : Long, silky, free from curl.
Slight wave permissible.
Plenty of feathering.
Totally free from trimming.
COLOUR : Recognized colours are :
Black and Tan : Raven black with tan
markings above the eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest and legs and
underside of tail. Tan
should be bright. White
marks undesirable.
Ruby : Whole coloured rich red. White
markings undesirable.
Blenheim : Rich chestnut markings well
broken up, on pearly white ground.
Markings evenly divided on head, leaving room between ears for
much valued lozenge mark or spot (a unique characteristic of the breed).
Tricolour : Black and white well spaced,
broken up, with tan markings over eyes, cheeks, inside ears, inside
legs, and on underside of tail.
Any other colour or combination of colours highly undesirable.
WEIGHT :
5,4 - 8 kg (12 - 18 lbs).
A small, well-balanced dog well within these weights desirable.
FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing
points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the
fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and
its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
Any dog clearly showing physical or
behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
N.B. : Male animals should have two
apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
