King Charles spaniel

King Charles Spaniel has been a companion dog for centuries. It is a dog with a short muzzle, large, dark eyes, covered with silky, very pleasant to the touch coat. Affectionate and pleasant as a home pet.

Nature

King Charles Spaniels are very gentle and friendly towards both people and animals. They have a strong guarding instinct – at best they bark a little when guests enter the house. Initially, they show some distance towards strangers, but when they find out that they are safe, they establish friendly relations.

King Charles Spaniels are usually calm, do not require much movement and attachment, the most important for them is contact with people. They like being close to their guardian. They don’t tolerate prolonged loneliness very well. They are tolerant of children, but they are not suitable for very small children because they require delicacy.

They get along well with other pets, although they still retained some of their ancestors’ instincts and sometimes can, for example, chase a bird.

Skills

King Charles Spaniel has been the perfect companion dog for centuries. It can also be laid in the direction of sports obedience or dancing with a dog. The mild and stable temperament makes this dog a dog of dogotherapy.

Training and education

They are sensitive and sensitive dogs. They need a cordial, gentle approach. They are intelligent and contact. It’s easy to raise them. They are happy to learn different tricks if learning is based on positive motivation.

Who is this race for?

King Charles Spaniel is even suitable for a beginner guide. It is a great companion for families with older children and the elderly. He feels good even in a small apartment. However, it is not suitable for people who stay away from home for a long time.

Advantages and disadvantages

Disadvantages

• quite demanding in care
• badly tolerates heat
• does not tolerate cold weather

Advantages

• gentle and kind
• calm and balanced
• suitable for beginner dog lovers
• is not noisy

Health

Unfortunately, King Charles Spaniel does not belong to very healthy breeds, which is the result of the construction of the skull on the one hand, and a high degree of inbred on the other. That is why it is very important to buy puppies only from healthy parents who have been tested for various diseases.

King Charles Spaniel is exposed to brachycephalic syndrome (BAS), which is a set of defects associated with the shortened muzzle (respiratory problems) and eyes (eyes large, bulging, exposed to injuries). Therefore, dogs of this breed do not tolerate hot and cold. Anesthesia is also a threat to them. After all, the breed should be able to give birth naturally.

Among eye diseases, there are: cataracts, corneal dystrophy, abnormal eyelash growth (this is one of the breeds most vulnerable to this disease), entropy, oligothia, drusen optic disc, keratitis. There are heart disease: mitral valve regurgitation and patent ductus arteriosus. In addition, problems such as falling out of the patella or unguarded fontanella were observed in the breed.

Feeding

King Charles Spaniel has a tendency to gain weight, so you should control his food dose and adapt it to the needs of the dog. You can use high-quality ready-made foods or prepare food yourself, but you need to supplement with vitamin and mineral preparations. We divide the daily portion into two meals.

Care

The care of a king charles spaniel is not difficult, but it should be systematic. His robe is supposed to look natural, so he doesn’t cut or trim her. The representative of this breed loses small amounts of fur all the time, but because it is soft, it is easy to clean.

We comb the dog at least once a week. It is necessary to pay attention to the hair under the arms, in the groin and on the ears, where smuggles are easily formed. We separate them with our fingers (we do not cut them) and comb them gently. We regularly check the condition of the ears. You should also check for any chafing or infection in the fold on the mouth and wipe the fold once or twice a week with a cotton swab and water, then wipe dry.

We bathe King Charles Spaniel in dog shampoos with long, silky hair as needed. Depending on its condition, we use the right conditioner or balm. After rinsing, squeeze the hair into a towel and dry it with a medium temperature dryer, combine it with the brush in the direction of hair growth (the coat should be straight and shiny).

Accessories

For combing, it is best to use a powder brush and a metal comb; you can also use a natural bristle brush. Because of the flat mouth, do not use deep bowls. You can wear snood, which is a type of chimney, which protects your ears from getting dirty while eating.

History

The greater part of the history of this breed is shared with the cavalier king charles spaniel. The exact origin of miniature spaniels is lost in the help of history. Certainly, their main ancestors were normal hunting spaniels, which were then selected for shorter height to obtain companion dogs living in royal courts and in aristocracy homes. Even some of the smaller spaniels were still occasionally used for hhttps://fullofdogs.com/unting.

In addition, among the ancestors of King Charles Spaniels there were decorative dogs from the Far East – Pekingese and Japanese China . Originally, miniature spaniels had a longer muzzle.

The first mention of the breed in English literature dates from 1570. Small spaniels became very popular during the reign of both kings of Charles (I and II), i.e. in the years 1625-1685. Charles II Stuart loved his dogs – his contemporaries were angry with him that he devoted more time to them than to state affairs.

His brother Jakub, who took over as King James II after Charles’s death, also liked them. Apparently one day, when a ship with a king on board crashed off the coast of Scotland, forced to leave the deck Jakub ordered the crew: “Save the dogs!”. And he added after reflection: “and Colonel Churchill”, who later became the first Duke of Marlborough, and he also bred beautiful Blenheim spaniels.

A popular urban legend says that King Charles issued a decree (valid until today) that all miniature spaniels have access to public utilities: shops, pubs, offices and even parliament. However, the parliament’s website ( https://www.parliament.uk/ ) in the FAQ section says that there is no evidence that such an act was actually issued. The British Kennel Club is also of the opinion that although this thesis is repeated in many books, it is impossible to trace this document.

European royal and princely courts ran their lines of miniature spaniels, which differed in appearance. These dogs were one of the favorite elements of the relay, used by artists portraying aristocracy. Sometimes they were also portrayed alone. Painters of the Victorian era and Italian artists, especially Titian, especially liked them.

The breed gradually evolved until the early 19th century. She was crossed with pugs, Japanese chines and bulldogs. As a result, her appearance changed – her head became apple-like and her muzzle flat. At that time four color varieties were established: king charles (black and tan), ruby ​​(intensely red), Blenheim (white with red patches) and prince charles (tricolor). It wasn’t until the 1920s, thanks to a certain American, that the old type with a longer muzzle, known today as the cavalier king charles spaniel, began playing.

In 1885 a small group of fans of the breed founded the Toy Spaniel Club. There was a dispute over the name of the club. Influential friends of the king appealed to change the name to King Charles Spaniel. Finally, the reigning King Edward VII expressed his wish to the Kennel Club that the club would be known in the future as King Charles Spaniel Club. Kennel Club had no other choice but to agree. In 1903, all four color varieties were officially named.

During World War II, the race was almost completely destroyed. Kinga survived only in a small number at individual breeders. All modern King Charles Spaniels come from these dogs.

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King charles spaniel (English Toy Spaniel) – group IX FCI, section 7, reference number 128

• Country of origin: Great Britain
• Size: weight 3.6-6.3 kg; height is not specified – a small, well-proportioned dog
• Coat: long, silky, without curls, slight wavy allowed; profuse tassels on the ears, feathers on the limbs and on the tail; non-trimmed hair
• Color: blenheim (white and red), tricolor, black and tan and ruby ​​(red)
• Maturity: 2 years
• Lifespan: 10-12 years
• Weather resistance: low

Interesting facts

Most King Charles Spaniels have fused two middle fingers of the front paws, which is due to the high degree of inbreeding of this breed. Fortunately, this feature does not bother dogs in everyday life.

In the breed sporadically there is a naturally shortened tail as a recessive trait (different than in many breeds from the shepherd group) – this may be a bulldog’s legacy.

The breeding should be associated separately: single-leafed (black and tan and ruby) and spotted (tricolor and blenheim). The combination of single-spotted and spotted dogs causes puppies with incorrect meanings to be born, and once introduced, the spotted gene can appear in the single-spotted dog line for many generations.