When does a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel have its first heat?

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Sociable and gentle; playful outside, settles indoors.

Photo: Mapovfille

Adult weight

5.4–8 kg

12–18 lb

Lifespan

11.8 yrs

Handler demand

Suits a first-time owner

Class · Lap dog

also Companion, Family

What it's like

In temperament the Cavalier is affectionate, gentle and sociable, keen to stay close to its people and seldom shy or aggressive. It is lively and playful outdoors yet settles readily indoors, and is generally friendly towards strangers.

Summary

Detail

Owners who rated their dogs' everyday behaviour found Cavaliers about average on independence and on friendliness with other dogs. Breed is only a small part of any one dog's personality, so meet the dog before you decide.

Day to day

Activity

Happy with modest walks

Intelligence

Learns readily, likes games

Handler demand

Suits a first-time owner

With people

Affection

A lap or leaning dog

Loyalty

Friendly with everyone

Independence

Keen to work with you

Around the home

Sensitivity

Needs a calm, predictable home

Voice

Quiet

Prey drive

Usually fine with small pets

Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.

Is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel right for you?

Take the breed matcher

Living with one

Summary

Detail

Heat is a real risk, so on hot days keep its exercise to the cool of the morning or evening.

The FCI standard describes a long coat ("long, silky, free from curl")4. By its coat type, with no undercoat to speak of, it sheds a single coat through the year rather than in seasonal moults. As a rule of thumb for this coat: daily brushing. Plan for a modest amount of exercise compared with other breeds, judged from its FCI group: companion and toy dogs, bred for company. Heat is a real risk: in a VetCompass study of 905,543 UK dogs, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel had 3.5 times the Labrador's odds of heat-related illness (95% CI 1.86–6.42)5, so on hot days its exercise belongs in the cool of the morning or evening.

Size and growth

Summary

Detail

A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a small dog, heavier than a Jack Russell and lighter than a Pug.

It is a graceful small dog with an almost flat skull, long, high-set, feathered ears, a short tapering muzzle and large, dark, round eyes. Its long, silky coat is feathered on the legs, chest and feet, and comes in Blenheim (rich chestnut on white), tricolour, black and tan, and ruby. Blenheim is named after the palace of the Dukes of Marlborough, whose family kept red and white spaniels. In that colour, a chestnut spot on the crown of the head is prized.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log

Summary

Detail

By about 3 months, a male Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy is already as heavy as a grown Chihuahua. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.

By 3 months a male Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy already weighs as much as a grown Chihuahua7. It grows fastest between 3 and 4 months, when a male puts on about 0.2 kg (0.5 lb) a week. The chart keeps rising after a dog is fully grown, because many dogs keep putting on some weight into their second year7.

Expected range in kilograms: the breed's own adult weight, grown along the 6.5–9 kg band of a WALTHAM growth standard7.

Fully grown

10 mo

Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight8

Male

Female

Shaded: expected range

Chart

Table

Age

Male

Female

2 months

1.6–2.4 kg 3.5–5.3 lb

1.7–2.6 kg 3.7–5.7 lb

3 months

2.2–3.2 kg 4.9–7.1 lb

2.2–3.3 kg 4.9–7.3 lb

4 months

2.9–4.4 kg 6.4–9.7 lb

3.0–4.4 kg 6.6–9.7 lb

5 months

3.5–5.2 kg 7.7–11.5 lb

6 months

4.0–5.9 kg 8.8–13.0 lb

3.9–5.8 kg 8.6–12.8 lb

7 months

4.3–6.4 kg 9.5–14.1 lb

4.3–6.3 kg 9.5–13.9 lb

8 months

4.6–6.8 kg 10.1–15.0 lb

4.5–6.7 kg 9.9–14.8 lb

9 months

4.8–7.1 kg 10.6–15.7 lb

4.7–6.9 kg 10.4–15.2 lb

10 months

4.9–7.3 kg 10.8–16.1 lb

4.8–7.1 kg 10.6–15.7 lb

11 months

5.0–7.4 kg 11.0–16.3 lb

4.9–7.3 kg 10.8–16.1 lb

12 months

5.1–7.6 kg 11.2–16.8 lb

5.0–7.4 kg 11.0–16.3 lb

15 months

5.3–7.8 kg 11.7–17.2 lb

5.2–7.7 kg 11.5–17.0 lb

Health and lifespan

Summary

Detail

Vets record these more often in Cavaliers than in crossbreeds. Dry eye is far more likely; corneal ulcers and skin fold inflammation are much more likely; balance disorder and gum disease are more likely. All five are rated moderate. These are figures for the breed as a whole, not a prediction for your dog.

The list and these lines follow one order, the same on every breed: likelihood level (the four steps of its meter, not the exact odds), highest first; then impact, most serious first; then name, A to Z. The studies measured 6 conditions for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel; the list shows the first 5 in this order.

Conditions vets recorded more often in this breed than in crossbreeds9,10,11,12,13. Each has two ratings, on scales used for every breed: how much more likely the breed is to get it, and how serious it is for a dog that does.

•
Dry eye (keratoconjunctivitis sicca): 20× the odds of crossbreeds, in UK vet records (VetCompass, 2021) (95% CI 15–26; 8,274 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel records)9.
•
Corneal ulcers: 6.1× the odds of crossbreeds, in vet records in England (VetCompass, 2017) (95% CI 4.36–8.54; 2,332 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel records)10.
•
Skin fold inflammation (skin fold dermatitis): 4.5× the odds of crossbreeds, in UK vet records (VetCompass, 2022) (95% CI 3.14–6.45; 16,997 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel records)11.
•
Balance disorder (vestibular disease): 3.56× the odds of crossbreeds, in UK vet records (VetCompass, 2020) (95% CI 2.5–5.06; 17,258 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel records)12.
•
Gum disease (periodontal disease): 2.39× the odds of crossbreeds, in UK vet records (VetCompass, 2021) (95% CI 1.85–3.09; 435 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel records)13.

These are population figures from the studies cited, not a prediction for any one dog.

Listed by likelihood level, highest first, then by how serious it is, then by name. These are the first 5 of 6 measured.

Dry eye
Far more likely
Impact: moderate
Corneal ulcers
Much more likely
Impact: moderate
Skin fold inflammation
Much more likely
Impact: moderate
Balance disorder
More likely
Impact: moderate
Gum disease
More likely
Impact: moderate

For your vet

Summary

Detail

Many Cavaliers inherit fewer but larger platelets without any bleeding problem, and clinic machines can read the count lower still. Mention it before bloodwork, as this has been mistaken for illness.

Flat face and breathing

Summary

Detail

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is one of the flat-faced breeds. In UK vet records, flat-faced dogs were more likely to have breathing and airway problems than dogs with a medium-length muzzle, and lived shorter lives on average. Noisy breathing at rest is worth raising with a vet.

A VetCompass study of UK dogs classes the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as brachycephalic, or flat-faced15: across that study, flat-faced dogs had 1.62 times the odds of an upper-airway disorder that dogs with a medium-length muzzle had. Its own median (above) beats the flat-faced figure of 11.2 by 0.6 years, still short of 12.8 for medium-muzzled breeds16. Noisy breathing at rest is worth raising with a vet.

Lifespan

Summary

Detail

In UK vet records, the typical Cavalier King Charles Spaniel lived to about 12 years, shorter than the typical small breed. Flat-faced breeds as a group live shorter lives than breeds with a longer muzzle.

In UK vet records the median Cavalier King Charles Spaniel lived to 11.8 years, and half lived between 9 and 14 years (13,782 dogs)16. That is 1.6 years shorter than the typical small breed in the same study (13.4 years). 32 of the 37 small breeds measured outlive it. Flat-faced breeds as a group have shorter lives than medium-muzzled ones16; the figures are under Flat face and breathing. Of 222 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel deaths reported by owners in the Kennel Club's 2014 health survey, the commonest of the 25 causes the survey tabulated were heart failure (19.8%), old age (12.2%) and heart muscle disease (10.8%)17.

Where it comes from

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel revives the long-faced toy spaniels of Charles II's court, a type mid-19th-century show fashion for flat faces and domed skulls had nearly wiped out. From 1926 the American Roswell Eldridge offered prizes at Crufts for spaniels resembling the old paintings, and in 1928 a club wrote its standard around the dog Ann's Son. Separate registration with the Kennel Club followed in 194518.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel takes the first word of its name from the Royalist supporters of Charles I and Charles II. It is a separate breed from the King Charles Spaniel, the flat-faced breed whose stock it was recreated from. The breed stayed rare through the Second World War, but its following grew steadily afterwards, and the American Kennel Club recognised it in the nineteen-nineties. The Cavalier was bred as a companion, though some still show a spaniel's interest in chasing birds.

Breed standard

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is judged against standard no. 136, in group 9, Companion and Toy Dogs4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Cavalier King Charles Spaniel figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a small breed is most likely at the early end.

Compare with related

English Cocker Spaniel

Retrievers & water dogs · Medium

English Toy Spaniel

Companion & toy · Small

American Cocker Spaniel

Retrievers & water dogs · Small

Shih Tzu

Companion & toy · Small

Or compare the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with any breed you choose

Track your own Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

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Sources

1
Morrill et al., 2022. Ancestry-inclusive dog genomics challenges popular breed stereotypes. Science 376: eabk0639 (Darwin's Ark). ↑
doi.org/10.1126/science.abk0639
2
Dogs Trust. Finding a good, responsible breeder. ↑
www.dogstrust.org.uk/dog-advice/getting-dog/choosing-dog/finding-a-breeder
3
American Kennel Club. Screening puppy buyers: how top breeders find the best homes. ↑
www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/screening-puppy-buyers-how-top-breeders-find-the-best-homes/
4
FCI. Breed standard no. 136. Fédération Cynologique Internationale. © FCI. ↑
www.fci.be/Nomenclature/Standards/136g09-en.pdf
5
Hall, Carter & O'Neill, 2020. Incidence and risk factors for heat-related illness (heatstroke) in UK dogs under primary veterinary care in 2016. Scientific Reports 10: 9128 (VetCompass). CC BY 4.0. ↑
doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66015-8
6
American Kennel Club. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed standard. ↑
7
Salt et al., 2017. Growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in dogs of different sizes. PLoS ONE 12(9): e0182064 (WALTHAM). CC BY 4.0. ↑
doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182064
8
Hawthorne et al., 2004. Body-weight changes during growth in puppies of different breeds. Journal of Nutrition 134(8 Suppl): 2027S–2030S (WALTHAM). ↑
doi.org/10.1093/jn/134.8.2027S
9
O'Neill et al., 2021. Keratoconjunctivitis sicca in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK: an epidemiological study. CC BY 4.0. ↑
doi.org/10.1111/jsap.13382
10
O'Neill et al., 2017. Corneal ulcerative disease in dogs under primary veterinary care in England: epidemiology and clinical management. CC BY 4.0. ↑
doi.org/10.1186/s40575-017-0045-5
11
O'Neill et al., 2022. Ironing out the wrinkles and folds in the epidemiology of skin fold dermatitis in dog breeds in the UK. CC BY 4.0. ↑
doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14483-5
12
Radulescu et al., 2020. Vestibular disease in dogs under UK primary veterinary care: Epidemiology and clinical management. CC BY 4.0. ↑
doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15869
13
O'Neill et al., 2021. Epidemiology of periodontal disease in dogs in the UK primary‐care veterinary setting. CC BY 4.0. ↑
doi.org/10.1111/jsap.13405
14
Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, Hemostasis Laboratory. Congenital Macrothrombocytopenia (Beta1-tubulin). ↑
www.vetmed.auburn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CONGENITAL-MACROTHROMBOCYTOPENIA-BETA1-TUBULIN.pdf
15
O'Neill et al., 2020. Unravelling the health status of brachycephalic dogs in the UK using multivariable analysis. Scientific Reports 10: 17251 (VetCompass). CC BY 4.0. ↑
doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73088-y
16
McMillan et al., 2024. Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531 (VetCompass). CC BY 4.0. ↑
doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50458-w
17
Lewis et al., 2018. Longevity and mortality in Kennel Club registered dog breeds in the UK in 2014. CC BY 4.0. ↑
doi.org/10.1186/s40575-018-0066-8
18
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club (USA). General history. ↑
ckcsc.org/history

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