Cavalier Standard

FCI-Standard No. 136 / 12.01.2009 / GB
 

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 04.11.2008.
 

ORIGIN : Great Britain.
 

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.