Some of the features in the Cavaliers that we are in danger of losing are the large round eyes, the correct tapering and length of the muzzle, the arch of neck, silky coats and the correct sweet temperaments.
The eyes should be virtually the first thing that strikes a person when looking at a Cavalier. I am so used to looking at my own dogs and taking certain features for granted that it rather surprises me when I look at other Cavaliers in the show ring and realise that what I take to be normal is actually turning into a rarity. What I consider small eyes seems for many other breeders to be normal size eyes, yet I have breeders who admire my dogs for their large eyes. Having lost the feature breeders can still recognise them when they see them so surely they can bring them back into their lines if they cared enough.
This year I was discussing a Cavalier with an all breed judge and mentioned tapering in the muzzle. They expressed quite a bit of surprise that the muzzle should be slightly tapered as opposed to the blocky full muzzles often seen. The Cavalier was developed to be different from the Charlies (English Toy Spaniel) so both length of muzzle and the tapering was one way to make the breed different. The Cavalier was developed to look like the older "nosey" style spaniel seen in paintings of King Charles II times. While the shorter fuller muzzled dogs can sometimes look appealling - if not overdone into a "planet of the apes" head - it is incorrect. The "planet of the apes" head is also a head style that is being more commonly seen in the show ring and entirely incorrect if not gross. Yet it is rewarded by some judges. The “planet of the ape” head is a dog with a rather domed top skull occasionally with some bulging over the eyes, a deeper stop and a shorter broad muzzle that is or has the illusion of being somewhat tilted up. Earlier this year I watched one of the “planet of the apes” dogs being awarded points with the judge claiming that it had better “fill” than a more correctly headed Cavalier. This makes me believe that some judges don’t actually understand what or where the fill is supposed to be on a Cavalier. The fill is under the eyes not through the muzzle area.
Arch of neck is so rarely seen in Cavaliers anymore yet it is mentioned in the Standard (UK version). It so finishes the look of a Cavalier in a stacked position yet seems to be missing in most Cavaliers these days. A couple of years ago I imported a male from the UK and the one thing that he stamps on his puppies is arch of neck. I hadn’t really noticed it until we compared a bitch’s puppies from two different litters, one my import and the other another stud dog. In the one litter the puppies had a wonderful arch of neck and in the other litter it wasn’t there. Looking around at all the puppies I have out of my import we then realized they all had the same arch of neck. It seems to be something this dog is prepotent for and gives that added finish to his offspring.
A Cavalier’s coat is supposed to be long and silky and free from trimming. Yet I have heard of breeders requesting dogs that have a more woolly profuse coat. Is this because of the North American fashion in many breeds to have a coat that can be trimmed and shaped? I find it a bit ironic to see Cavaliers in the ring with big bushy feet but they’ve been stripped and trimmed elsewhere. How silly is that?
The true essence of a Cavalier is its sweet easy going temperament. A dog that happily and calmly greets people, lays quietly on the lap or sofa and is easy to live with. Unfortunately the rather frenetic show dog temperament is creeping into our breed. Do we really want our breed to turn into a neurotic, anxiety driven dog like has happened in other breeds? Even a campaigned dog might spend at best 10 % of his life in the ring but can you live with him in a home the other 90% of his life?
There are certain essences that make our breed unique. As breeders we should do everything we can to keep those essences in our breed or we will just be breeding a generic show dog without the “wow” factor.
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