Q&a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel also taken the lead on a serious health problem in this breed as well as other toy breeds: syringohydromyelia which has been and is receiving serious study. I adore this breed and although I have moved into a condo with two dogs and am no longer doing the physical aspects of a breeding program due to the graciousness of Dr. Gayle Reardon of KBPride Cavaliers I will be still be co breed- ing so that there still will be Rattlebridges in the ring. 2. In order, name the five most important traits you look for in the ring. When judging Cavaliers I first gait them around looking at the make and shape and outline and movement of the dog, I then look at their silhouette standing and note their breed type, then go down the line looking at heads and noticing temperament. I look for the traits that are essential to the correct Cavalier: type, outline includ- ing topline and tail carriage, correct proportions and balance, temperament, soundness and last but certainly not least, the glorious head and eyes that set the Cavalier apart from any other breed. The age-old dilemma of type versus soundness when judging dogs does not hold up in my book. A Cavalier should be very typey with a beauti- ful head and expression as well as possess an outreach- ing gait and sound front and rear movement. One should have it all, but not so many do. 3. Do you find differences in quality between the four color patterns? We bred all four colors and finished many lovely black and tans and rubies, but too many times breeders and exhibitors have told me that they have a very hard time winning with wholecolors under non specialty judges as regular AKC judges do not always appreciate the black and tans and rubies. I admit that the wholecolors can be an acquired taste at first as most pet and show fanciers lean toward blenheims and then tricolors as favored col- ors. The make and shape of the body should be the same on all four colors. The same structure and gait applies to all Cavaliers. Sometimes the rubies and black and tans will appear longer in body because of the solid, unbroken color. 4. While judging, do you see any trends you’d like to see continued or stopped? I see a few trends emerging in this breed. Styles of dogs vary in different areas of our large country and there are many new breeders who are being mentored or not mentored by other newer breeders instead of successful established breeders. Too many new breeders have not done their homework and the dogs being shown reflect the lack of knowledge of breed type and structure on the part of the breeder/exhibitor to really evaluate the dogs they are breeding or showing. Therefore the quality of the dogs in the ring suffers sometimes. Faults that I see more than I wish are gay tails, white in the eyes or
worse a white ring around the eye, lack of cushioning in the muzzle and under the eyes and lack of soundness. Judging is making compromises when going through the selection process as there are no perfect dogs, but faults I find hard to forgive are gay tails as they ruin the outline of the dog, white in the eyes as it destroys expression, undershot bites, plus real unsoundness as this is a toy spaniel and must move as such and TRIMMING which the standard says should be so seriously faulted as to eliminate from competition. Leave the feet and ears alone! 5. The breed has a wide weight range. Do you see more dogs at one end of it and what is your preference? The Cavalier is a breed of moderation: height from 12-13 inches and weight from 13-18 lbs. I have a hard time with dogs at the lower end of the weight range if there is no bone. Bone is moderate, but sturdy as found in a spaniel. I see what the English call “twee” in the ring. I also see quite a few boys up to size and oversized. The head and eyes are the hallmark of this breed and not always easy to understand how the properties work together to create a soft, luscious, well cushioned head that makes one go “coochie, coochie coo” when one sees a lovely head on a dog with a wagging tail. The eyes are the hallmark of the breed and create the “ahh” factor when one looks at a Cavalier. Eyes should never be small, hard or almond. It is harder sometimes to see expression in the wholecol- ors (and sometimes the tricolors as one at first begins to look at Cavaliers), but the head shape and the expression should be the same in all four colors whether there is white to break up the color or not. If one looks at a who- lecolor and imagines a particolor head and expression it should be the same as found described in our standard. The eyes on all four colors should be large, round and a very warm dark brown. The expression should be soft and limpid and may be more difficult to see on a tricolor or black and tan because of the black, but one must look past cosmetics to the eye shape and warm, melting expression that should be there. Judges should give equal consideration to all four colors and reward a good whole- color whenever possible. 6. How do Cavaliers in the US compare to those around the world? We now live in a global world of dogs due to shipping semen, importing dogs and exchanging of dogs from other countries for breeding and showing. American breeders are buying and storing semen from important foreign dogs. Many, many dogs from England, Austra- lia and Europe have come over to be shown and have cleaned up in the ring. The US has also sent dogs over that have become English and European champions.
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