In 1926, an American, Roswell Eldridge, tried to re-establish the original dog of the Cavaliers by offering a prize for a dog with the appearance of the dogs in the historical portraiture. This later became the Blenheim variety - red and white dogs with a lozenge shaped mark on the forehead. Only the Duke of Marlborough kept a line alive, breeding them at Blenheim castle. ![]() By 1800, the snub nose variety had taken over in popularity and the original spaniel was nearly lost. This decree is still in the law books today. He made a decree that King Charles Spaniels must be allowed in any public place, including the House of Parliament. The royal name, 'King Charles Spaniel' was bestowed during the reign of King Charles II, who was so fond of his spaniels he could not be parted from them. Another job the dogs had was to attract fleas off their mistresses so that the owner would not get bitten and die of the plague. They were very common as a ladies’ pet and were used to warm laps during cold carriage rides and while waiting about in chilly castles. These portraits show a small spaniel with a flat head, high set ears, almond shaped eyes and a pointed nose. The original Cavalier King Charles was developed from the toy spaniels pictured in the work of 16th, 17th and 18th century painters such as Van Dyck, Titian, Stubbs and Gainsborough. Robert Schroll was selected by the ACKCSC Board of Directors to judge Best of Breed at the club’s 25th Anniversary Celebration in April 2019.In its heyday, this breed was known as a 'comforte dog' and doctors even wrote prescriptions with this little dog as the remedy. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels became AKC’s 140th recognized breed on January 1, 1996.ĪCKCSC has chosen this article to reprint in honor of the author and the history of our breed. Faced with this inevitability, twelve concerned breeders (including those with many of the top-winning and top-producing dogs) organized a club, wrote a standard, and gathered the support of over one hundred other new members. The Border Collie Club went through a similar situation and was recognized without a parent club. In 1994, the AKC made it clear that Cavaliers would be recognized with or without a parent club. Records were kept, shows were held (usually at Trudy’s farm in Louisville, Sutherland) and it languished in the Miscellaneous Class for twenty years. The first Cavaliers arrived on these shores in 1952, and in 1956, sisters-in-law Gertrude Polk Brown Albrecht and Sally Brown formed a club and approached the AKC to find out how to get them admitted. Breed popularity continued to grow until it eventually became the UK’s top Toy dog. Whatever the case, in 1928 the prize was awarded to a Blenheim dog named Anns Son, and with him in the center of a table surrounded by breeders, a standard was written and the club was formed in 1929. I believe that the answer truly lies somewhere in between the two. ![]() Some would have you believe that Charlie breeders just began to keep their longer-nosed pets and bred them to each other, while still others suggest that Cockers, Papillons, and even Welsh Springer Spaniels were added to the gene pool. (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)Īt this point in history of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel roads diverge as to how the recreation of the breed truly came about. “Study of a King Charles Spaniel” by Chalon, c. In terms of AKC registration numbers, in 2017, the Cavalier ranked as the 19th most popular breed in the United States, trailing only the Yorkshire Terrier. In the 1920s, an American named Roswell Eldridge noted the absence of the old longer-nosed, flat-skulled Spaniels he admired, and so for five years he offered a prize at Crufts of 25 pounds-a very tidy sum-to the dog and bitch most resembling the dogs in the paintings of the old masters. ![]() That look and type remained through the 19th century. They were prominently featured in the paintings of Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, and others.Īt the end of their reigns and the annexation of Scotland into the United Kingdom, they were replaced by other breeds.īy the 1800s, the breed had morphed into the very short-faced, dome-headed English Toy Spaniel (or King Charles Spaniels over there). The dogs were court favorites and trailed both monarchs around the various castles, occasionally to the dismay of other subjects. The Cavalier gained its royal stature way back in the 1600s during the rule of the Stuart Kings Charles I and his son Charles II. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel of today really owes its recreation to three things-an American, paintings, and prize money. The History of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel – Featured image: “Young King Charles II of England with his Spaniel” by Van Dyck, c.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |