KENAI
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

The breeds · companion

AKC Toy · UKC Companion · FCI standard 136

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

FCI 136: utilization Companion and Toy, group 9 section 7 English Toy Spaniels, 'without working trial'. AKC and UKC: a toy spaniel, 'fearless and sporting' yet gentle. RKC: toy spaniels were likely bred down from sporting breeds; the Duke of Marlborough's red and white Blenheim spaniel 'retained its sporting instincts and was adept at flushing game'. Wikipedia: the Duke kept red and white King Charles type spaniels for hunting, and 'spaniels have a strong hunting instinct and may endanger birds and small animals'..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

11.8YRMedian lifespan · sources differ11.7 to 11.9, measured on real dogs. A second study puts life expectancy at birth at 10.4; both are shown below.
0INHeightall null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
12–18LBWeight, all linesbreed 11.9 to 18 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayUp to 1 hour per day (Royal Kennel Club band). CKCSC (USA): a moderate fenced yard or at least one good walk a day in addition to potty walks, building up to much longer walks; regular exercise is 'very important for a Cavalier's heart'. Wikipedia: adaptable, 'happy with either sleeping on the couch or taking long walks'.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

12 to 13 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2023

Both registries print a range, not a single ideal, so center is blank.

Weight

11.9 to 18 lb

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2023

Low is the FCI 5.4 kg converted (1 kg = 2.2046 lb); high is the AKC and UKC 18 lb. The registries print ranges, no single ideal, so center is blank. One breed-wide figure, not split by sex.

Coat

AKC: moderate length, silky, free from curl, slight wave permissible; long feathering on ears, chest, legs and tail, with the foot feathering 'a feature of the breed'; no trimming permitted (hair between the pads may be trimmed). UKC: long, silky, free from curl, plenty of feathering, no trimming. FCI: long, silky, free from curl, plenty of feathering, totally free from trimming. Four colours: Blenheim, tricolour, ruby, black and tan.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 2023

Shedding

Shedding 2 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Moderate-length silky coat with long feathering, untrimmed (AKC); long silky coat (UKC, FCI)

DerivedAKC breed standard, 2023

Derived from the coat rubric: medium coat = 3. None of the standards calls the Cavalier brachycephalic; the UKC asks that 'head properties should remain free of exaggeration so as to not obstruct normal vision', and the RKC page says only that the breed 'can be affected by conformational concerns'.

How long they live, and what they costSources differ

Two numbers, two measures. Median lifespan: in a large sample of this breed, the age by which half had died; read it as the typical lifespan (UK, 2024, 584,734 dogs). Life expectancy at birth: how many years a newborn of this breed is expected to live, worked from the death rates at every age in UK veterinary records, the same life-table method used for people (VetCompass, 2022). It runs lower because every early death pulls the average down and because it comes from clinics, not registries. KENAI leads with the median and shows the other beside it. Neither is averaged.

Median lifespan

11.8 years (11.7 to 11.9)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

Dogs Trust table, McMillan et al. 2024. This is the Cavalier's own row.

Life expectancy at birth

10.4 years (10.3 to 10.6)

MeasuredTeng K.T., 2022

Sources differ from the median above: different measure and sample; both shown. Teng 2022 Table 3 row 'Cavalier King Charles Spaniel'.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

Up to 1 hour per day (Royal Kennel Club band). CKCSC (USA): a moderate fenced yard or at least one good walk a day in addition to potty walks, building up to much longer walks; regular exercise is 'very important for a Cavalier's heart'. Wikipedia: adaptable, 'happy with either sleeping on the couch or taking long walks'.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'up to 1 hour' maps to 60.

Exercise need

Up to 1 hour per day (RKC); at least one good daily walk plus a yard or run (CKCSC, USA)

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

AKC Energy Level 3 of 5. The AKC standard: 'an active, graceful, well-balanced toy spaniel, very gay and free in action; fearless and sporting in character, yet at the same time gentle and affectionate'. Wikipedia: 'active and sporting', adaptable in exercise need.

Breed clubAKC

Grooming load

3 of 5 · Grooming: more than once a week; coat length medium; sheds (RKC). AKC Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5. Wikipedia: weekly brushing, no trimming.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC 'more than once a week' maps to 3. The AKC band and the Wikipedia weekly brushing read lighter; the three are shown.

Grooming

More than once a week (RKC); AKC band 2 of 5; the AKC standard permits no trimming, only the hair between the pads

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 136: utilization Companion and Toy, group 9 section 7 English Toy Spaniels, 'without working trial'. AKC and UKC: a toy spaniel, 'fearless and sporting' yet gentle. RKC: toy spaniels were likely bred down from sporting breeds; the Duke of Marlborough's red and white Blenheim spaniel 'retained its sporting instincts and was adept at flushing game'. Wikipedia: the Duke kept red and white King Charles type spaniels for hunting, and 'spaniels have a strong hunting instinct and may endanger birds and small animals'.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2026

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

16.3% · 13,144 OFA hip evaluations to date: 81.8% normal, 16.3% dysplastic (12.1% mild, 3.6% moderate, 0.6% severe); rank 76. CKCSC (USA) recommends an OFA hip X-ray before breeding.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics are voluntary submissions and skew toward breeding stock; the OFA itself warns that abnormal results are under-submitted. Current all-data figure read Oct 9 2026; the service prints no period.

Elbow dysplasia

1.6% · 1,919 OFA elbow evaluations to date: 98.0% normal, 1.6% abnormal (1.5% grade 1, 0.1% grade 2, 0.1% grade 3); rank 133

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics are voluntary submissions and skew toward breeding stock; the OFA itself warns that abnormal results are under-submitted. Current all-data figure read Oct 9 2026; the service prints no period.

Most common disorders

HEART (mitral valve disease, MMVD): the 2025 review states 'nearly all Cavaliers develop this condition by the age of ten', often much earlier, and that incidence in the breed 'reaches up to 100% above the age of 10 years', varying by study and country. CKCSC (USA): a 1998 symposium panel reported MVD as the leading cause of death in the breed, and Cavaliers '20 times more prone' than other breeds. Wikipedia: a UK Kennel Club survey put 42.8% of Cavalier deaths as cardiac. The RKC lists KC heart screening for MVD as Good Practice. SYRINGOMYELIA (SM): Danish study of 240 Cavaliers registered in 2001, symptomatic SM in 15.4% (heritability 0.81, Thofner 2015). Dutch and Danish MRI-screened Cavaliers (n = 2,125 scans, Limpens 2024): SM prevalence fell from 38% (2010-14) to 27% (2015-19) with screening, against a reported overall 39 to 46%; older dogs more often affected. CKCSC: Cavaliers are affected 'in larger numbers' than any other breed; MRI is the only way to confirm. Wikipedia: international samples show over 90% have the skull malformation and 30 to 70% have syrinxes, most of them without signs. PATELLA: 10-year prevalence of patellar luxation 12.5% (95% CI 0.12-0.13) in Cavaliers at Australian primary-care practices (Son 2026). The RKC lists DNA tests for curly coat / dry eye and episodic falling as Good Practice.

StudiedLewicki M, 2025

Heart disease and syringomyelia stated only as the cited sources state them: population findings from different countries and designs, never a prediction for one dog. Danish and Dutch SM figures use different definitions (symptomatic vs MRI-visible).

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 4; Barking Level 3; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 4; Good With Other Dogs 5; Shedding Level 2; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 2; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

Side by side

Or let the selector rank the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel against your own answers.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 11 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Cavalier, CKCS, King Charles Cavalier

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