The breeds · side by side
for a companion
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel or Cocker Spaniel.
Two small spaniels bred for the lap and the living room. The exercise ask, the coat work and the documented health burden are where they part; both pages list the clearances to ask for.
Every value below shows its source and how sure we are. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog. Nothing here is a prediction about one dog.
What the question turns on
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'.
More than 2 hours per day (Royal Kennel Club band)
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.
4 of 5 · Grooming: Every day; coat length Long; 'requires daily brushing to prevent matting, along with regular professional grooming' (RKC)
Median lifespan
11.8 years (11.7 to 11.9)
13.3 years (13 to 13.7)
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.
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Height at the shoulder
12 to 13 in
show linedogs 15 in (14.5 to 15.5) · bitches 14 in (13.5 to 14.5)
The rest, read the same way
Weight
11.9 to 18 lb
field line30 lb
show linedogs 27.5 lb (25 to 30) · bitches 22.5 lb (20 to 25)
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.
show lineShort and fine on the head; medium length on the body with enough undercoat to give protection; ears, chest, abdomen and legs well feathered; silky, flat or slightly wavy; excessive, curly or cottony coat severely penalized
Shedding
Shedding 2 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)
Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)
Heat tolerance
3 of 5 · Moderate-length silky coat with long feathering, untrimmed (AKC); long silky coat (UKC, FCI)
2 of 5 · Long, well-feathered silky coat with undercoat
Life expectancy at birth
10.4 years (10.3 to 10.6)
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Exercise need
Up to 1 hour per day (RKC); at least one good daily walk plus a yard or run (CKCSC, USA)
More than 2 hours per day
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.
AKC Energy Level 4 of 5 (between 'Moderate' and 'High Energy')
Grooming
More than once a week (RKC); AKC band 2 of 5; the AKC standard permits no trimming, only the hair between the pads
Every day; daily brushing plus regular professional grooming
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'.
Flushing spaniel, the smallest of the sporting dogs: finds, flushes, marks and retrieves upland birds, working close in dense cover and thicket
Primary game
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Grouse and woodcock ('particularly excellent hunting dogs for Grouse and Woodcock often found in areas of thick hedgerow and dense berry bushes')
Also used on
Not recorded for this breed yet.
'They hunt everything': run on pheasant and on waterfowl by some owners, though 'their size makes it more difficult for them to handle large birds like pheasants, mallards and geese'
Range
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Close ('their natural instinct is to quarter close, staying in gun range')
Search pattern
Not recorded for this breed yet.
Quarters close, turning into the wind; hunts 'at a moderate pace', uses both foot and air scent; signals game with animated body and tail before a bold flush
Field trial standard
Not recorded for this breed yet.
ASC Working Dog / Working Dog Excellent tests (since 1977: find, flush and retrieve on land plus a water retrieve), AKC Spaniel Hunt Tests (Junior, Senior, Master) and AKC Cocker Field Trials, which American and English Cockers run together
Water work
Not recorded for this breed yet.
'Although bred as upland bird dogs, Cockers are willing swimmers, and will retrieve game from water in an efficient manner'; the ASC Working Dog test includes a water retrieve
Cold water
Not recorded for this breed yet.
2 of 5 · Bred as an upland bird dog; 'willing swimmers' that will retrieve from water, not a late-season water dog
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.
6.9% · 17,448 OFA hip evaluations to date: 92.2% normal (12.0% excellent, 66.1% good, 14.2% fair), 6.9% dysplastic (4.8% mild, 1.9% moderate, 0.2% severe); rank 161
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
1.3% · 1,200 OFA elbow evaluations to date: 98.3% normal, 1.3% abnormal (1.0% grade 1, 0.3% grade 2)
What to ask a breeder for
Clearances
- Patella evaluation · US
- MRI screening for syringomyelia used by breeders · NL/DK
- Eye testing (Best Practice) · UK
- DNA test for episodic falling (EF) (Good Practice) · UK
- DNA test for curly coat / dry eye (CC/DE) (Good Practice) · UK
- Heart screening for mitral valve disease (Good Practice) · UK
- Hip evaluation (X-ray) · US
- Ophthalmologist eye examination (CAER) · US
- Cardiac examination by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist, at least once from 2.5 years, repeated periodically · US
- Thyroid panel (annual or biannual to at least 8 years, ASC Health Registry) · US
- Annual eye examination by an ACVO ophthalmologist, marked not affected for cataract and PRA · US
- Hip evaluation (OFA at 24 months or older, or PennHIP) · US
- Hip scoring (RKC best practice) · UK
- DNA test for progressive retinal atrophy (prcd-PRA) (RKC best practice) · UK
- Eye testing including gonioscopy for primary lens/angle abnormality (PLA) · UK
The health clearances each breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.
The selector
Which one, for your life?
A few minutes of honest answers: the birds, the ground, the water, the house, the week. The selector ranks both of these against what you said, explains every rank, and shows exactly where the one you came in wanting lands.
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