page_title: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
section_title: Health
hierarchical_section_title: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel / Health
caption_attribution_description: Three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Blenheim, tricolour and ruby coloured (respectively).
context_page_description: The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a small breed of spaniel classed in the toy group of The Kennel Club and the American Kennel Club, that originated in the United Kingdom. Since 2000, it has grown in popularity in the United States and ranks as the 19th most popular pure-breed in the United States. It has a silky, smooth coat and commonly a smooth undocked tail. The breed standard recognizes four colors: Blenheim, tricolor, black and tan, and ruby. The breed is generally friendly, affectionate and good with both children and other animals; however, they require much human interaction. Since they are family dogs, it is recommended to not leave one alone for long periods at a time. The expected average lifespan of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is between nine and fourteen years.
  The Cavalier King Charles changed dramatically in the late 17th century, when it was interbred with flat-nosed breeds. Until the 1920s, the Cavalier shared the same history as the smaller King Charles Spaniel. Breeders attempted to recreate what they considered to be the original configuration of the breed, a dog resembling Charles II's King Charles Spaniel of the Restoration.
context_section_description: Cavaliers can notably be prone to mitral valve disease, which leads to heart failure. This appears in many Cavaliers at some point in their lives and is the most common cause of death. Some serious genetic health problems, including early-onset mitral valve disease (MVD), the potentially severely painful syringomyelia (SM), hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, and certain vision and hearing disorders are health problems for this breed. As today's Cavaliers all descend from only six dogs, any inheritable disease present in at least one of the original founding dogs can be passed on to a significant proportion of future generations. This is known as the founder effect and is the likely cause of the prevalence of MVD in the breed. The health problems shared with this breed include mitral valve disease, luxating patella, and hereditary eye issues such as cataracts and retinal dysplasia.
  Cavaliers are also affected by ear problems, a common health problem among spaniels of various types, and they can have such other general conditions as hip dysplasia, which are common across many types of dog breeds.
caption: Blenheim, Tricolour and Ruby
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