English Toy Spaniel

Small spaniels appear in English royal portraits from the Tudor period onward, and by the reign of Charles II, between 1660 and 1685, they were a fixture of the court. The king's attachment to them is the reason the breed carries his name, and contemporary diarists complained that the dogs were allowed everywhere in the palace. These early court spaniels had longer muzzles than the modern breed; they were pets rather than working gundogs, although they descended from the same small spaniel stock that produced Britain's working land spaniels.

During the nineteenth century, English breeders reshaped the type, favouring a rounder head, a much shorter, upturned face and a larger eye. Crosses with Asian toy breeds such as the Pug and Japanese Chin are generally credited with the change. Four separate colour varieties were shown as separate breeds for a time: King Charles for black and tan, Prince Charles for the tricolour, Blenheim for red and white, and Ruby for whole red. In 1903 The Kennel Club combined all four into a single breed under the name King Charles Spaniel, with the colours retained as varieties rather than separate breeds.

The American Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1886 and registers it as the English Toy Spaniel, splitting it into two show varieties: Blenheim and Prince Charles together, and King Charles and Ruby together. Numbers have remained low on both sides of the Atlantic since the Cavalier became popular in the mid-twentieth century, and the King Charles Spaniel is on The Kennel Club's vulnerable native breeds list, which tracks British breeds with very small annual registration figures.

This is a compact, cobby toy dog, generally standing around nine to eleven inches at the shoulder and weighing roughly eight to fourteen pounds. The head is the defining feature: a well-domed skull, a short and deep muzzle that turns up slightly, a black nose set well back, and very large, dark, wide-set eyes. The ears are set low, long and heavily feathered, framing the face. The body is short and square with a level topline, and the tail is carried in line with the back and well fringed.

The coat is long, silky and straight or slightly wavy, with abundant feathering on the ears, chest, legs and feet. Four colours are recognised. Blenheim is a rich chestnut red on a pearly white ground, often with a chestnut patch on the top of the skull. Prince Charles is a black, white and tan tricolour. King Charles is black with tan markings over the eyes, on the cheeks, inside the ears and under the tail. Ruby is a solid rich red without white. Because the muzzle is very short, the breed is brachycephalic and should be judged and bred with open nostrils and unobstructed breathing in mind.

The English Toy Spaniel is affectionate to the point of devotion with its own household and generally undemonstrative with strangers. Most are polite rather than effusive when visitors arrive, watching from a distance until they decide someone is acceptable, and then settling happily beside them. There is nothing timid about a well-socialised example, but a nervous or sharply shy dog is a serious fault of temperament, not a quirk of the breed.

It is among the quietest toy breeds. Many owners report a dog that barks once at the door and then stops, which makes it suited to flats and to neighbours with thin walls. The flip side is that it is not much of a watchdog and has little interest in defending anything. Indoors it is calm, often content to sleep for long stretches, but it still has a spaniel's playful streak and enjoys short bursts of games with a toy.

Separation is the breed's real weakness. These dogs were built for constant company and many become genuinely distressed when left alone for long periods. They fit best with people who work from home, are retired, or can take the dog with them. They are gentle with children who understand that a small dog with prominent eyes is easily hurt, but they are not robust enough for rough handling by toddlers.

The English Toy Spaniel has never had a working role. It was bred as a court companion and lap dog, and that remains its purpose. Its modern jobs are the ones any small, steady, quiet dog can do well: sitting with someone at home, travelling easily, and providing companionship in settings where a large or noisy dog would be unwelcome. Some are used in therapy visiting programmes, where the calm manner and small size are an advantage.

In sport the breed appears occasionally in conformation, and a few compete in rally or novice obedience, though it is not a common sight. Agility and other high-impact activities are best approached cautiously given the short face and light frame. Realistically, prospective owners should choose this breed for company rather than for an activity, and treat any organised sport as a bonus.