The Breed Standard
FCI-Standard N° 136
CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL
ORIGIN: Great Britain 
DATE OF ACCEPTANCE ON A DEFINITIVE BASIS BY THE FCI: 20.01.1955
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE OFFICIAL VALID STANDARD: 04.11.2008.
UTILIZATION: Companion and Toy.
FCI-CLASSIFICATION: Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs.
Section 7 English Toy Spaniels.
Without working trial.
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Active, graceful and well balanced, with gentle expression.
BEHAVIOUR / TEMPERAMENT: Sporting, affectionate, absolutely fearless. Gay, friendly, non-aggressive; no tendency towards nervousness.
HEAD
CRANIAL REGION:
Skull: Almost flat between ears.
Stop: Shallow.
FACIAL REGION:
Nose: Nostrils black and well developed without flesh marks.
Muzzle: Length from base of stop to tip of nose about 1 1/2 ins. (3,8 cm). Well tapered. Face well filled below eyes. Any tendency to snipiness undesirable.
Lips: Well developed and not pendulous.
Jaws/Teeth: Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. the upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Eyes: Large, dark, round but not prominent; spaced well apart.
Ears: Long, set high, with plenty of feather.
NECK: Moderate length, slightly arched.
BODY:
Back: Level.
Loin: Short-coupled.
Chest: Moderate; good spring of ribs.
TAIL: Length of tail in balance with body, well set on, carried happily but never much above the level of the back. Docking previously optional when no more than one-third was to be removed.
LIMBS
FOREQUARTERS:
General appearance: Legs moderately boned, straight.
Shoulders: Well laid back.
Forefeet: Compact, cushioned and well feathered.
HINDQUARTERS:
General appearance: Legs with moderate bone.
Stifle: Well turned.
Hocks: No tendency to cow- or sickle-hocks.
Hind feet: Compact, cushioned and well feathered.
GAIT / MOVEMENT: Free-moving and elegant in action, plenty of drive from behind. Fore-and hindlegs move parallel when viewed from in front and behind.
COAT
Hair: Long, silky, free from curl. Slight wave permissible. Plenty of feathering. Totally free from trimming.
Colour: Recognized colours are:
• Black and Tan: Raven black with tan markings above the eyes, on cheeks, inside ears, on chest and legs and underside of tail. Tan should be bright. White marks undesirable.
• Ruby: Whole coloured rich red. White markings undesirable.
• Blenheim: Rich chestnut markings well broken up, on pearly white ground. Markings evenly divided on head, leaving room between ears for much valued lozenge mark or spot (a unique characteristic of the breed).
• Tricolour: Black and white well spaced, broken up, with tan markings over eyes, cheeks, inside ears, inside legs, and on underside of tail.
Any other colour or combination of colours highly undesirable.
WEIGHT: 5,4 – 8 kg (12 – 18 lbs). A small, well-balanced dog well within these weight desirable.
FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
DISQUALIFYING FAULTS:
• Aggressive or overly shy dogs.
• Any dog clearly showing physical of behavioural abnormalities.
N.B.:
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.
Source: FCI breeds nomenclature; Breed Guide by American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, Inc.