King Charles Spaniel

The King Charles Spaniel (also known as the English Toy Spaniel) is a small dog breed of the spaniel type. In 1903, the Kennel Club combined four separate toy spaniel breeds under this single title. The other varieties merged into this breed were the Blenheim, Ruby and Prince Charles Spaniels, each of which contributed one of the four colours available in the breed.

Thought to have originated in the Far East, toy spaniels were first seen in Europe during the 16th century. They were made famous by their association with King Charles II of England (1630–1685) and have been linked with English royalty since the time of Queen Mary I (1516–1558). Members of the breed have been owned by Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II.

The King Charles Spaniel and the other types of toy spaniels were crossbred with the Pug in the early 19th century to reduce the size of the nose, as was the style of the day. The 20th century saw attempts to restore lines of King Charles Spaniels to the breed of Charles II's time. These included the unsuccessful Toy Trawler Spaniel and the now popular Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The Cavalier is slightly larger, with a flat head and a longer nose, while the King Charles is smaller, with a domed head and a flat face.

Spaniel

A spaniel is a type of gun dog. Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of denser brush. By the late 17th century spaniels had been specialized into water and land breeds. The extinct English Water Spaniel was used to retrieve water fowl shot down with arrows. Land spaniels were setting spaniels—those that crept forward and pointed their game, allowing hunters to ensnare them with nets, and springing spaniels—those that sprang pheasants and partridges for hunting with falcons, and rabbits for hunting with greyhounds. During the 17th century, the role of the spaniel dramatically changed as Englishmen began hunting with flintlocks for wing shooting. Charles Goodall and Julia Gasow (1984) write that spaniels were "transformed from untrained, wild beaters, to smooth, polished gun dogs."

The word spaniel would seem to be derived from the medieval French espaigneul—"Spanish"—modern French, espagnol.

Definition and description

The Oxford English Dictionary defines Spaniel as "a breed of dog with a long silky coat and drooping ears".

English

English may refer to:

King Charles

King Charles may refer to:

Kings

Other

Continental Toy Spaniel

Continental Toy Spaniels may refer to: