Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: Training Insights & Behavior Traits

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is one of the oldest and most stable breeds of dogs. Having originated in the United Kingdom this breed has a long noble history. Today, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is among the 20 most popular breeds in the United States, largely due to its stable personality, loving way, and appealing looks – an ideal family dog.

The Cavalier King Charles is classed as a ‘toy’ breed and is one of the smallest Spaniels. A compact little dog which may make an excellent travel companion.

Here's what the AKC says about the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel:

"The Cavalier’s all-around beauty, regal grace, and even temper mark him as one of dogdom’s noblemen. A toy spaniel no more than 13 inches high, the Cavalier draws you in with his face: The sweet, gentle, melting expression emanating from large, round eyes is a breed hallmark. Another is the silky, richly colored coat that can be one of four distinct varieties.

Cavaliers may be aristocrats, but they gladly descend from their royal high horse for a backyard frolic or a squirrel chase. They get along nicely with children and other dogs. Adaptable Cavaliers do equally well with active owners and homebodies—they can be upbeat athletes or shameless couch potatoes, depending on an owner’s lifestyle."

Who can resist Cavalier King Charles Spaniels? They are sweet beautiful little dogs that can fit into almost any lifestyle and are usually great with children and other animals. They can be great “starter” dogs for people who have never had a dog before. As with any dog, they need an education and people do need to understand dog nature and some simple facts.

Fact 1 – Dogs will repeat behavior that rewards them. This can be a challenge with Cavalier King Charles Spaniels for the simple reason that they are so adorable. I like to read the paper in the morning while I have my coffee. Imagine Charley, a cute little Cavalier pup, coming over and putting his paws on my leg to get attention. If put my paper and coffee down and reach down to pet Charley I have rewarded his attention seeking. I am teaching him that it’s ok to interrupt me. It might not be a big deal right now but there will be times when it will be. Be careful when you reward a pup and make sure you only reward good behavior. Your attention and affection are probably the biggest rewards you typically can give a dog.

Pups and dogs learn very quickly the things we enjoy doing with them and they make it easy for us to respond to them by asking us to do the things we enjoy. When we do respond to their sweet request’s dogs will take it to mean we are the followers and they are the leaders. When this happens, they will often start making other decisions, based on their canine perceptions and understanding. These decisions rarely align with our decisions.

Fact 2 – Dogs speak their own language. Dogs can learn words and its not uncommon for them to learn to associate over 100 words and some dogs over 1000, but they really don’t speak any human language they speak their own canine language which is a combination of body language, vocal tones (barks, cries, growls, howls etc.) and postures and actions. It is much easier to us to learn their language than for them to learn ours. Dogs will learn hand signals quicker than they will learn words because these are body language, which dogs are experts at reading and understanding. By combining hand signals with vocal cues, you can begin to teach your pup some words, but dogs will never understand the nuances of human language. Bark Busters will teach you to “Speak Dog.”

Fact 3 – Dogs are not deliberately naughty or bad, they do things that either come naturally to them or that they have learned. Things that will get reactions often get repeated. As with Charley coming over to interrupt my morning coffee and paper reading, most likely if I didn’t respond he would have found something else to do. If you come home from being out and find that your favorite quilt now has holes in it, the dog didn’t do it because he was mad at you for going out without him. He may have been bored or he may have been stressed but he didn’t do it to “get back at you”. That is not a dog’s nature, although it might seem that way to us. Chewing is a natural dog behavior as is digging. Dogs don’t read or watch TV to occupy themselves and if you don’t give them something to occupy themselves and stave off boredom, they will find something to do on their own, which might not be what you want them doing.

We were called to help a young woman whose Cavalier King Charles named Sophia, was barking when the woman went out. They lived in an apartment complex and some of the neighbors had complained to the management. We discovered that the woman, was giving in to every request that Sophia had. This created the feeling in Sophia that it was her responsibility to “take care” of the woman. When the woman was out, Sophia became stressed, much like a mother whose young child had wandered away. Sophia’s stress was manifest by barking. We helped the woman with a plan to change their roles so that she was the leader there, not Sophia. Sophia was able to relax and not worry about the woman. The result was that Sophia just played with her toy then curled up and napped when the woman went out. The frantic barking became a thing of the past.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is typically a very easy dog to train, they want to please and want to be part of the activity. As mentioned, they will fit into a variety of lifestyles and home environments including small apartments. Rarely will these dogs be difficult or troublesome, but as with every dog, they will need an education in order to help them fit into your family. Bark Busters are the world’s experts at helping people teach their dogs how to become great family members. We have trained over one million dogs since 1989. Our experience is unmatched and our life of the dog support guarantee gives people peace of mind knowing that addition help, whenever needed, is only a phone call away.

Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety is one issue that is occasionally found in this breed. Also, nuisance barking, especially when left alone. This can stem from the fact that they are so adorable and loving, that you never want to leave them alone! This breed is very social and a great family dog but you also must train your dog so that it may be able to be left alone without acting up or feeling anxiety.

If your dog is always accustomed to being with you then when you have to go out with it it may cause your pup some stress. Consider setting some rules and be sure to teach your dog.

Here are some quick tips to use with your Cavalier:

• Your dog should not follow from room to room, or everywhere you go in the home.
• Always walk through doors first. This has two purposes, the leader always leads, and you can check that all is safe. This tip applies to everyone - all humans in the household should always go through all doors first.
• Be consistent! Dogs become confused and stressed if rules are not consistent.
• If you allow your dog on your bed or your furniture, consider mixing things up occasionally. For example, allow your dog on the furniture today but then choose to not allow them up tomorrow. This might seem counter-intuitive since we just talked about consistency. What we’re referring to is always controlling your dog’s access. As your dog’s leader you should be able to say “no” one day and “yes” the next without issue.

You don’t have to use our list, set your own ‘set of rules’ that work in your household and create your own list, then stick to them and your Cavalier will be a better version of him/herself.

Games to Play with Your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Cavaliers are great sports and love to play. Even though they are considered a lap dog, they are great companion dogs and up for anything you want them to do.

• Hide and Seek – Hide a ball/treat/yourself throughout your home and encourage your dog to find it!
• Fetch – Cavaliers love to chase balls and play with toys. Your dog will love a rousing game of fetch (challenge yourself to see how far you can throw it).
• Walking – This classic form of exercise is still great for all breeds, but make sure you don’t over-work an aged dog.

Walking Your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Correctly

As previously mentioned, early education is important. Making sure your Cavalier walks properly on a leash is an important exercise. If your dog pulls on the leash, it can be damaging its skeletal frame. You should always start this training in the home and start with short walks and make them fun and educational. No need to go for long walks while educating.

Introducing the Leash

Many folks struggle to control their dogs when out on a walk regardless of their size.

We recommend starting when your Cavalier is still a puppy and educating your puppy where you want it to walk. That should not be straining at the leash.

Bark Busters are often asked why dogs pull on the leash and concerned ‘pet parents’ worry that their dog will be injured with all this pulling. Not to mention the toll the pulling takes on the human, the answer is simple, it’s all down to using the right technique, coupled with the right leash and equipment.

Dogs Naturally Pull Against a Tight Leash

Pressure on your dog’s neck is not good for the trachea or his skeletal frame. It also places unnecessary pressure on your arms and joints. It benefits neither you nor your dog and cannot be fun. Yet we all see this type of walking daily and it has to be because people don’t know there is a better way.

In the wild if an animal is trapped, it will naturally try to get away. It knows it is vulnerable if it is captured or tethered. Although the canine has been domesticated for thousands of years, your dog still has this instinct in its mind. The only way to avoid this natural pulling, is to learn to get your dog to walk on a loose leash.

Dogs are natural pullers. It’s in a dog’s DNA to pull against any restraint.

This is why it is possible to get a dog to pull a sled. When a dog feels a restraint it naturally pulls against the restraint. This is normal dog behavior, but we can alter the dog’s perception if we always keep the dog on a loose leash, where it feels NO restraint.