Why is my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Taller than Others?

Jessii: Why is my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel taller than others?
My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is only 3 years old but he is taller than others. I was told by the breeder that he was a pure breed and he looks like one just much taller. Anyone got the same problem or does anyone know why he is taller than most others?

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Answers and Views:

Answer by abbyful
Some dogs just grow taller. My dog ended up taller than both her parents and is just barely within the breed standard for size.
And some dogs don't grow as big as they were expected. My parents have a tiny toy poodle that wasn't expected to be as small as she turned out.

Answer by Paul W
Cavaliers vary in size quite a bit. The first one I owned (1984-96) was quite large for the breed. I don’t recall what he weighed. I owned another fairly large one up to a couple of years ago – he was over 10 kilos (22 pounds) and he wasn’t fat. That’s quite a bit bigger than the breed standard, but my first one was quite a bit bigger still – probably as big as a Cocker in fact, but he was a purebred Cavalier according to his papers. The biggest Cavaliers are quite literally twice the size of the smallest ones. It isn’t a problem, just natural variation.

Answer by zoo
Genetics….
It is the result of the breeder's breeding program…. or if your dog is over the AKC standard, lack of breeding program.
To produce top examples of any breed requires extensive research and careful planning. Unfortunately, there are far more people that are in it for the money and are not paying attention to what is good for the breed. Even those who are doing all the right things can get caught up in the fad of the moment which is why you see changes in a breed over the years. For example, Golden Retrievers were not originally the large blonde big-boned dogs you see today. They were smaller boned, darker golden and much less coat. Somewhere along the way, the heavier coated blonde dogs started winning in the show ring and that is the direction the breed went.

Any breed or kennel club's registry is only as good as the integrity of its members and unfortunately, very few registries regulate their membership. Most just collect the money from registrations.
Bottom line is deal with a breeder who is experienced, has done all the proper research, health checks and you should be in good hands.
Regardless of your dog's height, love him and cherish him. He does not know he is taller than what you think he should be.

Answer by anthony
My CKCS is 1.5 years old Nov 2018. Charlie is huge compared to normal CKCS; she weighs in at 33 pounds recently. The vet said about 30 is an ideal weight for Charlie. We were on vacation and saw another CKCS and put her next to Charlie, they looked identical almost, but Charlie towers over her. Like I said the vet said her ideal weights around 20lbs. Foso, she is on a diet, but she’s a beast. Straight up a hunter, she holla’s at everything and everyone that don’t wanna say hello to her. Straight up Diva.

Answer by Billy B
I have a Cavalier King Charles of 2 1/2. Does it depend on how many inches he is? Mine comes up from my middle finger to my elbow at the top of his head (I don't' have a measuring tape handy..lol) I would say approximately 15 inches or thereabouts to the top of his head. He is a purebred. You should have gotten the appropriate purebred papers to go with him as I did. All dogs have some genetics to them. What height is he at?

Answer by Karuna
Here’s my experience:

My CKC Spaniel is a purebred. I went to a reputable, AKC-certified breeder and saw him & his parents when he was 2 weeks old. His mother is 13 pounds. His father was a bit bigger but, like all her breeding pairs on the premises, within AKC “toy” standards.

Kingsley is now 4 years old, 15 3/4 inches at the withers and 23 pounds. He has long legs, is perfectly proportioned, and is pure muscle (read: NOT fat). He is an agility star (jumps 16″ in AKC & CPE while other CKC Spaniels jump 8″-12″).

Remember, these dogs were sometimes used for hunting “back in the day.” My dog somehow picked up some old CKC DNA string as he has hunting instincts and behaviors.

He’s also extremely intelligent and knows “right” from “left,” for example. So I take umbrage with replies of a bigger dog “polluting” the breed or my dog’s heritage — let alone my research on breeders — being questioned. The joy of genetics is that nice, recessive surprises are produced.
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