Cavalier Temperament and Personality

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is among the happiest and most ​
​easy-going of all dog breeds and we couldn't agree more.
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is very easy to like. 

This breed is one of the most adaptable of all
dogs, and is quite comfortable in a wide array
​of living and social situations. 

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels love people.  

What this breed wants most in life is to be around
its favorite people.  These dogs always want to
be right next to their owners, or preferably on
top of them. 
​
This is the definition of a lap dog, and will always choose to place itself where its owner can pet it. 
​ If a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel’s owner is not immediately available, it is not picky.  These dogs will take affection and attention from wherever they can get it.  ​A Cavalier King Charles Spaniel loves everyone and if their "favorite person" is busy they will go to the next available person to pet them.

Because this breed loves everyone they tend to form equally strong bonds with everyone in a family, and the more family members to form bonds with the better.

The Cavalier temperament is normally very sweet and placid but they can be stubborn if not trained properly. 

The sweet, placid Cavaliers sometimes have a reputation for being dumb, and the stubborn ones
for being untrainable, but in general, these dogs
are smart and learn quickly.

They respond well to positive reinforcement
techniques, especially when food rewards
are offered, but harsh words will cause them 
to stop trying or even to hide.

A Cavalier should usually never be shy
or aggressive to people or other dogs.
​

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are generally very
good with other dogs and are are not shy about 
socializing with much larger dogs.  Most breed members thoroughly enjoy the company of other canines, whom they usually see as potential friends. 

This breed is not known for dominance, possessiveness, or territorial issues, although
some may be jealous if they have to
share the attention. 

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels do well around  dogs which are both considerably smaller and larger than 
themselves and easily adapt to a number of canine housemates.  It is always best to use caution when introducing two strange dogs to each other.  
​
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is perhaps the
most inviting of all toy breeds with strangers and will 
warmly welcome anyone who it sees.  This dog
​seems to think that everyone is a potential friend. 

Many Cavalier King Charles Spaniels will provide
a bark to let their owners know that someone is
at the door, but this bark is more of a,
“There’s someone here to play with me,
please open the door so I can say hello,
” than it is a warning. 

Few breeds are less suitable for guard dog
duty than the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
as this breed is more likely to lick an intruder
​to death that it is to cause them any real harm.  
Most toy breeds have a poor reputation when
it comes to children.  This is definitely not the case when it comes to the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. 

This breed is considerably sturdier than most toy breeds, and considerably more tolerant of their
sudden movements.  Many Cavalier King Charles Spaniels form very close bonds with children, and frequently become best friends with them. 

Although this breed certainly does not enjoy rough housing or hair pulling, it does enjoy ball chasing and other playtime activities and will tolerate petting that could be somewhat gentler.  

Because of their small size, though, Cavaliers must
be protected from clumsy toddlers who might
​fall on them or “pet” them with too much force.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are very
trainable dogs.  These dogs are very eager
to please and love to learn anything which will
get them attention, praise, and most
importantly treats. 


This is a breed which can learn a number of
tricks, and will do so fairly rapidly.  Cavalier King Charles Spaniels often do extremely well in
agility and obedience competitions.  


In particular, it is very easy to teach Cavalier 
King Charles Spaniels manners, which this
breed almost seems to learn intuitively. 


Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are rarely
stubborn and are almost always willing to give something a try.  

​
​They do have a training limit, however.  
This breed tends to be of above-average intelligence, but they are not among the geniuses of the 
canine world. 

Most Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have a
training ceiling that is lower than that of a 
breed such as the Poodle, German Shepherd
Dog, or even a Miniature Pincher. 

It can also sometimes be difficult to teach a
Cavalier King Charles how to control their
friendliness, and the breed is definitely
​ prone to jumping on people.
A Few things to know about Cavaliers
They love to lick, they love to chase moving
objects (especially feathered ones) and they
can be manipulative when they want food
(those eyes!).

It’s difficult or impossible to curb these behaviors
so you need to find a way to work around them,
such as always keeping the dog on leash in areas
with traffic and hardening your heart when your
Cavalier wants to share your ice cream cone.
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is not perfect but they
are close to perfect as a dog can get in our opinion!

​Any dog, no matter how nice, can develop
obnoxious levels of barking, digging and other
undesirable behaviors if he is bored,
untrained or unsupervised.
 
Start training your puppy the day you bring
him home. Even at eight weeks old, he is
capable of soaking up everything you can teach
him. Don’t wait until he is 6 months old to begin
training or you will have a more headstrong
dog to deal with.
 
If possible, get him into puppy kindergarten class
by the time he is 10 to 12 weeks old, and
socialize,socialize, socialize.
However, be aware that many puppy training ​classes require certain vaccines (like kennel cough) to
be up to date, and many veterinarians recommend limited exposure to other dogs and public
places until puppy vaccines (including rabies, distemper and parvovirus) have been completed.
In lieu of formal training, you can begin training your puppy at home and socializing
him among family and friends until puppy vaccines are completed.
The perfect Cavalier doesn’t spring fully formed
from the whelping box. He’s a product of his 
background and breeding. Whatever you want
from a Cavalier, look for one whose parents
have nice personalities and who has been
well socialized from early puppyhood.

Cavaliers are active and sporting. Cavaliers
are successful in conformation shows, obedience
and agility and they also make wonderful therapy
dogs due to their sweet, gentle natures.

 The breed is adaptable in their need for exercise, happy with either sleeping on the couch or
​ taking long walks.
​
Original articles found at :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavalier_King_Charles_Spaniel
and http://www.vetstreet.com/dogs/cavalier-king-charles-spaniel#personality
http://www.easypetmd.com/doginfo/cavalier-king-charles-spaniel