Although it does not enjoy the same degree of popularity everywhere, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is present throughout the world and generally quite popular.
However, this popularity can be double-edged: significant or rapidly increasing demand encourages the creation of intensive breeding operations, more obsessed with maximizing profits than ethics and animal welfare. We then obtain a breed that is increasingly inbred and highly predisposed to health problems, which is the case with the Cavalier.
Making this observation, the Supreme Court of Norway took a decision in 2022 that was as unprecedented as it was radical: it decided to purely and simply ban the breeding of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in the country, in the name of animal welfare. It will be interesting to see if other states follow the same direction, whether regarding this dog or others who encounter similar problems…
Popularity of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in its country of origin
Even though the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel remains very well established in the United Kingdom, statistics from the British Kennel Club (KC) show that it has lost a lot of ground since the end of the 2000s.
Indeed, while at that time the organization recorded nearly 9,000 specimens per year, their number was only around 3,000 at the end of the following decade – a decline from 5th place to around 15th, out of a total of 220 breeds recognized by the KC. We noted a slight improvement at the beginning of the 2020s, with nearly 3,500 annual registrations and an increase around the 10th rowbut the figures from the 2000s seem to belong to a distant past…
Popularity of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in France
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is very popular in France, and its popularity continues over time.
However, although it was recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) in 1955, it took time to find its place in France. Indeed, until the end of the 1970s, the number of annual registrations with the Société Centrale Canine (SCC) did not exceed a hundred. The race was then around 80th place in the rankings, out of a total of around 180.
The numbers then began to climb sharply, to the point that the milestone of 1000 annual registrations was reached at the end of the following decade. This allowed the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to reach around 25th place, out of a total of around 250 breeds.
Far from waning, French enthusiasm for the Cavalier only grew thereafter: at the end of the 90s, it was found around 10th place, with more than 3,000 registrations per year. He even ended up reaching the third step of the podium in 2007, with more than 6,500 registrations, and continued to occupy it until the beginning of the 2010s. The SCC then had around 8,000 annual registrations.
The figures then tended to decline regularly throughout the rest of the decade, but remained at a high level: at the end of the 2010s, the SCC carried out a little more than 6,000 annual registrations, and the breed was around 10th place (on a little over 300).
It regained momentum at the start of the 2020s, with a number of annual registrations between 7,000 and 7,500, allowing it to rise again around 5th rank.
Popularity of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Belgium
Without being the most popular breed in the country, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is quite well represented in Belgium: the Dog-ID database recorded some 3,000 individuals at the start of the 2020s, a stable number since at least the second half of the 2010s.
This stability in terms of population, however, corresponds to a decline in terms of ranking. Indeed, while towards the mid-2010s it was around the 15th, it had fallen back towards the 20th at the start of the following decade.
Looking more closely, we see that the Cavalier is more present in the Flanders region than in Wallonia and in that of Brussels-Capital. Indeed, Dog-ID figures show nearly 2,500 individuals in the first, where it is located around 15th rankwhile he is not part of the Top 20 in the other two.
Popularity of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Switzerland
Although the number of recorded individuals has remained roughly stable since the mid-2010s, oscillating between 4,000 and 4,500, statistics from the Amicus database show that the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is losing ground in the ranking of the most popular breeds. popular in Switzerland. Indeed, while it was around 20th place in the second half of the 2010s, it was only around the 25th at the start of the following decade.
-Popularity of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Canada
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is popular in Canada, to the point that in 2020 it managed to rise to the top in the Top 10 established by the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) based on the number of individuals registered during the year.
The fact that the latter and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club of Canada (CKCSCC) collectively list around 70 breeders in the country confirms that this breed is rather well represented and appreciated there.
Popularity of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel elsewhere in the world
The popularity of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in Europe
In Italystatistics from the Ente Nazionale della Cinofilia Italiana (ENCI) show that the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is rather well established in the country, and even that its popularity is on the rise. Indeed, while the organization recorded some 1,500 specimens per year in the mid-2010s, this number was more around 2,000 at the start of the following decade.
In Spainthe situation is very different: despite a slight increase since the mid-2010s, the number of registrations with the Real Sociedad Canina de España (RSCE) remains low. Thus, at the start of the 2020s, the latter recorded barely more than a hundred individuals per year, and the breed was around 70th place (out of around 250) in the ranking.
On the other hand, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is quite popular in Germany. The second half of the 2000s was characterized by a marked increase in its popularity: the number of annual registrations with the Verband für das Deutsche Hundewesen (VDH) then increased from around 700 to more than 1000. In terms of ranking, this was translated into a progression from 30th rank to around 20th, out of nearly 300 breeds recognized by the organization. The Cavalier still gained places for a few years: thus, although its number of annual registrations remained generally stable (a little over 1000), it was around 10th place in the mid-2010s. The figures then tended to drop to return to around 700 recordings per year, but this remains a solid level; at the start of the 2020s, we found the Cavalier around 15th place in the rankings.
The popularity of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in the United States
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was not recognized until 1995 by the American Kennel Club (AKC), which is the main dog organization in the United States. This late recognition does not prevent him from being well established in the country today, and he is even more and more popular there.
Moreover, from the first year, a little more than 900 individuals were registered with the AKC: it thus immediately rose to around 85th place in the ranking, out of around 140 breeds. Its progression was then very rapid, to the point that at the end of the decade there were already more than 2,000 annual registrations and it had jumped to 60th place.
Americans’ attraction to the Cavalier King Charles continued to grow, and numbers exploded during the 2000s. Thus, by the end of the decade, the AKC was carrying out some 7,500 registrations per year, and the breed was around 25th place in the ranking.
Far from stopping there, the Cavalier continued to progress during the 2010s. We found it thus around 15th rank in the early 2020s, out of a total of nearly 200 breeds.
The popularity of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel elsewhere in the world
Even if there are sometimes significant disparities from one country to another, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has also established itself on continents other than Europe and America.
For example, it is relatively popular in South Africa. Indeed, with around a hundred annual registrations with the Kennel Union of South Africa (KUSA), it was at the end of the 2010s as well as the beginning of the 2020s around 25th place – out of around 250 breeds recognized by the organism.
L’Australia is one of the countries in the world where it is most appreciated. In the mid-1980s, the Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC) was already carrying out some 2000 annual registrations: this placed the breed around 15th place, out of just over 200 recognized at the time. This number increased to more than 3,000 at the end of the following decade, then remained generally at this level until the beginning of the 2010s. In terms of ranking, the Cavalier gained places until reaching the podium in 2010 , occupying 3rd place out of a total of approximately 240 breeds. From the following year and thereafter, it experienced a certain decline, both in terms of the number of annual recordings and its place in the ranking. Nevertheless, this dog remains very well established in the country-continent: at the beginning of the 2020s, the ANKC recorded between 2000 and 2500 specimens per year, which allowed the breed to rank around 5th.
The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is also present in the Japaneven if the statistics from the Japan Kennel Club (JKC) highlight a loss of ground since the second half of the 2000s. Indeed, while the organization recorded around 11,000 specimens per year at that time and the breed was emerging around 15th place (out of a total of around 140), the numbers subsequently dropped: at the start of the 2020s, there were only around 3000 annual registrations. The drop in the ranking was, however, less marked, since the Cavalier was then around 20th place.
