Ask any five Cavalier breeders to describe the perfect head and
you'll probably get five slightly different answers, although most
fanciers agree on the eyes. On this point the standard is so clear
that there's little room for interpretation: large, round, dark
brown and spaced well apart.
But skull space, muzzle length and head size are harder to
understand just by reading the standard because much of our standard
was written to describe a moderate dog in all respects and to
preclude any excuse for exaggerating any characteristic. In order to
have eyes "spaced well apart" that look forward set in a flat skull,
the skull must also be rather broad, which the standard does not
specify. This implied need for a wide skull is not "moderate" and
confuses more than a few judges.
It's no secret that the English feel Americans have taken several
of their breeds and remade them to exaggerate certain attributes.
That's why, when we wrote the standard, we tried to avoid any word,
such as "broad," that might be construed as meaning "too much."
The English standard asks for a skull "almost flat between the
ears." Our AKC standard says "slightly rounded but without dome or
peak; it should appear flat because of the high placement of the
ears." Both standards describe the same topline of the skull and are
intended to describe the same appearance. The English understand
that too flat brings with it small eyes and a hard expression due to
a lack of forehead, which is called a "hammerhead shark" appearance.
But in our country, where too many exhibitors seem to feel that
if almost flat is good, really flat must be really
great, we describe a gentle curve that appears flat. This flattish
skull is one of the traits that separates our breed from
brachycephalic breeds such as the Pekingese, the Brussels Griffon,
the Pug or the Chihuahua. Unlike these breeds, the Cavalier is
mesocephalic, with the large, wide backskull of the short-faced
breeds but a longer jaw and nasal bones, so the foreface is
prominent. Some judges say, "too much backskull," when what they
really saw was an overdone head too large for the body, and too
short a nose. The actual skull width was fine, but not the rest of
the head.
In the English standard the length of muzzle from base of stop to
tip of nose is about 1 1/2 inches. Ours was changed from "at least 1
1/2 inches" to the current "approximately 1 1/2 inches." The idea
was ensure the same (strong) hint at moderation: not short-faced but
not so long-faced or down-faced as to lose the soft expression.
Breeds calling for long, lean heads or long muzzles generally have
eyes that are set obliquely or on the sides of the head.
Wide-skulled breeds generally have eyes that look directly forward,
like human eyes.
The original English standard called for a shallow stop, but that
was in comparison to the English Toy Spaniel; a Cavalier's stop did
look shallow next to an English Toy's. Again, it was simply
understood that there must be a nice break to give the correct
expression, no matter how the old standard was written.
We took a chance by calling for a moderate stop "neither filled
nor deep," in the blind faith that breeders and judges would not
take it one bit further. We never expected to see shorter muzzles,
deeper stops or narrower skulls in order for our breed to "fit in"
with other toy breeds with head shapes that differ from that of a
correct Cavalier.
Both the English and the AKC standards use the term "well-filled
below eyes" to describe the lovely cushioning that softens the face.
The Brits say "muzzle well tapered" and we say "full muzzle
slightly tapered." It's the same idea: Although the face is rather
plush with well-developed lips, the tapering from eye to nose keeps
the lip line clean and pretty without being pendulous or houndy.
A good bit of underchin is important in preventing snipiness or a
face that seems to fall way underneath, although underchin isn't
mentioned in the standard. The really classic heads have a certain
amount of chiseling and modeling that is not the same as cushioning.
This detail also isn't mentioned in the standard but is readily seen
on the best heads.
Cavaliers must be pretty, elegant, royal-appearing toy spaniels.
There is certainly more to them than their heads, but without a
correct head, who wants to look at the rest?
