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Crested Cavalier Hybrid Description

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Hybrid Description

The Crested Cavalier is not a purebred dog. It is a cross between the Chinese Crested Dog and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The best way to determine the temperment of a mixed breed is to look up all breeds in the cross. It is possible you can get any combination of any of the characteristics found in either breed. Not all of these designer hybrid dogs being bred are 50% purebred to 50% purebred. It is very common for breeders to breed multi-generational crosses. Please review individual breeds for potential health issues.

Chinese Crested Dog Breed Description - Cross #1

The Hairless and Powderpuff varieties of Chinese Crested Dogs appear to be two different breeds, but hairlessness is an incomplete dominant trait within a single breed. The Hairless has soft, humanlike skin, as well as tufts of hair on its paws ("socks") and tail ("plume") and long, flowing hair on its head ("crest"). In addition to being an incomplete dominant gene, the "hairless" gene has a prenatal lethal effect when homozygous. Zygotes affected with double hairless genes never develop into puppies, and are reabsorbed in the womb. All Hairless Chinese Crested Dogs are therefore heterozygous.

The Hairless variety can vary in amount of body hair. Hair on the muzzle, known as a beard, is not uncommon. A true Hairless often does not have as much furnishings (hair on the head, tail, and paws). The difference between a very hairy Hairless and a Powderpuff is that the Hairless has a single coat with hairless parts on the body, while the Powderpuff has a thick double coat. The skin of the Hairless comes in a variety of colors, ranging from a pale flesh to black. Hairless Chinese Crested Dogs often lack a full set of premolar teeth.

A Powderpuff has a long, soft coat. Both Hairless and Powderpuff varieties can appear in the same litter. The look of the Powderpuff varies according to how it is groomed. When its hair is completely grown out on its face, it strongly resembles a terrier; however, the Powderpuff is usually shaved around the snout as a standard cut. The Powderpuff Chinese Crested Dog is an elegant and graceful dog who makes a loving companion, playful and entertaining. The Powderpuff's coat is long and silky soft. Ears are large and erect.

The amount of body hair on the Hairless variety varies quite extensively, from the true hairless which has very little or no body hair and furnishings, to what is called a "hairy Hairless" dog, which, if left ungroomed, often grows a near-full coat of hair. These hairy Hairless dogs are not a mix between Powderpuffs and Hairless Chinese Crested Dogs, but are merely a result of a weaker expression of the variable Hairless gene. The mutation responsible for the hairless trait was identified in 2008.

Behavior

The Chinese Crested Dog Chinese Crested is an elegant and graceful dog who makes a loving companion, playful and entertaining. The Puff's coat is long and silky soft. Ears are large and erect. It is a family friendly breed, not aggressive toward children or other animals. They do not make good kennel dogs, since they love the companionship of their family. This breed tends to be on the timid side with strangers if not properly socialized at an early age. Odorless, non-shedding, and hypo-allergenic, these are great dogs for allergy sufferers. They have been described as having "a supermodel look, with a saint personality." Chinese Crested Dogs are very affectionate, lively, playful, and love to be cuddled. This breed is exceptionally loving and likes to hug & smile. Many are known to be wonderful "singers." They are great with children, very forgiving, therefore should not be taken advantage of with rough handling. They are an entertaining companion, intelligent, and very willing to learn. He needs firm but gentle training beginning when he is still very young.

Both varieties require certain amounts of grooming. The Powderpuff is entirely covered with a double, very soft, straight coat. Although a Powderpuff's coat does not continuously grow, it can grow to be quite long at full length. A weekly bath and frequent brushing will help prevent matting. For an optimal coat, never brush when dry or dirty. A light spray of water or grooming spray to their coat is recommended before brushing. Many choose to shave their Powderpuff in a "Pony Cut" leaving long hair on the bottom of legs, tail, head and crest for an easy care coat. Powderpuffs are very clean and have no odor. This breed has "little to no shedding".

Maintenance of the Hairless variety's skin is similar to maintaining human skin and as such it can be susceptible to acne, dryness, and sunburn. Hypoallergenic or oil-free moisturizing cream can keep the skin from becoming too dry when applied every other day or after bathing. Burning can occur in regions that are subject to strong UV radiation, especially in lighter-skinned dogs. Many owners apply baby sunscreen to their pets before spending time in strong sun. Some Chinese Crested Dogs have skin allergies to lanolin, so be cautious when using any products that contain it.

Unless the dog is a "true" Hairless (one with virtually no hair growth on non-extremities), trimming and/or shaving is often performed to remove excess hair growth.

The Chinese Crested Dog is further distinguished by its hare foot (having more elongated toes), as opposed to the cat foot common to most other dogs. Because of this the quicks of Cresteds run deeper into their nails, so care must be taken not to trim the nails too short to avoid pain and bleeding.

Powderpuffs enjoy getting outdoors for daily exercise, although they are not a high energy breed. They are great for apartment or city living, but being very versatile, also love country living and long hikes.

Being a very intelligent breed, this dog does well in obedience type sports. Consistency is a must, however this breed can be relatively sensitive and should have a gentle trainer. The Powderpuff is great at learning and performing tricks.

Health

The Powderpuff is not affected by many of the congenital diseases found in other toy breeds. They are, however, prone to some of these conditions listed. Eye problems such as lens luxation, glaucoma, and PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy), luxating patellas, and Legg-Perthes disease. The Powderpuff should have full dentition, not missing or crooked teeth, as is accepted in their sibling the Hairless variety.

Chinese Crested Dogs have what is called a "primitive mouth". This means that most of their teeth are pointy, like their canines. Hairless varieties of the Cresteds can be prone to poor dentition. Poor dentition may include missing or crowded teeth and teeth prone to decay when not properly cared for. Most dogs of the Powderpuff variety have few, if any, dental defects.

Eyes are a concern within the breed, with many suffering from a painful and blinding inherited eye disease called Primary Lens Luxation (PLL). The Chinese Crested Dog can also have at least two forms of progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) which can eventually lead to blindness as well. For PLL and also one of the forms of PRA, there exists a genetic test, to determine if a dog is a "carrier, clear, or affected." prcd-PRA. Since the test for prcd-PRA can only reveal the existence of affected or carrier status of this one form of PRA, breeders and owners of the breed should still have regular eye exams by veterinary ophthalmologists. The breed also suffers from another eye disease called Keratoconjunctivitis sicca or dry eye syndrome (DES).

Along with Kerry Blue Terriers, Chinese Crested Dogs can develop canine multiple system degeneration (CMSD) also called progressive neuronal abiotrophy (PNA) in Kerry Blue Terriers. This is a progressive movement disorder that begins with cerebellar ataxia between 10 and 14 weeks of age. After 6 months of age, affected dogs develop difficulty initiating movements and fall frequently. The gene responsible has been mapped to canine chromosome 1.

As with all other toy breeds, the Chinese Crested Dog can be prone to patellar luxation. This inheritable condition is caused by shallow knee joints (stifles) and results in kneecaps that pop out of place. Its onset is often at a young age, and can cause temporary to permanent lameness based on the severity. Breeders should have their stock certified free of patellar luxation. Many countries' kennel clubs maintain a centralised registry for health results.

Allergy and autoimmune diseases have been observed in the breed. Some food allergies can also cause skin breakouts, like excess blackheads, pimples and dryness. It has been observed that this breed has an allergy to chicken and many owners opt for a chicken free diet or a homemade one. The severity of these ailments, which can lead to the premature death of the dog, means this is something breeders need to take seriously in order to avoid it becoming a problem for the breed.



Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Breed Description - Cross #2

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is one of the largest toy breeds. Nonetheless, it is small for a spaniel, with fully grown adults comparable in size to adolescents of other larger spaniel breeds. Breed standards state that height of a Cavalier should be between 12 to 13 inches with a proportionate weight between 10 to 18 pounds. The tail is usually not docked, and the Cavalier should have a silky coat of moderate length. Standards state that it should be free from curl, although a slight wave is allowed. Feathering can grow on their ears, feet, legs and tail in adulthood. Standards require this be kept long, with the feathering on the feet a particularly important aspect of the breed's features.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the English Toy Spaniel can be often confused with each other. In the United Kingdom, the English Toy Spaniel is called the King Charles Spaniel while in the United States, one of the colors of the Toy Spaniel is known as King Charles. The two breeds share similar history and only diverged from each other about 100 years ago. There are several major differences between the two breeds, with the primary difference being the size. While the Cavalier weighs on average between 10 to 18 pounds, the King Charles is smaller at 9 to 12 pounds. In addition their facial features while similar, are different; the Cavalier's ears are set higher and its skull is flat while the King Charles's is domed. Finally the muzzle length of the Cavalier tends to be longer than that of its King Charles cousin.

Behavior

The breed is highly affectionate, playful, extremely patient and eager to please. As such, dogs of the breed are good with children and other dogs. Cavaliers are not shy about socialising with much larger dogs. They will adapt quickly to almost any environment, family, and location and suit city and country life. Their ability to bond with larger and smaller dogs makes them ideal in houses with more than one breed of dog as long as the other dog is trained. Cavaliers rank 44th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, being of average intelligence in working or obedience. Cavaliers are naturally curious and playful, but also enjoy simply cuddling up on a cushion or lap, making them excellent companion or lap dogs for medical patients and the elderly.

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.

The breed is well known for its loving temperament. They have an instinct to chase most things that move including vehicles on busy streets, and so most Cavaliers will never become "street-wise". As they tend to regard all strangers as friends, members of the breed will usually not make good guard dogs. Spaniels have a strong hunting instinct and may endanger birds and small animals. However, owners have reported that through training their Cavaliers they happily co-exist with a variety of small animals including hamsters and gerbils.

The Cavalier's coat requires weekly brushing, but no trimming. However, some owners prefer to trim their Cavalier's long feathers and slippers that can become very dirty when walking or playing outside.

Health

Cavaliers can notably be prone to mitral valve disease, which leads to heart failure. This appears in many Cavaliers at some point in their lives and is the most common cause of death. Some serious genetic health problems, including early-onset mitral valve disease (MVD), the potentially severely painful syringomyelia (SM), hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, and certain vision and hearing disorders are health problems for this breed. As today's Cavaliers all descend from only six dogs, any inheritable disease present in at least one of the original founding dogs can be passed on to a significant proportion of future generations. This is known as the founder effect and is the likely cause of the prevalence of MVD in the breed. Additionally, bad breeding increases the chance that a Cavalier will develop MVD, so it is important to find a responsible breeder who uses dogs with healthy hearts rather than use the first breeder you come across. The health problems shared with this breed include mitral valve disease, luxating patella, and hereditary eye issues such as cataracts and retinal dysplasia. Cavaliers are also affected by ear problems, a common health problem among spaniels of various types, and they can have such other general conditions as hip dysplasia, which are common across many types of dog breeds.


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