History and Origin
Bichon Frises
Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
Cavachon
Cavachons are a relatively new breed of dog created in the mid-1990s by breeding Bichon Frises with Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Let's look at the history of the Cavachon's parent breeds to learn more about where this breed came from.
Bichon Frise: The Bichon Frise parent formed in the Mediterranean area. It is descended from dogs called barbets, or water spaniels, which were crossed with small white lapdogs. Four types of "barbichons" were constructed - Bolognese, Havanese, Maltaise and Teneriffe bichons, which were developed on the Canary Island of Teneriffe and became known as Bichon Frises.
Cavalier King Charles Spaniels: The Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are remarkable for their gentle nature and sweet temperament. The original Toy Spaniel is depicted in paintings from the 1600s to 1800s, showing that people have treasured the breed since then. In fact, the breed's name comes from the king who once ruled over the UK—King Charles II.
Although they were bred fairly recently in the 1990s, the Cavachon is a combination of two older breeds. At that time, it was fashionable to breed dogs with shorter faces; however, an American named Roswell Eldridge visited England and was saddened that he couldn't see the dogs so usually depicted in art, so he set to reinstating the longer snouted variant. This started a movement leading to the formation of the Cavalier King Charles Club in 1928, and finally, in 1945, they were recognized as two separate breeds.
