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Cockalier breeders

The Cockalier is a crossbreed between a Cocker Spaniel and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, sometimes advertised simply as a Cocker x Cavalier.

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Advertise your Cockalier puppies, litters and stud dogs

Breeding Cockaliers, or own a Cocker Spaniel or Cavalier King Charles Spaniel used for Cockalier litters? List your kennel on Canine Breeder to advertise Cockalier puppies for sale and promote your Cockalier stud dog to buyers across the UK. Show the heart grade, eye certificate and DNA results for each parent, add your council licence number where you hold one, and upload photos of the mother with her puppies, so families can see your standards before they get in touch.

No breeders are listed here yet, so the first profiles get the page to themselves.

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Create your free breeder profile Advertise a litter Advertise a stud dog

Is it free to advertise here?

Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.

Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?

In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.

Is my listing already here?

We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.

About the Cockalier

The Cockalier is a crossbreed between a Cocker Spaniel and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, sometimes advertised simply as a Cocker x Cavalier. It is not a breed recognised by The Royal Kennel Club (RKC), so there is no breed standard. The RKC points out that crossbreeds show a mix of their parents' traits that can combine in many different ways. Both parents are spaniels, which gives them a good deal in common, and each parent breed offers useful clues to what a Cockalier might be like.

The Cocker Spaniel is a gundog whose name comes from hunting woodcock. The RKC records that it was recognised as a separate variety of spaniel in 1893. Its breed standard describes a compact, sturdy dog of roughly 38–41 cm at the shoulder and 13–14.5 kg, with a flat, silky, feathered coat, a busy, tail-wagging way of moving and a gentle, affectionate but lively temperament. The RKC classes it as a small breed and lists up to an hour of exercise a day and grooming every day.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a toy spaniel. The RKC describes how, from 1926, special prizes at Crufts encouraged breeders to revive the older, longer-muzzled type of toy spaniel; the Cavalier was recognised as a separate breed in 1945. The standard gives a weight of 5.4–8.2 kg and a long, silky coat left free of trimming, and asks for a friendly dog that is neither aggressive nor nervous. The RKC suggests up to an hour of exercise a day and grooming more than once a week, and lists a flat as a suitable home.

What that means for a Cockalier. The RKC lists both parents as small breeds, so expect a small spaniel whose weight is likely to fall somewhere between the two, with a medium-length silky coat. Both parent breeds shed, so expect a Cockalier to shed too, and its feathering will need brushing several times a week. Both breeds come from sporting spaniel stock, so walks with plenty of sniffing and games that use the nose make a good outlet.

A Cockalier may suit a household that wants a smaller, companionable dog with moderate exercise needs, provided someone can keep up with grooming. As a crossbreed it cannot join the RKC Breed Register, but it can be registered on the RKC Activity Register for agility, obedience, rally and similar activities.

Cockalier health tests

The Cockalier has no RKC health scheme of its own, and the RKC advises anyone breeding a crossbreed to use the tests recommended for both parent breeds. The two lists share no DNA tests, but both include eye testing under the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme, which the RKC advises within 12 months before mating.

On the Cavalier side the main concerns are the heart and the spine. Mitral valve disease (MVD) is assessed under the RKC heart scheme for Cavaliers by approved cardiologists from 18 months of age, with assessments recommended at 2, 4 and 6 years. The RKC is clear that even two parents graded green cannot guarantee a puppy free of MVD. Syringomyelia (SM) is diagnosed by MRI scan; it is not on the RKC testing list, but the Cavalier Club urges members to have dogs MRI scanned before they are bred from, and the BVA and RKC are running a screening project for invited dogs. The Cavalier is in Breed Watch Category 2, with judges asked to watch for eye irritation, protruding eyes, and incorrect hind conformation or poor rear movement.

On the Cocker side, DNA tests cover acral mutilation syndrome, prcd-PRA, adult-onset neuropathy and familial nephropathy, alongside hip scoring and eye testing that includes gonioscopy, which can be done from six months old.

  • Cocker Spaniel, Good Practice: prioritising genetic diversity
  • Cocker Spaniel, Good Practice: DNA tests for acral mutilation syndrome (AMS) and progressive retinal atrophy (prcd-PRA)
  • Cocker Spaniel, Best Practice: DNA tests for adult-onset neuropathy (AON) and familial nephropathy (FN)
  • Cocker Spaniel, Best Practice: eye testing (and gonioscopy for PLA) under the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme; BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme
  • Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Good Practice: DNA tests for curly coat/dry eye (CC/DE) and episodic falling (EF)
  • Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Good Practice: heart screening for mitral valve disease (MVD) under the KC heart scheme for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
  • Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Best Practice: BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme
  • Breed Watch: Cocker Spaniel Category 1; Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Category 2. The Cockalier, as a crossbreed, has no Breed Watch category.

Choosing a Cockalier breeder

A good Cockalier breeder is open about both parents and can prove their health status rather than simply describe it. The RKC advises anyone buying a crossbreed puppy to see the mother with her litter and to ask what breed-related health tests both parents have had, so expect to see certificates. Ideally both parents are registered with the RKC, which lets you check their DNA results, eye certificates, hip score and heart grade on the Health Test Results Finder.

For this cross the Cavalier parent's heart grade matters a great deal. A careful breeder will know when the dog was last assessed, what grade it received and whether it has been MRI scanned for syringomyelia, and will be honest that size and coat vary between puppies. Puppies must be microchipped and registered on a database by eight weeks old. In England, anyone who breeds three or more litters in 12 months and sells any of the puppies, or runs a business breeding and advertising dogs, needs a council licence and must show the licence number in adverts.

  • What is the Cavalier parent's current heart scheme grade, and at what age was it given?
  • Has the Cavalier parent been MRI scanned for syringomyelia?
  • Can I see the DNA results for the Cocker parent (AMS, prcd-PRA, AON, FN) and the Cavalier parent (CC/DE, EF)?
  • When were both parents last eye tested, and what is the Cocker parent's hip score?
  • Can I meet the mother with her puppies, and do you hold a council breeding licence?

Cockalier questions

Is the Cockalier a Royal Kennel Club breed?

No. The Cockalier is a cross between the Cocker Spaniel and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, so it has no RKC breed standard and cannot be registered on the RKC Breed Register. It can be registered on the RKC Activity Register, which is open to crossbreeds and covers activities such as agility, flyball, heelwork to music, obedience, rally and working trials.

How big does a Cockalier get?

There is no standard size. The RKC breed standard gives the Cocker Spaniel a height of roughly 38u201341 cm and a weight of about 13u201314.5 kg, and the Cavalier a weight of 5.4u20138.2 kg. The RKC lists both as small breeds, and a Cockalier is likely to fall somewhere between the two, but puppies in the same litter can differ, so ask to see both parents.

Why does the Cavalier parent's heart test matter?

The RKC notes that mitral valve disease, a leaking heart valve, tends to start earlier in Cavaliers than in other breeds. Its heart scheme for Cavaliers uses approved cardiologists to grade both a murmur and the degree of valve prolapse, and gives breeding advice on a traffic-light basis. The RKC is clear that the scheme reduces risk but cannot guarantee a puppy will be free of the disease.

Does a Cockalier shed and need much grooming?

Yes. The RKC lists both the Cocker Spaniel and the Cavalier as breeds that shed, and both have silky, feathered coats. It recommends daily grooming for the Cocker and grooming more than once a week for the Cavalier, so plan on brushing a Cockalier several times a week.

More for Cockalier owners and breeders

Official sources