King Wheaten

The King Wheaten is a crossbred hybrid at the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier.  The hybrid is not as well known as other purposefully crossbred mixes, and detailed accounts of the purposeful breeding of the two parents are not documented.  There are no set standards for the King Wheaten and dogs may vary.  Currently, only the Dog Registry of America and the International Designer Canine Registry recognize the hybrid, which also goes by the name Cavalier Wheaten.  Owners can review the respective histories of the parent breeds for additional insights. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a toy Spaniel with a royal history.  By the 16th Century, Spaniels were divided into two groups, the toy companions, and the field dogs.  Royal families favored the toy Spaniel in both England and France.  King Charles I and Charles the II were extremely fond of the companion dog, which draws its name from those royal relationships.  However, the breed's popularity fell after the death of Charles II and favored the flat-faced Pug.  Crossbreeding with Pugs resulted in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel taking a different form to include a round head and short muzzle.  It was not until the 20th Century that breeders began restoring the former look of this breed and thankfully, some English breeders had maintained the original dogs.  The American Kennel Club accepted the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as a breed in 1992.  This breed's late entry into the club is not accounted for by a lack of popularity but a desire to maintain the highest standard of breeding and fear that demand might adversely affect those high standards. The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier is, as its name implies, of the Terrier family and first developed in Ireland.Originally bred as working dogs, their tails were docked to indicate the breed was tax-exempt.  As farm dogs, the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier was an excellent vermin hunter, and its size made it possible for the breed to assist in guarding the property against human or animal intruders.  The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier first arrived in the United States in Boston in 1946 and the American Kennel Club recognized the breed three decades later in 1973.