Two court dogs, one cross
The Cavatzu brings together a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Shih Tzu, which is to say two of the oldest companion lines in dogs and very little else. Neither parent breed has ever been asked to earn a living, and it shows in the friendliest possible way.
The Cavalier descends from the small spaniels that appear all over European portraiture, sitting at the feet of whoever was being painted. They were the toy spaniels of the Stuart court, and Charles II was fond enough of his that the association stuck to the name. By the early twentieth century the type had drifted towards a shorter face, and in the 1920s an American named Roswell Eldridge put up prize money at Crufts for spaniels of the older, longer-nosed sort. Breeders went looking, the old type came back, and the word “Cavalier” was added to distinguish the result. The American Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1995.
The Shih Tzu arrived from the other end of the trade routes. Its ancestors were Tibetan, given as gifts to the Chinese imperial court, and the palace dogs were developed there over generations as indoor companions — the name translates as lion dog. The Dowager Empress Cixi kept a famous kennel of them in the late nineteenth century. The breed reached England in the 1930s and the United States after the Second World War, and the AKC recognized it in 1969.
Put two companion breeds together and you get a companion dog. There is no working instinct in the mix that needs redirecting, no herding leftovers, no job to invent. The whole design brief is sitting with people.
What a Cavatzu looks like
There is no standard for a Cavatzu, which means the honest answer to most appearance questions is that it depends on the puppy — and that littermates will differ from one another as much as they differ from the next litter.
Size is the predictable part, because both parents are small. Cavaliers usually weigh thirteen to eighteen pounds and stand twelve to thirteen inches at the shoulder; Shih Tzu weigh nine to sixteen pounds and stand nine to ten and a half. Most Cavatzus settle between about ten and eighteen pounds and nine to twelve inches — sturdier through the body than a true toy breed and still light enough to pick up with one arm. Ask what the individual puppy’s parents weighed and you will get closer than any range can take you.
The head is where the two sides show most clearly. The Cavalier brings a longer muzzle, a gently domed skull and long feathered ears that frame the whole face. The Shih Tzu brings a shorter, broader muzzle, a rounder skull and the hair that grows up into a topknot. Both parents contribute large, round, very dark eyes, and every Cavatzu inherits those.
The coat is long on both sides and the texture varies. The Cavalier’s is silky and lightly waved, with feathering on the ears, legs, chest and tail; the Shih Tzu’s is longer, denser and flows straight down. Colour is wide open — the Cavalier brings Blenheim chestnut and white, tricolour, black and tan and solid ruby, and the Shih Tzu brings essentially everything else, gold and white being the most common. Parti-coloured puppies are the rule rather than the exception.
The manner: bred for company
Cavatzus are relaxed dogs. They enjoy a walk, they enjoy a game, and then they enjoy several hours of doing nothing at all in close contact with a person. If what you want is a dog that will lie beside you while you work, this cross is squarely aimed at that.
That easy nature makes them adaptable. Apartments and houses both work, and so does a wide range of households, as long as the dog is part of daily life rather than parked in another room. They are welcoming to visitors, straightforward with other pets, and good with children who have been shown how to greet a small dog — sitting on the floor and letting the dog come over works far better than reaching down.
They are affectionate in a physical way. A Cavatzu will find the warmest available person, arrange itself along a thigh and sigh. Teach settling on a mat and being alone in small doses from the first week, with a chew to work on and no ceremony on the way out or the way back in, and the pattern establishes itself easily.
Grooming a long coat
Both parent breeds carry long coats, so a Cavatzu has a grooming routine attached and it is worth starting it in the first week rather than the first month.
Comb every day or every other day. A pin brush opens the coat and a metal comb follows it through in sections, right down to the skin, because a comb finds what a brush passes over. Behind the ears, under the front legs, through the feathering and around the rear are the places to start. Ten minutes with the dog lying on its side, most evenings, and the job is finished before either of you is bored of it.
Professional grooming every four to six weeks completes it. A shorter clip is a completely reasonable choice and a popular one through a Florida summer: quick to maintain, and it takes nothing away from the dog. Keep the hair around the eyes trimmed or tied up in a topknot so it is not sitting against them, wipe the face and the ears as part of the same session, and dry them properly afterwards. Nails a little and often, and start on the teeth early enough that the puppy decides the toothbrush is a game.
Training, and the first weeks at home
Neither parent is a driven worker, so the way to teach a Cavatzu is with short, well-paid sessions rather than repetition. Ask for one thing, mark it the moment it happens, pay it properly, and stop while the dog still wants another go. Both breeds are sociable and want to get it right, which does a lot of the work for you.
Housetraining a small dog runs on a schedule: frequent trips outside, the same door every time, generous praise for getting it right, and a routine that stays the same from one day to the next.
Socialization across the first year is the investment that shapes the adult — new people, new floors, car rides, umbrellas, hats, bicycles, calm adult dogs going about their business. And because a small dog gets a great deal out of a small biscuit, most owners measure meals and count training treats against the day’s total, which keeps the rewards worth having.
What a day together looks like
A gentle walk in the morning, a game indoors and something small to think about covers the physical side for most adult Cavatzus. Neither parent breed has stamina to burn, and what matters more than distance is company: this is a cross that would far rather potter about beside you all afternoon than be exercised and then left to it.
In a Florida or Tennessee summer, the early and late hours are the pleasant ones for both of you, with shade, water and a cool tile floor in between. The middle of the day is for lying down somewhere cool, and a Cavatzu will find the right tile without being shown where it is.
Evenings are the main event. A Cavatzu wants to be underfoot while dinner is being made and on the sofa afterwards, ideally with its chin on somebody. A five-minute training game, a food puzzle or a handful of kibble scattered in the grass rounds the day off nicely.
Come and meet the Cavatzu puppies
Coat, head shape and size all vary between puppies in this cross, which is a good reason to come and see them rather than choose from a screen. What people notice first is the eyes, and then how quickly a Cavatzu puppy decides you are its person and climbs into the nearest available lap.
Our Cavatzu puppies come from our network of licensed breeders, and our team can tell you how a particular puppy has been getting on. We have a store in Orlando and one in Nashville, and you are welcome to sit on the floor with a puppy for as long as you like before deciding anything. Find directions and hours, and ask about financing while you are here. Every puppy here goes home with its vet records, its vaccination history and a health warranty, and our team will walk you through what those cover.