What Does a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Cost?

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels cost about the same as most small breeds. The average price is around $1,500 for a high-quality puppy from a recognized breeder. However, you can find them ranging from $1,000 to $2,500.

Of course, where you purchase them from matters. Puppies from animal shelters will be much cheaper, but they can also be more difficult to find. These dogs aren’t extremely common, so finding them at a rescue is very rare.

On top of the price tag for the dog, you also have to consider how much they cost to upkeep each year. For the first year, you can expect to pay around $3,000. However, the price will go down after that, to about $1,000 a year. This is largely due to the increased vet cost and supply cost in the first year.

In this article, we’ll take a look at budgeting for these adorable dogs. It is important to ensure that you can properly budget for a pet’s care before you decide to adopt them. We’ll help you crunch the numbers below.

How much is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel?

When it comes to the price of a puppy, where you adopt these dogs matters. If you purchase them from a breeder, they are going to be quite expensive. This higher price is largely because breeders put more time and money into their dogs, which gets tacked onto a puppy’s price tag.

Of course, there are cheaper places to purchase a puppy. However, most of these places are cheaper for a reason.

Getting a puppy from Craigslist

Sometimes, puppies on Craigslist and similar marketplaces are the least expensive. You can find puppies through these means for only a few hundred dollars in some cases. In others, you might not actually save that much at all.

With that said, these puppies are cheap for a reason. They typically receive less care before they are adopted, which can lead to all sorts of problems. Most of them do not receive the proper health care and vaccinations when they are puppies, which will increase your vet costs after adoption. You may save some upfront, but you’ll likely end up paying more after you bring your puppy home.

Many of these puppies are also not socialized properly. This depends largely on who raised them, of course. But if the puppy is cheap, it is likely that the person selling the puppy did not put much time into their care. Without proper socialization, the puppy may be more prone to behavioral problems.

Many puppy mills also advertise their puppies on Craigslist. These businesses try to produce as many puppies as possible as cheaply as possible. For this reason, they often take many shortcuts in their dogs’ care. In many places, puppy mills are illegal. However, they still sell puppies until they are caught.

Getting a puppy from a rescue

There are always plenty of dogs at rescues and animal shelters. Many dogs need a home, after all. However, these dogs usually are not Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. While this breed is not necessarily rare, they usually aren’t common enough to end up at the average animal shelter.

You may have some luck with breed-specific rescues. However, these dogs are typically adults – not puppies. On the other hand, a puppy might be advertised as a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, but in fact be a mix – such as the Cavachon.

If you do find a puppy at a rescue, you can expect to pay about $100 to $300. This helps the shelter cover the vet care that the dog needed while staying with them. Puppies tend to need more vet care, like vaccinations, so they usually cost more than adult dogs.

Getting a puppy from a breeder

Purchasing a puppy through a breeder is often the most expensive option. However, you really get quite a bit extra when you go through a breeder.

Breeders often perform health testing on any dog they plan on breeding. This helps them only choose the healthiest dogs for producing litters, which means that their puppies are usually quite healthy. This testing prevents certain health problems from being passed down to the puppies, though it isn’t a fool-proof method in most cases.

Most puppies from breeders receive basic health care before they are adopted out. They often receive their first vaccinations and see a vet at least once. This extra care will lower your vet bills for your pet’s first year. You simply won’t have to pay for all your dog’s vaccinations, as they would have already received some of them.

Often, breeders socialize their puppies very well. Some may even come with basic training. This makes it far easier for these dogs to adapt to their new home. It may also prevent behavioral problems later on and reduce the amount you’ll need to spend on training.

Costs of health test

Like all breeds, these dogs are prone to a few health problems. Some of these can be checked for using specific health tests. Many of these tests are recommended before breeding any dog, as they can pick up on genetic problems that may be passed onto the puppies.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel club recommends several health tests to identify the healthiest dogs for breeds. These tests can be expensive, which is one reason that puppies from breeders are so expensive. The health testing gets roped into the price of the puppy.

A heart clearance test is recommended. This must be performed by a board-certified veterinary cardiologist. This test can range a lot in price. Sometimes, it can be as inexpensive as $50. Other times, it may be $300.

The dog’s eyes should be tested as well. Usually, this testing can cost around $200, as it must be done by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist.

The dog’s kneecaps and hips need to be tested as well. The hips require an x-ray to check for alignment, which can cost anywhere from $200 to $500. The kneecaps can be examined by a regular veterinarian and typically costs as little as $25.

Annual costs of owning a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

You can expect to spend about $3,000 during your dog’s first year, followed by about $1,000 every year after that. These costs mostly come from the dog’s medical expenses.

Vet Expenses

For the first year, you should expect to pay about $600 in vet bills. This is because puppies require more preventative vet care than adults. They need all their puppy vaccinations, for instance, as well as more visits to the vet. They are a bit smaller, so flea and tick medication may be a bit cheaper. However, these savings are not very significant.

For each following year, you can expect to pay about $450. This will include all the preventative vet care your dog needs, including booster vaccinations and parasite prevention.

Food costs

These dogs are small, so you won’t be spending that much to feed them. Growing Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppies will cost about $130 a year, while adults will cost about $180. The price difference is due to the size difference as the puppy grows. The bigger they are, the more they will eat, which will increase your costs.

This assumes you’re purchasing high-quality dog food. As you’d guess, cheaper dog foods will cost less.

Training costs

These dogs often don’t require professional training. They are pretty easy for experienced dog owners to train, assuming that you spend enough time socializing them.

New dog owners may want to take them to training classes. In this case, you can expect to pay about $100 to $300 for a series of group training classes. Private classes are absolutely unnecessary for this breed.

Factors influencing the price

The main factor influencing a puppy’s price is its pedigree. If a dog has champions in its bloodline, you can expect to pay more.

The amount of health care a puppy also receives matters. If they have already received their first vaccinations, you’ll likely pay more. However, you’ll have to spend less on vet bills. This may lead to savings in the long run.

Price considerations

You should ensure that you can budget appropriately for this breed before deciding to adopt one. These dogs do live for quite a long time, so you should plan on paying these yearly costs for a while. You also have to consider that their health will often decrease as they get older, so you may end up paying more in vet bills in their senior years.

These dogs are quite expensive, so we know most of your focus will be on their price tag. However, don’t forget about all the things you’ll need to purchase for your pooch.

The bottom line

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels can be a bit expensive, but they are often similar in cost to other purebred dogs. Most breeders sell them for between $1,000 to $2,500. The amount of care a puppy receives will factor heavily into this price.

You should also plan for all the costs that pop up after you adopt a dog. A puppy will often need $3,000 in care during their first year, considering all the one-time supplies you’ll need to purchase and the higher vet bills. After that, an adult dog usually costs about $1,000 a year.

This includes all the foreseeable expenses. You’ll also need to consider how to pay for emergency care, which can often cost thousands. An emergency fund is highly recommended for this.

Author: Kristin

Kristin was born in Tennessee and currently lives there with her husband and children. She is passionate about educating pet parents and helping them make the best possible decisions for their pets. She currently owns one dog, two cats, a lizard, and a variety of fish.