Reputable breeders of poodle crosses are vanishingly rare. If you're absolutely set on one you'll likely have to be prepared to travel for the right breeder, wait (potentially a long time) for the right litter or both.
Remember, less than ideal breeders aren't just those who are churning out puppies to make as much money as possible. Lots of pet owners decide to have a litter from their pet bitch without thoroughly researching what they're doing and the outcome can be just as disastrous for the puppies and the people who buy them. Also steer clear of "accidental" litters as often they're anything but and it gives the breeder a handy excuse for no health testing or anything being in place.
Normally when someone is looking for a breeder I would recommend the breed club however the Cockapoo Club has numerous puppy farms on its list of approved breeders so I wouldn't recommend them for advice at all.
Cockers and toy/miniature poodles can be affected by some of the same health conditions so fairly extensive health testing is necessary. Unfortunately a lot of breeders only do minimal testing (the DNA test for PRA being popular as it's relatively cheap, people have often heard of it and sounds good that they've done it), if that.
As an absolute minimum both parents should have a current BVA eye test (these are repeated annually) and the cocker parent should have a current BVA gonioscopy (repeated every three years). Both should have been DNA tested (with at least one testing clear) for, or be hereditarily clear (with evidence in the form of paperwork for their parents) of, prcd-PRA, Degenerative Myelopathy and Macrothrombocytopenia. The poodle parent should also have been DNA tested for vWD Type I. Although this condition isn't present in the cocker spaniel it's possible (though rare) for a carrier to become symptomatic to a degree so any remotely reputable breeder would want to know the genetic status of the poodle prior to breeding.
Ideally they should be doing all health tests for the individual breeds, not just those where there's a risk of producing affected puppies. A good breeder will want to know whether or not the puppies they are producing could be carriers. For the poodle parent these extra tests would be Osteochondrodysplasia and Mucopolysaccaridosis. For the cocker parent, Familial Nephropathy, Phosphofructokinase Deficiency, Acral Mutilation Syndome and Adult Onset Neuropathy. These test become vital if the breeder is breeding first crosses back to either parent breed.
Look for a breeder who is very well versed in health issues and understands how conformation can affect soundness. They should have a very clear idea of what they're trying to breed and be able (and happy) to talk you through their breeding choices, why they feel that bitch and stud dog compliment each other so well, etc. They should know about the various health issues present in the breeds involved which are believed to be hereditary but can't currently be tested for. Again there are a number of conditions which can affect both breeds (including oral melanomas, chronic ear inflammation and epilepsy to name just a few) which are thought to have at least some hereditary component and so the breeder should have thoroughly researched the lines of the dogs they're using to see if there's any sign of these conditions being present.
When you're looking into cross breeds I'd always recommend looking up the bitch if they're KC registered to check if they've had any pedigree litters and, if so, how many. The KC has restrictions on how many litters it will register from a single bitch so it's not unusual for an unscrupulous breeder to switch to cross breeding once a bitch has had the maximum number of registrable litters or alternate between the two as the KC also won't register a litter if the bitch was bred on her first season after a previous litter.
All the dogs should be living in the family home full time, the bitches shouldn't just be moved in from outbuildings when they have a litter. Be wary if they have multiple litters on the ground at once, raising a litter properly is a lot of work and the more litters there are, the less time can be spent with each one. These are the sorts of lengths a decent breeder will go to in order to ensure their puppies are getting the best possible start in life. You can see how difficult it would be to do all this with multiple litters.
Breeding regularly throughout the year is a red flag. A decent breeder will produce a litter than want to see how they grow and develop before breeding again so they can see how successful their choices have been.
Unless you're looking in an area where the council requires all breeders, however small scale, to be licensed then avoid anywhere with a license from the local council like the plague. The vast majority of councils only require it when someone is producing five or more litters a year. Nobody reputable would be breeding at such volumes.
This is an excellent list of questions to ask potential breeders. They should be more than happy to answer all these questions (plus any more you might have) and they should also have answers to them all. If they're cagey or not keen on being questioned then walk away. This article is aimed at breeders but it will give you an idea of what sort of questions the breeder should be asking you. It's a huge red flag if they're not giving you a really thorough grilling or if they're not interested in meeting your whole family. It's also the norm for decent breeders to want at least some input into which puppy goes to which buyers. This can mean the breeder assigning the puppies themselves, them discussing with buyers and mutually coming to a decision about which puppy would be the most suitable or them giving their buyers a shortlist which they can then pick from.
If you have children then don't take them on the first visit to see the litter, if you need to walk away for any reason it's much harder to do so if your kids have met and fallen in love with a puppy. Ideally you want to find a breeder and get to know them prior to getting a puppy from them rather than finding a litter already on the ground and ready to go imminently. A decent breeder who you can build a relationship with and who wants to keep in touch and offer support throughout the lives of the puppies they breed is worth their weight in gold.
