Cockerpoo Puppy arriving in 10 days - help

[ShallallalAa]

Posting for traffic and advice thanking you all ever so much - we put our names down for a cockapoo puppy from a registered breeder months ago and the puppy will be ready for collection in 2 weeks. We are confident the breeder is reputable and have had personal recommendations for them which we trust. I work from home 80 percent of the time now so confident we can look after the puppy properly long term.
I have never owned a dog before but DP has always had dogs and I am feeling very out of my depth, especially with the arrival during lockdown.
We have visited the breeder and met the parents before the lockdown but we have not met the puppy before lockdown. We have been sent regular videos and all looks lovely and I trust that that the puppy is well and healthy.
DP will pick up puppy by physically distancing from the breeder at handover, taking all the precautions and the breeder is about 5 miles away - I think this would be classed as essential travel wouldnt it?
We are going to pick up essentials from Pets At Home in the next couple of days - crate, toys, bed, pads, food. Anything else? The puppy is on a raw meat diet I understand should we continue this?

What are your top puppy /cockerpoo puppy tips?

What will we do about puppy socialisation?

The puppy arrives microchipped (breeder does it) with first vaccines but we do the next ones - need to find a vet we like I am guessing?

I don't like the sound of crating though - is rhis really the only way?

Our house is quite small - where should the puppy have its own space ideally?

Should I get a shark pet hoover to deal with the hairs?

Thank you!!

bored*

@LochJessMonster you are generalising hugely.

I’ve met a LOT of cockerpoos. The vast majority are charming dogs but a fair proportion have had problems stemming from irresponsible breeding. I’ve met some very timid, nervy ones and often a little gentle digging gets responses like “Oh yes the mum was a bit nervous...”

Also it has to be remembered that they are a cross between two worky breeds. I’ve met a lot who are just FAR more high energy and highly strung than their owners were prepared for.

Aw Millerjane I love your cheesy post!

Well 6 months in the garden doesn't sound bad when we are all off work anyway and I was planning on buying a comfy chair.

I've called the vets this morning and booked him in for a puppy check and 10 week vaccination perhaps I could do the puppy check sooner to check for any obvious and immediate problems?

What to do about payment... Is it fair to withhold it till that check has been done?

why are you saying that a cockapoo isn’t a breed? By actual definition it is a breed of dog - it's not though. There is no conformity or breed standard, because it isn't a breed.

If we pull out due to concerns I am worried what will happen to him though - I really wouldn't worry about this. As you have now realised, lots of people want these crossbreeds, and are happy to buy them from any background. So the breeder is not going to have any trouble at all selling this one. You need to do what is best for your situation. If you are having any second thoughts then it would be best not to proceed.

I would struggle with a very highly strung dog I will admit. Both parents were laid back and biddable when I met them. Dad is a handsome toy poodle and mum a working cocker spaniel

Honestly OP, I would rethink this, do loads more research on looking after a puppy, including all the basic questions you’re asking here, and perhaps move forward with it if and when the country gets back to normal.

I'm so torn - on the one hand yes you're right I am thinking of these things soon before the puppy arrives but I do know I want to love and care for a dog and would like to add it to the family... In some ways I'm not ready but would I ever be? This seems as good a time as any 🤷‍♀️

I would struggle with a very highly strung dog I will admit. Both parents were laid back and biddable when I met them. Dad is a handsome toy poodle and mum a working cocker spaniel

The best and only way to know if you are getting a highly strung dog is to look at the parents. Which you have done.

When are the puppies getting a vet check with the breeder? When they have their 1st vaccination I would assume, ask to see the report from that.
Then get him/her checked again at your own vets when they do the 2nd vaccs.

Don’t think you can withhold payment though.

No one is truly ready for a puppy! But being at home is ideal timing really as you need to constantly supervise.

I assume you were planning on getting the puppy before the lockdown came into effect? So this isn’t just a boredom buster spur of the moment idea.

First vaccination 23 April so I am guessing first vet check then

No not at all - we put our name down ages ago!

You might not get an overly energetic dog- mine is a lazy little bugger and I know quite a few similar ones. Mine doesn’t do rain unless I’m taking him in the car to meet our walking group. He has a quick 10 minute walk round the block first thing in the morning and then runs into the playroom to hide (in case I try to drag him out again) and nap. He has an afternoon off lead walk of somewhere between 30-90 minutes. Unless it’s raining in which case he is dragged out for the five minutes to do his business. At 7:00 he races out for less than a minute to pee before racing back home to get a chew.

He was obviously more active as a puppy but he’s been like this since about 15 months. The hardest part was the first week or so where he peed every ten minutes like clockwork! Then every 15,20,30 etc so he was hard work housetraining, but other types of training have very easy with him possibly because he is so food motivated.

You can generalise about types of dogs, but really, you have no idea what you will end up with. Our local group (poodle crosses) has almost 400 owners and I’ve probably met about half. Of the Cockapoos, we have energetic ones, bold ones, shy ones, lazy ones (like mine!), standoffish ones, exuberant ones...

I agree with PP, everyone that gets a puppy, has times when they think what the hell have I done, it is really hard work until they are through the adolescent stage. But it does get better & easier, they quickly become part of the family. Good luck OP.

Tell your breeder you are going straight for a vet check . You will get a contract anyway that says you can return the puppy for full payment back at any time.
Vets, in my experience, may not have the same opinion of KC and their breeders, or the advice they give.

I don't think there's anything wrong with getting a puppy during lockdown but i would be concerned as to whether the parents had been health tested for all tests that should be done for their respective breeds. If you're not paying much for the puppy then id take my chances. But if you're paying hundreds, id want to be sure that the puppy's parents had been adequately screened so i had some confidence that i was getting a healthy puppy that was more likely to grow into a healthy dog than one that hasn't been screened. Have you paid a deposit op?

OP, we have two cockapoos are they are AMAZING ! Honestly, getting them was one of the best things we have ever done. It took some time to get over the shock of the work involved but they have grown into the most loving, intelligent, fun, easy going creatures. They are two years old now and I would say when they got to around 5 months old, this is when they became much easier to handle and started to 'get it' with regards to listening and behaving, so you will have a few weeks of hard work ahead of you but the summer months are ahead of us. A very good time of year to get a puppy.

Don't listen to the 'experts' listen to people who actually own and know about this lovely 'breed' (yes, I know cockapoos aren't actual breeds Zzz)

@vetsoncall by definition of the English language a cockerpoo is a breed

No. By definition of language it is not a breed because the definition of a breed is that it breeds true - i.e. is phenotypically homogenous (of consistent and predictable appearance) - which as per my previous post is precisely what crossbreeds do not do and are not. The 'Cockapoo Club' states it themselves so it's not shameful secret, just a fact.

I'm not arguing the toss as to whether this means that crossbreeds are 'bad', it's just stating a fact to correct the assertion that Cocker/Poodle crosses - or Pug/Beagle crosses, Labrador/Poodle crosses, Shih Tzu/Bulldog crosses or any other cross you can think of - are a breed of dog when they are not.

OP, are you aware of the differences in show and working type Cockers? Working Cockers are much more active and driven and generally more highly strung than shoe types (I breed and compete working Cockers myself). This combined with the lack of health testing really does urge caution with this breeder. You are potentially going to have this dog for 12-15 years, it really is worth doing it right and getting the right dog.

Also with all the uncertainty since March I didn't want to pin my hopes on actually getting it

*show types not shoe types, although they'll probably all chew them given the chance

How many times has the mum been bred?

Thanks vet - I hadn't considered these points at all.

I don't actually know I'm afraid to say... I can ask

All other issues aside, if the parents haven't been appropriately health tested (see the post by VetOnCall at 14:07) then I would absolutely be walking away. If you're absolutely set on a cockapoo then there are breeders about who do all the relevant tests, there's absolutely no reason to take more of a gamble on health than you need to.

My eldest dog has had various inherited eye problems over the years including cataracts as a youngster and culminating with the loss of both eyes to glaucoma over the last two years. She's still a happy and functional dog despite being blind but it's been shit for her, plus incredibly stressful (not to mention expensive) for me. It's really not worth taking more of a risk when it comes to health than you absolutely have to.

Gosh I am so sorry to hear that - poor your dog and poor you

Upthread, OP said that the stud had been tested for PRA. PRA is carried by both poodles and cockers, but it is recessive, so the dam does not need to be tested to ensure that the puppies won't develop it. It would be wise to check what other health tests are recommended for both breeds, but bear in mind that if a recessive illness is only an issue in one breed, the puppies might carry it but won't be affected by it.

Also, I would not expect working dog levels of drive from the vast majority of poodles (you do get the odd one used as a gundog, but they are unusual), and not from show cockers either (working cockers are a whole other ballgame, great dogs but basically amped little hunting machines).