A sproodle and would this work?

[Inaflap]

Yesterday, while out biking, I met the lovliest pup I have seen. It was a cross between a springer and a poodle. Am now very dog broody! My father died in march and my mother is a bit lonely and has been talking about getting a smallish (knee high) type dog as she is rattling around in a big house. We have been thinking of a dog but i have discounted it due to work hours. So, now DS2 is 12 do you reckon this would work? In morning, Ds and dh run dog round very large garden and dh (or me) takes for swift bike/walk round roads and lanes (depending on wet). Ds 2 the leaves for school with dog, detouring slightly to drop dog off at granny (about 1.4km distance from home). Granny looks adter dog and hopefully trots it up and down local road thus giving both some gentle exercise. Ds2 the picks up dog on way home from school. Dog the is walked by me when i get home at 5.00 and the another evening perambulation after supper. This way i and dh might get fitter and ds2 might keep off the xbox.

Husband and i have had dogs as children and my dog, Tizzy, was my mother's main companion for many years. tizzy was a beardie but I cannot look after that coat and the spook too easily so that is out. I like the idea of the poodle crosses due to lack of shedding but don't want to jump on some hybrid scheme. There is a sringer cross pup at a local rescue centre and I like the idea of giving a home to an animal rather than adding to the dogs in the world.

There are a couple of ads for sproodles on preloved but are these likely to be fronts for something dodgy? Having had the most expensive rabbit in history due to a congenital tooth problem, i do not want to be embroiled in trips to the vets for something we could have avoided.

Thoughts oh mumsnet wise ones please

Sounds like quite a well thought out plan but would your Dm not want the dog for company in the evenings ? that's when she is likely to be loneliest. Why don't you get two rescue dogs and just drop your one off in the morning , best of both worlds and you help two lovely dogs!

I am no expert but,

Do not touch Preloved/gumtree/facebook for dogs. They will not be good breeders.

The thing that jumped out at me a bit was 'dh (or me) takes for swift bike/walk round roads and lanes (depending on wet)' - an active dog like that would need thorough exercise, off lead, every day regardless of wet, mud, ice, planned days out. A walk down the road on a lead probably won't cut the mustard and you can end up with a destructive/bored/unhappy hound.

A rescue probably is the best place to start, you could go on a waiting list for pups if that's what you strongly preferred, they do get pups as well as older dogs.

I know all the arguments for rescue dogs, etc, but we decided to find a breeder who bred cavapoos. After lots of research I found that this was the breed (or non-breed as some would say) that fitted our needs. The breeder has a web page and was a qualified cavalier breeder before she started with the cavapoos.

We had to go on a waiting list and wait for best part of a year for pups, so decision wasn't made rashly. It gave us time to prepare the garden and house for pup and my daughter read up about what her care would entail. I wouldn't go through gumtree, preloved, etc. You are asking for trouble...

Our dog is low allergen (though I still have asthma and runny nose induced by pet allergies so don't believe the hype), non-shedding and has the temperament we were looking for. She will, on a quiet day, have a handful of short walks rather than a massive one and a few little ones. She is proper lap dog, but has intense bursts of energy which are released with play in the house or garden. She loves water, though, and is constantly coming home dark brown with mud (as opposed to her honey colour on a sunny day). Luckily, she likes a shower, so it's not so mad.

Meg is adorable and meets our needs to a tee. My daughter, who was really anti-dog when she was little, adores her and, at a year old, she's just starting to settle down. Mostly!

Look at your needs, decide on your breed and go from there. If you can find the breed you want at rescue, that's the way to go, but if you don't, find a reputable breeder. Good luck!

Honestly, if it's a crossbreed you're after, get a rescue dog. It'll be just as much as an unknown quantity as a purpose bred crossbreed in terms of looks, health and temperament so you may as well give an unwanted dog a home. Plus, if ou go for an adult you can cut down on some of the unknown quantities about it and a good rescue will help to match you to a dog that will suit your lifestyle.

Your plan sounds workable although you might want to consider something a little less high energy than a springer/springer cross...they don't really do gentle pootles around the block and would need considerably more than a run round the garden or a lead walk in the morning.

Thank you. The wet thing was just first thing in morning before work realistically cannot demud the dog. Weekend and after work then can de mud. I am also at home during school hols. I will talk to my mother and see what she thinks.

Try Scruples Whippet rescue.

Whippets are low shed, low allergy, most do not like mud or weather and they're very laid back, low exercise dogs too.

The only thing hat stands out as a negative is your attitude to mud. Honestly if a clean house is very important to you a dog is not for you.

My house is wipe clean. We specifically decorated and furnished it for dogs. There's still a never ending supply of paw prints and twiggy shit all over the place. One of mine is a mud magnet, the other is a very clean whippet, but she still leaves the occasional paw print on the sofa or chews a loo roll to pieces and kindly leaves the pieces for me to clean up.

If hour long walks though country in all weathers is not your thing I'd steer clear of any kind of terrier or spaniel type dog. I don't know much about poodles but they're a utility breed aren't they? They'd need a lot of exercise regardless of weather too. Whippets really don't like weather.

Why a spoodle and not a poodle? I have a miniture about 15" to the shoulder he is the best dog we've ever owned and we had selection of breeds. He is everything you want; they are intelligent and very adaptable although a good one is not cheap. Look on the Miniture Poodle Club UK website sorry I dont know how to link it in! He does have to be combed daily about 5 mins and go to the groomer every 6 weeks (£35). As far as I understand there is no guarantee that a poodle cross will not moult, there is a rescue labradoodle website that dispels many myths about poodle crosses Im sure much of it applies to spoodles. Poodles are very active little dogs mine is currently rolling over and over and over in the garden with a piece of grass in his mouth!!!! He has already been walked this morning and came back looking exhausted for about an hour, springers are also very active so I susoect you could get a hyperactive dog. Poodles also moult very slightly (1 hair a week and the time your save hoovering you can spend combing much more fun!).
More importantly poodles have an eye condition which is untreatable and causes blindness by 4yrs old and have to be genetically screened the test costs a lot of money I was told £2000. Most on facebook/gumtree/preloved have not done this. It is recessive so you don't know if they are carrying it so you have to extra careful with poodle crosses especially 2nd generation crosses. Reputable poodle breeders screen their dogs (the parents) and will happily show you the results of the screening and what this means for you individual dog.

Genetic screening for PRA in poodles, spaniels etc is about £100 give or take a few quid. Whoever said it was £2K was talking utter bollocks.

You are probably right Harlott I spent a long time researching the breed before aquiring one and probably misunderstood/forgot the cost of the test I believe in the very beginning it was only offered in the US. But my point that all poodles used for breeding should be tested for it remains valid regardless of the cost as does my point that many poodles and poodle crosses advertised on preloved/gumtree etc have not been screened for what is a heart breaking and untreatable condition. If it is as cheap as you say then there is even less of an excuse for not doing it.

Me a clean house! That's a laugh. I wish. Any way autistic DS1 got very anxious at the thought of a dog. So i guess that is that which is a shame because we were getting rather excited about it all.

OP they also have a rather comic appearance which children seem to find less threatening a sort of cross between a sheep and a teddy bear (my dog hating cat has decided its a sheep so it must be therefore be bearable OK)

I have 4 dogs bull mastiff, whippet ,terrier and cock apoo my house is clean and tidy no excuses for mud and mess if you are prepared . I also have a toddler. its just about commitment and hard work. .