Cockerpoo

[angelinwellies]

Hello,

Based on advice from friends family and here we are now wondering if a cockerpoo might be a good first dog and family pet to 2 kids of 7&5yrs.

All thoughts extremely gratefully received.

I have read the cockerpoo club website. It’s very helpful but I like first hand experiences to if anyone has any.

Does anyone know what a usual price might be? I’m used to buying pure bred cats (I’ve had both Persian and Maine Coon) so know animals can be pricey but what region am I looking at? Around £500? Or around £1k? If I found the right dog from the right breeder I’m happy to pay but being rather clueless as to this “market” I’m a little wary of being to open to being taken advantage of as I’m not very knowledgeable and am in a bit of grief from losing our precious Maine Coon recently. I’m trying to be careful. Hope this comes over properly.

Thanks to everyone in advance xxxx

Agree entirely kitchendancefloor and yes, signing out now as these threads are really bloody insulting to those of us who took time and trouble to find our dogs. You're really not helping anyone's cause, Catching, least of all that of the dogs you profess to love, when you assume that we are all ignorant fools and/or greedy puppy farmers. You just ensure that we''ll be wary of the Doghouse, which is a shame as there is so much great info on here.

If are looking for all the traits that are associated with poodle x I would highly recommend a Tibetan Terrier. They are intelligent, lively medium sized dogs. Their coat is definitely hypoallergenic so no worries about the asthma. (I know of quite a few poo x that are not hypoallergenic.)
They love family life and are great with children. You can actually get a dog from a reputable breeder for around £850.- which is cheaper than a designer mutt.
They are not a Terrier as the name suggests, but more of an utility dog. Their prey drive is very low (unlike poodle or spaniel), they have a sunny, friendly nature with a hint of mischief!
Ok they are neither popular not fashionable- most likely you have never seen one! But they are fantastic little characters. (Ok I am an addict I have 4.)

Hear, hear snailhunter. I have a F1 cockapoo and I am annoyed by the thread here which slate those of us who choose this crossbreed as ignorant, stupid, and naive people who blindly purchase a "designer dog" for vain and selfish purposes and promote backstreet, irresponsible breeding of these cross-breeds.

My husband and I grew up with and have had previous dogs -rescues and kennel-club full breeds, and researched our choices for 2 years prior to deciding on what kind of dog and from whom we would purchase said dog. We are not stupid, naive first-time owners who just wanted a cute "non-shedding" dog and found a breeder we were comfortable with who provided the necessary testing and papers.

Our dog is exactly what we were looking for based on our requirements, and we are extremely satisfied with our choice. She is lively but not hyper, loving but not clingy, and a great family member. Perhaps we lucked out, but she really is non shedding, easy to train, and a great family member. Certainly she requires more than normal grooming, but any poodle cross would expect this.

I think many orthodox dog people forget that many of todays breeds are a result of planned cross-breeding in the past, and that the accepted breed standards have not always existed.

Did anyone actually consider getting an actual Poodle from a reputable breeder?

This thread has more suckers than an Octopus.

Yes, we did, and did not want one. We are not suckers, and you are insulting to say so.

Well this is an eye-opener. I had no idea that there was so much animosity towards cross-breeds, their owners and breeders until this thread.

I could just call KC-registered dogs inbreeds, but that wouldn't be nice (and I certainly don't want to go round insulting any of our furry friends).

OP, I hope you have enough info to help you make the right decision for your family. I'm sure you'll be smitten by your pup, regardless of its heritage. And whatever you choose you'll end up thinking it was the best choice.

With the growing popularity of cross breeds it kind of feels like there is a KC equivalent missing. What I mean by that is then most people would go to there for information about health, recommended health/generic testing for breeders, list of assured breeders, info of temperament (of both breeds) etc and also registering so no sneakily cross breeding to avoid the max number of litters per bitch for pedigrees etc.

My NDN has a cockerpoo. She is a lovely natured and intelligent dog. There is a FB page called "The Cockapoo Owners Club UK". I have recently joined as we are looking to buy a cockerpoo but want to do some research first.

We have a 7 year old cockapoo . She is lovely but high maintainance , very needy and not good woth other dogs . Ours seems to have got grumpier with age. We chose her because my husband has severe asthma and she does not shed. Her furs gets very easily matted past a certain length but some cockapoos seem to have a silkier type coat which doesnt get so badly matted. I guess it depends whethee they are more poodle or cocker.

I absolutely get why people love cockerpoos. They're super cute, look like teddy bears you could stick under your arm and take anywhere. Noone will be scared of one. I've yet to see a headline about a cockerpoo savaging a child. They're a mix of two very trainable breeds and everyone seems to have one.

They are a puppy farmers dream. If you don't already know about this, please educate yourself even if it does not make easy reading

As a crossbreed they are only as healthy as the purebred parents, not more healthy. Healthy parents doesn't mean 'vet checked', it means proper ( expensive) genetic testing for which the breeder will supply paperwork.

Many poodle crosses are now ending up in rescue, often because they are not the cute fluffy bears people thought they would be, but need much more grooming and training than the new owners could deal with.

Bubble2bubble speaks sense. I think that cockerpoos are here to stay, but when a dog breed becomes fashionable, it can cause problems. Dog rescue centre galleries show that there are definite trends in the breeds looking for homes.

Did anyone actually consider getting an actual Poodle from a reputable breeder?

No. None of us like Poodles. We all love Cockapoos though. We have decided to look at Cockapoos from reputable breeders.

Is there a problem with our decision?

My sister has a cocker poo and TBH she’s a right little pain in the arse.

Ok maybe that’s unfair but when we visit, she barks none stop, jumps up and scratches, won’t go and lie down. It seriously gets on my nerves and leaves me quite stressed. Sister loves her though, so ...

PuppyMonkey. That behaviour is not breed specific.

Why are so many people against the idea of developing new breeds of dog? All of the registered breeds were originally crosses, and many were bred for purposes that are not particularly relevant to most people's lives these days (how many gun dogs owners actually do any shooting?), so what's wrong with responsible breeders trying to create new breeds that suit modern lives?

purplegreen99 I am personally not against it although I preferred the more certainty of one breed rather than a mix of two.

I think most people object as often it's the puppy farms that breed popular dogs but that can be said of popular pedigrees. As long as people know that they could get any mix of traits and do their homework on breeders and health issues I think it's fine.

I haven't really seen many poodle crosses on rescues thankfully. They seem to be bursting bere with staffs, huskys and shar peis...

Like anything you need to do your homework. I have found our poidle cross to be a superb learner. She toilet trained at around 5 months, she loves her crate, good with the children and just wants to chill half the time. And she doesn't moult whichafter having MILs collie is a revelation.

I absolutely get the Poodle cross love. Bucketloads of them around here, and the majority are attractive little dogs, mostly with decent temperaments, although many are not 'hypoallergenic', separation anxiety does seem to be a bit of an issue, and many owners obviously under-estimate the necessary grooming costs and the fact that they also have to groom in between!

As Bubble2bubble says, crossbreeds of any type are not inherently more (or less) healthy than purebred dogs - it will depend entirely on the health of both parents. It is probably not unreasonable to assume that breeders who are crossbreeding have not chosen the best stock to start with.

Some are properly health tested (which is not 'vet checked'), but not many. However, it is possible to do your homework on this.

Unfortunately - and this is my real issue with the designer crossbreed world - it is inescapably true that the vast majority of 'designer breeds' are puppy farm bred. This is the bit that I cannot stomach, and I'm afraid so many buyers are wilfully ignoring this.

You show me any 'xxpoo' breeder that has a fancy website, and I can bet in most cases they can be proved to be a puppy farmer in 10 minutes. Many that don't have websites and claim to be selling from their own pets I can probably track down that they are a dealer. There are some that are breeding in a good pet environment, but blimey they're few and far between.

Show me any puppy of any breed or cross that has been bred and reared with care and I'll be happy to tickle its tummy and wish its owner luck and love, but I cannot stand the support of puppy farming and the misery it causes.

(Oh and the 'all breeds were crossbreeds originally' point is completely irrelevant to today's crossbreeds. Breeds are developed over many years with a purpose in mind, and with a hard 'stockman' view to achieving what they wanted and to getting dogs that bred true. Continually crossing Breed A with Breed B is not the same thing in any way.)

The one big thing I would urge caution on if people think having something like a cookerpoo means they get a calmer version of a cocker because they could still be like a cocker box of frogs with a hunting nose just with a curly coat

Yes, huskys, staffies, pugs and shar peis are the ones, but how long before it's dachshunds and poodle crosses?
The dogs aren't the problem, it's people who want a cute puppy but don't bother to train it.

That goes for all dogs though. Not just poodle crosses. All pups should be trained.

As it happens I've found poodle crosses to be super trainable.

But yes homework is needed. I know of a breeder who documents all her dogs hip scores/PRA/CARDIOLIGIST/ reports on her website.

I also know people how have gone to a home breeder thinking there's more guarantee you'll get a healthy socialised pup when in reality many of these homes are just set ups to fool the buyer.

There are stricter laws that are meant to be coming in to play soon, or so I've read thag will make it illegal for pet shops to buy pups in. And for puppies to be bought without seeing them with their mum at a young age.

“so what's wrong with responsible breeders trying to create new breeds that suit modern lives?“

Nobody is doing that though, or if they are they’re hiding their light under a bushel very very successfully...

Also, in what way is crossing 2 gun dog breeds going to get a dog that’s more suited to being a pet? All you’re getting is an unpredictable mix of gun dog traits.

I know lots of lovely cockapoos, but they’re not any more lovely or more suited to being pets than poodles or cockers...

Breeds are developed over many years with a purpose in mind, and with a hard 'stockman' view to achieving what they wanted and to getting dogs that bred true.

Yes, good labradoodle and cockerpoo breeders have been doing exactly this for at least the last decade, except they are selecting traits that will make good family pets rather than, say, being unruffled by gunshots and retrieving shot birds without eating them.

I was not talking about people who breed their pet spaniel with someone's pet poodle or puppy farms doing this on an industrial scale. Unfortunately this happens with any popular breed - I doubt all the French bulldogs that have suddenly appeared in my local park are KC registered.

Nobody is doing that though, or if they are they’re hiding their light under a bushel very very successfully...

Yes, they really are. Where have you done your research? I've always put a lot of time into researching before getting my dogs and would always speak to loads of owners and breeders. I've spoken to and met lots of good ones and some I really didn't feel happy about (both KC and crossbreed). The breeder of my labradoodle had been breeding for several years to create dogs with predictable look and characteristics. Mine is 4th generation, a friend has a 9th generation cockerpoo - I'm now wondering if the people who are always so critical are just not aware that this selective breeding has been happening and imagine all poodle crosses are first generation?

Also, in what way is crossing 2 gun dog breeds going to get a dog that’s more suited to being a pet? All you’re getting is an unpredictable mix of gun dog traits.

How do you think gun dogs (or any breeds) were bred in the first place? Breeders select dogs for particular traits and breed from those dogs...If this method was ineffective we wouldn't have any stable breeds. When you go on selecting and breeding from the puppies of those dogs over generations...well, you do end up with stable, predictable characteristics. As I'm sure you know.