Spam me with your breed knowledge please

[Nochangeplease]

I know I’m about to list several breeds that are polar opposites of each other but please any real life experience and anecdotes of these breeds will be much appreciated.
Mainly things like personality, trainability, sensitivity, exercise needs (how much and what type) and any other helpful info please.
Cocker spaniel (show)
Cavalier
Westie
Shih tzu
Or possibly some of the mixes (shihpoo, cockerpoo, cavapoo ect)
Thank you 😊

I've lived with a Westie and a Cairn. They're terriers and as such are smart, tenacious and very headstrong. Great friends and great pets but I spent many hours as a teenager watching our Cairn as he did his own thing. He would be obedient 95% of the time, but when mood took him he would go deaf and leave you standing. It wasn't a training issue - it was a personality issue.

We have a miniature cockapoo. He is a very intelligent, friendly little dog. Most cockapoos I have met are the same. They’re a mixed box, so you don’t really know what you will get in terms of look. Our dog is more spaniel looking with looser curls. His coat needs a lot of combing otherwise it will get matted. I have noticed this more around where his collar and harness sit. He needs quite a lot of exercise. 1 hour off lead plus a 40 minute pavement walk every day.
If you decide cockapoo, it is important to check the temperament of the parents and use a breeder who can provide health test certificates e.g PRA. There are lots of breeders out there exploiting the Covid situation and pushing up their prices. This goes for any breed though not just cockapoos.

Thank you that is really helpful

We have a pair of Westies living near us and they bark at the slightest thing. It's more like a squeaky toy losing it than an actual dog, and I'm forever hearing their owner shouting at them. As a PP said, they are bright dogs. Westies are prone to skin issues (as are most terriers, but Westies more so IME).

The show cockers I have come across are much more chilled than the working ones. Nice dogs but iirc prone to ear infections.

Cavaliers are some of the sweetest-natured dogs I have ever met, but the breed as a whole has terrible health issues. They are very, very prone to heart problems (mitral valve disease is the main one) which knocks years off their life expectancy and also they are prone to syringomeyelia, where the brain is too big for the skull - the dog suffers terribly. There was one local to me who was PTS at about 6 or 7 because his breed-related health issues were so intractable.

Don't really know any shih tzus so can't comment.

The cockerpoos I know are energetic but very cute and personable, bright and intelligent and good-natured little dogs. Finding a responsible breeder will be nightmare, though, as many of them are bred in gruesome puppy farms in Ireland and mainland Europe, and also bred in large commercial facilities in the UK.

In fact, a lot of the small breeds are puppy farmed so you need to do your due diligence very, very carefully. Buying a puppy at the moment is very tricky as a lot of people are cashing in and charging a fortune.

I'm a dog walker so my experience of these dogs is more as a walker than an owner, but hopefully my experience is useful anyway!

Cocker spaniel (show)

The one I walk is prone to severe resource guarding, sadly. However he's only young so this could be solved with training. He won't "swap" what he has for anything so the owners have to muzzle him when he's out on walks and their home is very much designed so that the dog can't access ANYTHING he shouldn't. If you try and take something off him he will bite you.

Otherwise he's generally fairly obedient, walks well on a lead, has good recall and was easy to toilet train. If he hasn't got anything he shouldn't, he's very laid back. It's very much a personality switch at times.

Cavalier

Generally fantastic little dogs with great temperaments but they have a lot of health issues and so I'd be wary of getting one as a result.

Westie

I used to sit a Westie and he was a fantastic little thing. He lived to about eighteen years old in the end. He barked at the door/strange noises but he was a lovely little dog. I currently walk a Cairn Terrier (fairly similar to Westies) and she's great. Good recall, loves her food, not at all mouthy or troublesome.

I have no real experience of shih-tzus but my aunt has one and he seems like a perfectly nice, well rounded dog, but they are home with him full-time and he gets 100% of their time and attention!

All the cockerpoos I know are lovely dogs but have tons of energy. It's important to remember they're not a breed in themselves so you really don't know what you'll get. Have a read of both breeds and see if you could cope with a dog that's the worst mix of both. Cockers and poodles are both very high energy breeds and cockapoos are no different.

I have a cockapoo and hes very laid back.. two 30 minute walks a day and hes happy.

Another (toy) cockapoo owner here. He’s good tempered, loving (if slightly needy) but he’s very possessive of his toys to the point where you can’t even play fetch with him as he doesn’t give it back. He’s very energetic and intelligent, learns tricks really quickly and loves pleasing his master. He has a bit of anxiety separation but we’ve persevered and now he’s more comfortable being left for longer periods of time. He’s great with the kids (until he steals their food when they’re caught unawares or being slow) and they love playing together.

He has floppy spaniel ears which get dirty and stinky quite quickly so require regular cleaning. He has frizzy poodle fur that also requires a lot of maintenance (brushing to stop matting, clipping to keep it neat). The grooming is quite high maintenance and can be expensive if you’re unable to do it yourself. DH taught himself how to groom to save on money and he’s half decent at it these days 😂

He has bundles of energy, he’s happy with a 40 minute off lead session or two half hour lead walks. He also tries to get us to play with his toys (puts them within our reach but then snatched them and runs before we can touch them).

An odd thing we’ve noticed about him is that he hates water and will walk around puddles. This is unusual as I read somewhere that cockapoos, spaniels and poodles love water. So it just goes to show that each dog is individual and will have little quirks.

Cavaliers are very sweet natured and easy going but really to the point that they’re extremely dull dogs with not much personality. If you want a dog that just lies around and sleeps all day then they’re the dog for you! Agree with other posters regarding the health issues. Most don’t live much past 10.
Cockers- well we currently have a sprocker and a working cocker. Both of whom are very loving (some might say needy) personalities. They’re quite playful but now they’re adults they’re happy enough to chill in their baskets too. They can walk for miles if you need them to and we haven’t had any health the issues with ours. Our sprocker does have some issues with resource guarding, she hates bigger dogs and will be quite aggressive with them if we don’t watch her and she barks a lot! That said, she’s very food orientated so not hard to train and has excellent recall.

I’ve owned two show cocker spaniels and in some ways they were very similar and in some ways different.

Both would exercise as much or as a little as you want really. They could walk for hours but equally a couple of hour half walks would be fine on a rainy day. Both dogs were sleepy cuddly teddy bears. We’ve never had an ear infection in 10 years of cocker owning but my first dog died of a brain tumour at 6. Not cocker specific I don’t think.

So much calmer than any working cocker I’ve ever met.

My first boy was as cool as a cucumber and never barked. My current cocker is quite anxious and guards the house so to speak so knocks at the door and people walking past are met with crazy levels of barking. Could be a boy/girl thing or just different personalities.

My experiences

Cocker Spaniel
Show. I grew up spending a lot of time with my uncle’s one. She was a lovely dog, very biddable. Easy to train, lovely with his two little girls.
Working. My son has two of them, both rescues. They are lovely digs but absolutely manic, in the nicest possible way. Never known dogs with so much energy & I grew up on a farm with my dad’s working collies.
They aren’t naughty as such. They obey you when you tell them something but ten minutes later they’ve got interested in something else & forgotten. The latest one, a teenager, has chewed every single pair of the children’s shoes, costing them a fortune .

Westies
I showed & bred Cairns for years, a Westie by any other colour, they were classed as the same breed up till early last century. And of course, Terrier Group, met loads at shows. Like all small terriers it’s “ Look out world here I come”. They grab life by the throat & shake every scrap of fun out of it. They are very alert to what’s going on so will bark at anything they think you need warning of. Very friendly, affectionate, fairly easy to train, no serious health issues except for skin problems in Westies which can be a life long problem. Easy coat needs hand strippingtwice a year, Westies tend to be more trimmed.

Cavalier.
I’ve never owned one myself but come across them at shows. Very gentle, lovely natured. My vet of thirty years is doing her best to get one at present after losing her Shih Tzu last year but having no luck as the the dam absorbed all the litter of the puppy she was on a waiting list for. They have a lot of health problems so being a vet is probably a good thing for a potential owner.

Shih Tzu
Only met these at training classes & of course my vet’s one. They are the prettiest puppies imaginable. They seem easy to train, well in ring craft, very friendly, need a lot of brushing.

Cockerpoos.
Met lots of these over recent years on camp sites where we stay with our dogs. Seen all sorts of shapes, sizes & coats, from ones thought were spaniel to ones exactly like poodles with every coat in between along with temperaments. You just don’t know what you’re going to get out of a mixed breed, even in one litter.

My mum had a Cavalier he was a bit unusual, more spaniel like and very energetic he would walk miles and very playful. He did have health issues, a bad heart and digestive issues.

Just interested why you put all the poo mixes on but not a mini poodle? Nothing against the mixes as dogs, just don't know why people seem to go to the mixes rather than an actual poodle?

I am biased as I own a mini poodle but I always feel a little offended on his behalf - seems like people want the poodle as part of the mix, but what are the bits of poodle they're trying to avoid by mixing them with other breeds?

Cocker spaniel (show)
Not a fan at all.
Compared to the ‘real’ ones they are quite unattractive in my opinion and apart from one show line who was sweetest, gentlest little soul they have pretty much all been aggressive arseholes.

Cavalier
Their health issues are so huge and serious that I don’t really think their temperament is relevant.
My friend had one, he died at 5 of mitral heart disease.
From what I’ve read an enormous proportion of cavaliers die around the 5 year mark of MVD.
Their problems are so serious and numerous, the Kennel Club is opposed to outcross, which is imo the only way of saving them, so imo the only humane thing to do is stop breeding them.

Westie
Terriers don’t appeal to me really.
Westies are very prone to allergies and skin problems i’ve heard.
The only ‘experience’ I have of them is two that I occasionally run into walking my dog.
They are very dog aggressive.

Shih tzu
I’ve known a few who have all been lovely

Or possibly some of the mixes (shihpoo, cockerpoo, cavapoo
There’s so many cockerpoos near me.
I’m not a fan generally.
I find them extremely hyperactive at best and aggressive and neurotic at worst.
There is a group of cockerpoos near me who are vile.
One in the group has bitten my DH once and attempted to bite him another few times.
The other two in the group have it in for my dog and have gone for her more than once.

So overall, not very positive from me!

I’ve got a show cocker. Good points are he’s a real softie, great with children and other dogs, easy to house train, friendly and sociable. Bad points are he’s stubborn, recall is sketchy at times, will pick up a scent and become completely obsessed by it, he needs clipping every 8 weeks or so and he’s a bit clingy. He’s 10 now and I absolutely adore him!

Show cocker. We've got one who's my best boy. We've had a lot of working ones before and they are nuts. Friendly, dim and tend to hover about a foot off the floor with sheer energy.

This one is like a cat! Sleeps a LOT. Loves cuddles. Greedy and a total waste disposal unit, but really calm and friendly. Loves people. Not great with recall, which we put down to his cloth ears - and the fact that he's easily distracted by something new, but will always (eventually) realise you are shouting him and come hurtling back.

I've had spaniels for around 40 years and we've never had an aggressive one, to be honest.

Thank you so much, really helpful responses. Kind of confirming what I thought.
I think if I’m being realistic cocker spaniels are probably not the right fit for us. I’m also concerned that I’ve come across quite a lot of people on fb groups ect that mention resource guarding and the tendency for them to be a bit neurotic.
Cockerpoos may be a little bit too high energy too, even though I’d be happy to do the walks everyday, as a first time owner I don’t want to jump in at the deep end with a really hyper dog. This is something I’d possibly overcome if it wasn’t for also being worried about how to find a reputable breeder. Almost impossible it seems.

Westies I love and aside from things like high prey drive potentially being an issue in parks ect the main thing putting me off is that they can bark... a lot! At everything. All dogs bark obviously but I want to avoid an excessive barker. Does anyone know if westies are prone to being snappy?

Cavaliers seem perfect..but the health issues. Does anyone know if getting a pup from properly health tested parents elimates or just lowers the risk of health problems?

Shih tzus also seem quite perfect for us but I’ve read they can be very hard to train and I know a couple that are a bit snappy. Also know some who are the loveliest dogs.

I’ve now fallen in love with cavapoos too after meeting one today but I guess the same issues with finding a reputable breeder. They sound less energetic than cockerpoos which might be better.

To the pp that asked why not a minature poodle. I’ve researched them a bit and I think it was the need for lots and lots of mental stimulation due to them being so intelligent, and also think I read they can be a bit highly strung too.

Whichever dog I get, at some point in the future it will have to be left for 4/5 hours at a time 4 days a week with someone popping in to walk it so I need one that isn’t massively prone to seperation anxiety too, I know any dog can be and I’ve read up on how to train from the beginning them so they can cope better with periods alone. If I did end up with a dog with anxiety then I’d have to look more at day care or other options.

I put so much thought into breed too. Its mind boggling at times isn't it!

What I would say is that poodles get a reputation of being highly strung. I think a lot of that is around their past as being fashion accessories and maybe not having the correct handling or breeding.

We have a mini poodle. He is the first dog we ever had. He has been a dream. So easy to train. So affectionate and loyal. He's fantastic with my two kids (6 and 9). He has never destroyed anything, he's not a chewer, if we go out he's fine. He just sleeps till we get back. Most days he gets about an hour or so walk. Otherwise he likes to play tug of war or ball in the garden.

He's not high energy I don't think (have nothing to compare him to). And he's certainly not highly strung. He just wants to please.

I also was originally looking at cavapoos and cockerpoos. The more research I did though, the more attracted I was to a poodle. It was the look that drew me to the mixed breeds. But he's not clipped like a 'proper poodle' and is usually mistaken for a mix breed.

Not all Westies are barky. They do tend to get skin problems but other than that, they are very hardy little dogs and most of them are quite easy-going. They do enjoy exercise but their small size means they don't need hours. As someone else has said, if you like Westies you'll like Cairns, and Norfolk terriers are quite similar in size and temperament.

Smaller poodles IME tend to be easier-going and less wilful/strong than large ones but they do need lots of mental stimulation. Have you considered a Bedlington? Curly poodle coat on a small-medium dog with a terrier personality. I've met a few and they've all been full of character and friendly.

To the pp that asked why not a minature poodle. I’ve researched them a bit and I think it was the need for lots and lots of mental stimulation due to them being so intelligent, and also think I read they can be a bit highly strung too.

But those traits can just as easily be present in poodle crosses. You don't eliminate the poodle nature by out-crossing them with cavaliers or cockers. If you don't think you could cope with a poodle (which is fine, they're pretty high energy dogs) then, in the nicest way, I don't think you should be contemplating a poodle cross either. Crosses can be just as high energy and high maintenance in terms of exercise and mental stimulation.

I would re-think a Westie or similar - not all terriers bark. The cairn I walk is fantastic and only barks at the door, otherwise she's pretty much silent. She can be left for several hours with no issues and has relatively low exercise needs (about an hour a day). She does need grooming and trimming every 6-8 weeks but her coat isn't curly and she doesn't matt or need brushing. Her temperament is excellent, she doesn't mouth or bite or nip - she does jump up at times but nothing that can't be trained out of her.

From what I’ve read though cavapoos for example do lean towards being less highly strung than poodles. I don’t mind high energy I don’t think, but I’m a newbie so I’ll find out I guess 😂. It’s just poodles don’t sound right for me. Mixes tend to sound better.
As for the westie, I do love them but the barking could be an issue. I’ve heard some people say theirs don’t bark more than any other dog. But I’ve seen lots more that say they do. My neighbours would complain, and it’ll be part of a tenancy agreement I’ll have to sign when getting a dog I think, not to cause a nuisance to others. So I do need to be mindful of that.

Hmm, dogs of any breed can be barkers - a lot of excess barking is generally down to poor training, lack of exercise/stimulation/company or anxiety because the dog is left for too long. The noisiest dogs I know are a Jack Russell, two collies and a sprocker spaniel - so a total mix of breeds.

I would also say that the only reason a cavalier may be slightly less highly strung is because cavaliers are generally calmer than cockers, but that doesn't mean the poodle influence won't give you a dog that needs a fairly decent amount of mental and physical stimulation.

As a general rule, I do think if you can't cope with the worst traits of both breeds used to make the cross, you shouldn't go with the cross. In other words, if you go for a cavapoo and you end up with one that's pretty much all poodle, would you struggle?

@MissShapesMissStakes, I personally prefer the look of a cockapoo. Please don’t take that the wrong way. Before we got a dog we started taking notice of other people’s dogs when out on a walk. We see lots of cockapoos in our local area, and they’re friendly well behaved dogs, so we decided to get one. We knew it was a gamble in terms of breed traits, but we were happy with both poodle and spaniel traits anyway.

Hello, still have a Westie shaped hole in my heart, gallant active little dogs who are very loyal. Currently have a mongrel / lurcher mix who is great and have just adopted my foster Shih Tzu cos she was literally the nicest dog ever. She’s cute, playful and walks miles. Despite an appalling start as a breeding bitch in a puppy farm, she doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. Be careful about any kind of mix at the mo, many tears animal rescue who I foster for have had only a tiny number of ex breeders released because the demand for puppies is so high. Carefully research so as to do no harm.

@heatseeker14 Totally a personal choice. I was first drawn to the mixes before I realised finding a good breeder would be tricky. And the more I read the more I realised poodles were pretty great actually. And the bonus is they don't come pre pom-pommed or with shaved faces and feet.
Mine spent his first two years being mistaken for a cockerpoo. Not so much now as I've cut his face a little shorter because he's rummaging in wet autumn leaves all the time and getting himself filthy.

Anyway - I've not taken your preference the wrong way, but he's not happy!

One of my best friends has a cavalier and it’s one of the most loving easy going dogs I have ever met and I used to work with animals but having just had another breed of dog die after years of heart failure I wouldn’t want to risk going through that again with another dog and cavaliers are so prone to so many health problems I’m not sure I’d like to risk getting one my self sadly