Cockapoo’s nature?

[Allthepenguins]

I’m thinking of getting a cockapoo. I know they’re a crossbreed etc but I just love them. The only thing putting me off is my auntie has a toy poodle and it’s a nasty little bugger!

Do cockapoo’s have a tendency to be nasty? Or is that rare in them?

The majority of the ones I have met are lovely, lively, but lovely.

Mines a bit grumpy at times!

@kazza446 has he ever snapped? I can cope with a bit grumpy but not biting or snapping!

My sister's is daft, bouncy and energetic. I've never seen a nasty side to him!

I know two. Both are absolutely gorgeous. Just adorable. I cannot get another dog at the moment due to work commitments. But when I can I will be getting one from a proper breeder that I know. Just be careful where u get them from as they are mostly breed by puppy farms.

Thanks everyone. Does it make a difference if they are mixed with a toy or a miniature poodle do you think? My aunties is a toy poodle who is nasty.

He has snapped when the kids have gone to take his toy. To be fair he often gives them a bit of a warning. I sometimes have to tell them to leave him alone. We had a springer before the Cockerpoo and he was amazing with the kids, so tolerant. The cockerpoo not so much so.

I don't particularly like toy breeds as find it quite common for them yappy and more likely to be aggressive so I'd personally avoid a toy cross.
the Cockerpoos i know are v friendly but a bit crazy wild and neurotic.

@kazza446 oh no :-( I’m wondering if it the poodle side to them that brings that out x

We have a two year old Cockapoo and I have to say she is amazing. Needs mental stimulation as they are very bright, needs a good walk but above all needs company. I don't know any that are happy to be left on their own. Ours is miniature poodle dad and working cocker Mum.

When we originally started looking for one, we were told by two different breeders to avoid toy poodle mixes as they tend to be 'divas' and will snap. Personally I've only met one toy poodle mix and he would have put me off completely- not friendly at all but it could have been down to poor breeding or poor socialisation.

Mine is lovely
Hates being alone though and needs a lot of grooming and walking.

Ours is a toy poodle mix. He is lovely. Very friendly but possessive over his toys and food and likes to dominate. He’s very clever. Needs a lot of mental stimulation too.

I know 4 cocker poos. They are all lovely natured and follow you around like a shadow. They run incredibly fast in a park, but do come back. The don't woof their food down, and will stop eating when full.

1 I know was the result of a cockerpoo mixed with a toy poodle, so essentially 3/4 poodle. Although still friendly, she is more skittish and scared that the others and will bark till settled and has sniffed you out. The others are far more chilled. It might be a training issue, or related to being more poodle- I dont know?

Cockerpoos are, in my experience, generally very friendly but extremely energetic dogs. The main issue you're going to have is finding a reputable breeder who health tests and who make sure both dam and sire are of solid temperament.

Cockers are prone to resource guarding and obviously this can come through in any off-spring whether they're crosses or not. However in my experience show cockers tend to have more problems with guarding than workers. On the flip side, working cockers are far more energetic and generally require much more stimulation and exercise.

I walk two cockapoos and while they're very friendly with people, they are extremely energetic and love to play. Not that that's necessarily a problem but they do need a lot of input so you'll need to be prepared to commit to a fair amount of exercise every day.

Remember, cockers and poodles are both high energy working dogs so any offspring are going to be just as high maintenance!

Mine is wonderful. V calm & cautious. Extremely loving. V tolerant. Never snaps at the kids, despite provocation. Brilliant recall. V clever. Crossed with standard poodle. I walk him an hour a day but can go for miles and isn’t difficult on the odd day he isn’t walked.

He was ok on his own pre lockdown but don’t think he would be now. I work from home anyway.

Cockerpoos, I have found, vary vastly in terms of size, appearance and temperament so it is a bit of a mixed bag - especially when you can bring a whole range of breed combinations together to create this mix. For example you can have toy, miniature or even standard poodles (all technically different breeds in their own right), and for the cockers you can have English show-type cockers, English working-type cockers as well as American cockers. That's not even starting on all the F1 and F2 and backcrosses, all of these combinations will result in a dog that is technically a cockerpoo. I've seen people who have been very disappointed because they've bought something advertised as a cockerpoo and they wanted that typical fluffy low-shedding coat, to find out there was only a tiny percentage of poodle (or no poodle at all in some cases!) and ended up with a very spaniel-y looking dog which absolutely did shed. This article is worth a read! dogstodaymagazine.co.uk/2020/10/20/theres-no-poo-in-my-cockerpoo/

Most of the cockapoos I've met are either absolutely bonkers with energy (very friendly but not much of an off switch) or very submissive and nervous. A well bred poodle shouldn't be nasty, but there is always the danger of poor quality examples of the breed being used for crosses just because it's a poodle and not because it's of stable temperament and healthy. Cockerpoos can also suffer from resource guarding which is an issue mostly seen from the cocker side.

Our boy is very friendly. He is energetic on walks and loves to chase his ball. In the house he knows our routine and is very calm. He loves puzzles and scent games. It only takes a handful of repetitions for him to learn a new trick. I’ve spent a lot of time training and socialising him, and his parents have great temperaments. I think it is important to take that into consideration before discounting poodles or other dogs. Sometimes bad behaviour can be due to a lack of training.

Lovely dogs. Thick as shit. And I mean so thick they don't even know what their name is.

Ours is lovely. She’s so friendly with other dogs and humans, we did a lot of training with her to get her respecting people’s boundaries. My dog has had toys and stones thrown at her by children (we don’t have children, so these are children who are strangers to her) and she didn’t react (I certainly did though).

Ours has always been a bit more independent than any other cockapoos we know, who will stay close to their owners side at all times. Ours is also more intelligent than the other cockapoos we’ve known. That’s not a boast because with that intelligence came a whole bunch of attitude. We had to work harder with training than anyone we know with a cockapoo but now that she’s 3.5 years old, she is such a good dog. This is a boast but she’s one of the best dogs we encounter (and due to training we encounter some very good dogs). This isn’t me seeing the best in her just because she’s mine - 18 months ago we were the worst. We had a hard teenage phase.

As a puppy, she was very energetic. Needed a lot of brain games. Walks only did so much to tire her out, so we had to do different things with her, get her thinking in different ways. We did (before lockdown) a lot of things with her to keep her brain busy. Now she’s a bit calmer, she’s happy to do any of the games, flyball, agility or a big walk but she’s also happy to have lazy sundays.

As I said, ours has always been more independent than other cockapoos. She was fine in another room to us and would frequently get bored of us and take her self off to lie in another room! We worked full time out of the house before lockdown and she was fine, although we do have a dog walker who pack walks with her.

There is a lot of variability in cockapoos. So the main thing is to look at the temperament of the parents. Even then, dogs will have their own personalities.

Hmm.
I know a lovely little cockerpoo but she’s too young for her adult temperament to have come in.
She is a little shy so whether that will go with age or worsen remains to be seen.

I find the cockerpoos generally fit into two camps - the friendly but wild and the neurotic and nasty.

DH has been bitten once and had at least two attempted bites off one of the aforementioned nasty cockerpoos.
My dog has been gone for more than once by another cockerpoo in the same group.
There is another one near me that is quite aggressive towards children.

Tbh, I don’t particularly like either parent breed.
Well, no, I like working cocker spaniels but not the show line which is usually what the cocker half of the cockerpoos are.
I find (show) cockers unattractive to look at and not nice temperaments in my experience.

Toy poodles are cute but very shy I find.

I walk two cockerpoos occasionally. Both are very high energy dogs, clingy and neurotic. Neither can be taken into cafes or restaurants as they yap, pull and pace. They are also quite snappy over food and both have nipped me on occasions. Personally, I wouldn't get one but this is just from experience of those I know well.

A lot will have to do with the training and input you give the dog too.

I wouldn't want to own one, simply because they're quite 'pesky' in the loveliest way possible. I know several and they are absolutely gorgeous in character. A bit full on.
There isn't a mean bone in their bodies. They're little love sponges and they tend to attach themselves to the main carer and pine for them if someone else (even within the family) walks them... not always the case, of course, but the ones I know are very attached, bordering on clingy with their 'main' owner. But they are just so, so, so loving. They make you feel like number 1 all the time.
I think the constant interaction would get to me, personally. I like to be able to walk miles with my big gun dog, whose nose is always to the ground, occasionally looking back at me to make sure I'm there. But if you love ball games and being totally adored and worshipped by a gorgeous dog dancing in circles at your feet, a cockapoo is wonderful!

I walk two cockerpoos occasionally. Both are very high energy dogs, clingy and neurotic. Neither can be taken into cafes or restaurants as they yap, pull and pace. They are also quite snappy over food and both have nipped me on occasions. Personally, I wouldn't get one but this is just from experience of those I know well.

Yes. This is the downside (to me). They look like dogs you can hang out in a cafe with. They're not. Cockapoos are intensely focused on their owners, to a pathological point. My friend, personally, loves it! Her dog is her absolute baby and she adores giving and receiving endless attention.

This isn’t me seeing the best in her just because she’s mine - 18 months ago we were the worst. We had a hard teenage phase.

You could say this about any dog though. 18 months is a tough phase for most owners. It's not just a cockapoo thing, promise.