Shipoo/cavapoo/other

[88milesanhour]

We are considering getting a dog. We have a 5YO child and 2 cats. I love larger dogs but I also want my child to be able to walk it etc and I think a smaller dog would be less offensive to the cats. We've cared for smaller dogs before and the cats have not exactly been thrilled but they've tolerated them.

I'm considering either a shi tzu poodle cross or a cavapoo as I feel that these would most tick the above boxes. Does anyone own either of the above breed? Or have any other recommendations/advice? Thanks xx

Go for a poodle. More likely to be healthy and have a better temperament. As a dog trainer most of the crosses I know are very hard work and prone to a range of problems which can be eliminated through health testing before breeding. The people who breed designer crosses largely don't do that. So do your research, pick your breeder and the chances are you will end up with a lovely dog :)

I have a poodle mix, but he's got golden retriever in him too.

Absolutely love him, he's a total babe, and I wouldn't be without him.

He's ridiculously sociable (as in, to a fault so that's something we are working on), he's super chilled at home and other than being a horrid little sock and knickers thief, is an absolute dream.

However, I wouldn't get another poodle mix.
The amount of time grooming takes in between seeing the groomer, and the cost of the groomer, is insane. Like I say though, he's a larger mix than you are thinking of.

I hate walking him in the rain, as you have to make sure he's bone dry after to prevent matting, and he takes a while to dry. I also feel the same about him going in to rivers/the sea. Obviously I let him, but it does cause a lot of extra work.

Both of his parents are health tested, he came from the breeders pet, and she has a face group page for owners of their pups, so constant contact can be made, but it's very hard to find someone who isn't in it solely for the money - which could be said of any breeder I guess, but harder so with a popular cross breed.

Poodles are very clever little beans, a miniature or toy poodle could be a safe bet. Not sure if they require as much grooming, or are as prone to matting?

I wouldn’t get too hung up on size tbh, whether a 5 yr old can hold a lead is going to completely depend on training, small dogs are still strong if they pull on a lead and obviously children shouldn’t be walking dogs alone anyway, so that makes no odds.

and whether you go for small or medium, they’ll be small when you get them... theres not as much size difference in puppies as you’d think so they’ll be small to cats either way.

I have a cavachon. She’s a quiet, calm, well behaved dog. Likes me being close when we’re in the house together and sticks very close to me on off lead walks, has excellent recall. No anxiety about being left though and has never chewed or being destructive. She’s 9yo now and never had a vet bill!

She’s friendly with other dogs and people but sounds ferocious if anyone comes to the door she doesn’t know and actually she attacks letters which come through tthe letter box.

do not underestimate the grooming requirements or costs. I take her every 7 weeks to be clipped as short as possible. I’m not great at brushing her so more frequent short clips helps with this but obviously costs.

When we searched for our miniature poodle we were very careful indeed. We’d arranged to view one litter but further research on my part, revealed that the breeder also had two other litters for sale from different breeds. I just felt that the dogs would be outside in kennels and not home reared. I cancelled the viewing on that basis, something didn’t feel right. This was a Kennel Club registered breeder. We did more research after that.

In the end we went for a litter that were being cared for as part of the family. They were KC registered and they’d only bred once before. When we arrived we were made very welcome. The mother and the grandmother of the puppies were family pets and the grandmother was the dog they had previously bred from. The puppies were in a large enclosure, in the living room. Everything was spotless. We were allowed to handle the puppies and one of them really settled on my lap😍. This was the one! We asked loads of questions and had very satisfactory answers. They asked us questions as well. They showed us paperwork on health testing and pedigrees etc. Nothing was too much trouble for the breeder. We were given coffee and biscuits and we felt we could have stayed there all day.

It felt right, so that’s how our miniature poodle chose us 😍. We haven’t regretted a single moment. She’s absolutely adorable.. The breeders gave us puppy food, blankets and toys to come home with and their mobile numbers. Our puppy was chipped and vaccinated.

We’re still in touch with the breeders who have encouraged us to send regular updates and photos. She’s been a really easy puppy to housetrain and to train generally.

At the puppy classes she was the calmest and best behaved. At the last class they took us all outside to start recall training. All the puppies were put on long leads. I said, rather bravely, that our pup didn’t need a long lead as she would just come back. I suddenly felt a bit sick, what if she didn’t? Anyway she was a complete star. They tried everything to distract her, with toys and food, but back she came every time, like a rocket. We’d been practicing with her every day and she’d come a long way.

Our puppy.

Second attempt. 😂

Stop it! You're making me want one right now! 🤣

My pup is obsessed with trying to chase my cat, but he might just be a one off, but he is a clever wee soul, that is funny and very trainable, unlike my Cavachons, still looks at me completely baffled when I try to teach her anything.

Word of warning OP whilst Cavalier crosses and pure bred Cavaliers are just lovely dogs the health of the breed is appalling and after losing my boy at 8 years old to heart problems was utterly horrific and something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

Definitely other.
These poodle crossbreeds are a nightmare. Generally churned out by puppy farmers with little concern for health, welfare or temperament.
Start with what you can offer a dog. How much exercise, training and grooming etc. Consider what you feel able to deal with them go from there. I would suggest a rescue or an actual pedigree breed. Decent rescues match potential owners carefully and a good breeder would be q great support and source of info.

With any cross breed you get an unknown-could have no problems or every single one.
research and go to kennel club website who have a dog breed ‘.calculator’ you can put in what traits you are after-they come up with info about breeds suitable for your household.never buy from gumtree pets4us or similar.you can look at champ dogs and kennel club

good ones will have waiting list and will interview you.they won’t suddenly have puppies available.lots of designer crossbreeds are being bought up in the Uk but bred elsewhere in v cruel conditions.
good luck-poodles are a great choice

That's an insane amount of cuteness for one puppy!!

Lhasa Apso's are lovely little dogs. Fine with other dogs, cats and kids.

I have a cockapoo. Best temperament of any dog I have had (labs, GS, Jack Russell, doberman). We bought him as a support dog for our SEN DC (his mother is one). That has been an amazing success. Ditto the low shedding as there are asthmatics in the family.
However he is very barky indoors since we moved, will not sleep on his own (DC now at university) and has little recall. I have been told a poodle would have been a easier to train. He is three quarters poodle so I am not sure if that is true. He is very loving and he has changed my DH into a big softee. Our boy weighs about 8/9 kg and is very strong.

A relative of mine has a jugapoo. Pug, Jack and poodle. The temprement is really good. She's clever like the poodle, has energy like the jack so loves playing with kids and going for long walks and she has the pug tail lol. She's a nice size and though sometimes bouncy, not enough to knock you over.

Just...why? Who breeds a mix like that?

No idea. It was one they came across when looking for a poodle. Dad was pug/Jack and mum was full poodle. I've never heard of them before and had to look up what it was. After seeing previous pups that the lady bred they decided on getting one of those instead.

You really need a cavvie !

But you can’t predict the genetics.
you might get all the down sides - a neurotic/ separation anxious ( poodle ) , nippy / over energetic (JRT) with a flat face and breathing issues ( the pug ).

I use an extreme example to illustrate , but you can’t be sure what genetics your pip gets in the mix. Get a pure poodle or cavvie and you know what you are getting pretty much ( also less risk of a make a quick fast buck back yard breeders )

It's still pot-luck as to what characteristics your cross will end up with, though. health testing helps omit certain problems but it won't tell you what kind of coat your dog will have, or whether it will have breathing issues, or a high prey drive etc.

We have a terrier- shizhu cross. She is a GEM.

She is a fabulous little doggie, incredibly gentle and kind and brilliant with my two kids. She put up with so much kids play she deserves a halo.

She looks exactly like a Norfolk terrier! The vet put money in it But no, she's half JR!! I had her gene tested as her mum was a rescue.

She doesn't shed. She was screened for generic issues and came back clean as a whistle. The randoms

Can I just ask why people go for poodle crosses, rather than getting an actual poodle? A few people I’ve asked with crosses, have said it’s because of allergies and when I’ve asked why not an actual poodle, they can’t answer.

One person did say that it’s the poodle’s daft haircuts. You don’t have to cut them like that, the trend now is to cut them the same all over. That’s how we’re having our poodle cut.

Clever marketing.

My granddaughter thinks our poodle is actually Waffle off CBeebies. 😂

What Sarvanga said. If your still not convinced have a look at some of the rescue sites who take in puppy farm dogs. Its horrendous.