Family dog, Cockapoo?

[User0919]

Hi, we are considering a family dog. Now might not be the right time as 2 of my DC are still quite young and I want to be able to give the right attention to any dog. I’ve never had a dog so looking for some advice for anyone with experience.

Would need a dog who gets on with children, relatively low maintenance and is able to be left in for short periods of time. I also visit my mum, she has a cat and wondered if this is a definite no that a cat and dog would never get along.

I have mainly looked at Cockapoo? As I say this might just be a bit crazy to add into the mix and would maybe need to wait a year or 2 but at least then I can have a look at what might be the best breed for a family dog in future. Thanks

it not a lottery when you get a poodle, you know pretty much what traits you will get. Our miniature is 10 months now and she’s been absolutely brilliant to train. She’s so quiet and calm, and everything has been far easier than we could have dreamed of.

I’ve currently got my cockapoo on my lap, my cavapoo on one side and my toddler on the other. They’re cracking little dogs, and we all absolutely adore them. They can be inclined to be a bit clingy but they’re also content, easy to train, gentle and are fine on a varying amount of daily exercise (they have access to our farmyard pretty much 24/7 but some days they just get short walks and some days they get loooong ones). They are beyond gentle with my son, perhaps cockapoo less so but he’s older and was around a long time before DS, but cavapoo just adores him and chooses to stick to his side like glue. They’re just easy in every way. Cavapoo needs brushing everyday and cockapoo maybe every week or so to keep them tidy, and they see a groomer every couple of months. Obviously all dogs are different, but that’s my experience.

Cavapoo’s can inherit the poor health from Cavalier King Charles spaniels. With a cross you just don’t know what you’re getting.

Meh, everyone has this dog. Boring

I have a one year old cockapoo from a reputable breeder.

He is the most lovely of dogs. I've only heard him bark a handful of times. He's pretty well trained. Doesn't chew things he's not meant to and is a great companion. We can leave him for a few hours now no problem - he doesn't bark or whine.

The only problem we have is that he likes company on a night when he knows we are in the house. He usually settles fine downstairs but he does wake up between 5 and 6 usually. This might be because it's light though! Will see whether he's the same in winter. We could let him upstairs but we've not caved yet.

We've got two 15 week old cockapoo pups. They are lovely and so easy to train. I have two girls aged 6&9 and the pups love playing out in the garden with them. From the day we got them we put them straight in separated crates and they cried for the first two nights and after that they've been good as gold. They don't take much walking atm because they are only baby's but they come out with us most days in the car. I can't wait until they are bigger and come out for pack walks with us and our other 3 dogs.

I don’t understand this logic with allergies 🤷‍♀️

why did you think taking a non shedding, low allergy trigger dog and crossing it with a shedding, high allergy trigger dog would somehow help your allergies?

it’s like mixing red and white paint and expecting maroon.

if you have allergies, as pp pointed out, your best option would have been a poodle, or one of the many other low allergy dogs out there.

so why did you get a cockerpoo?

Find out the worst possible traits of a poodle, then the worst possible traits of a cocker spaniel. Then decide whether you can cope with a dog that has ALL of those

There is no such thing as a reputable breeder for crosses.

Cockapoos are one of top breeds for being puppy farmed as are all the other fashionable cross breeds. Thousands churned out with poor breeding practices, no concern about temperament or health issues and multi generation cross breeding! This is why they are one of the top breeds for being surrendered to rescues at 6 months of age.
If you are inexperienced then I would say don't go for any working breed/cross eg spaniel. Cocker spaniels are working dogs and should be trained as such. They are highly prone to resource guarding and anxiety induced reactive behaviour. With any cross breed you just don't know what you are going to get.

Yes I've been told the "great with allergies" thing by Cockerpoo owners. I'm quite allergic but it's not too bad if I am leaving the house (is sleeping elsewhere)as that's when it affects breathing. I'm still allergic. But for me it seems to be all dogs- saliva/hair whatever!

I disagree about no such thing as a reputable breeder for crosses. Ours was from a breeder we know well. She loves her dogs, it’s a business sure, but they are well cared for and she’s picky about who gets them.

Nobody’s said “no such thing”?

but when you have hundreds of puppy farms with slick websites or family fronts churning out litter after litter it is very tough to find that reputable breeder. The price will be higher, they won’t advertise, so unless you have a personal connection how do you find them?

unless you know what you’re looking for it’s very easy to be taken in. My rescue cat was a kitten farm queen, had so many litters by 18m she was nearly dead. But people buying her kittens thought they were showing up to a home where the family pet had had an accidental litter. She’s a bit thin because she’s been feeding. There’s no furniture so the kittens can’t hurt themselves…she’s hiding because she’s nervous of strangers and is worried about her litter. All excuses.

No one ever has anything nice to say about cockerpoos but I know quite a few who are lovely dogs, but have owners that take training seriously and have put the work in. Lots of hate for the doodle mixes, rightfully because a lot are puppy farmed.

I have an Australian labradoodle and he is lovely, we get asked if he is a cockerpoo as he has a teddy bear look, so if you want something small and fluffy, ethically bred and brilliant with children, I’d be happy to recommend my breeder, who was recommended on here by someone and they randomly by a lady in work who’s sister had one from the same breeder.

He is nearly 2 and with consisted training and lots of treats we are at a point where he can go anywhere and behave himself. But it took hard work and I wouldn’t do it with small kids (imo) too hard!

But that’s not enough to call a breeder of crosses reputable. They aren’t registered with any organisation, so it’s impossible to check on them, or you can go on is your gut. Unfortunately many crosses are from puppy farms.

It’s also impossible to have them properly health checked, for their breed, because they aren’t a breed they are crosses.

It’s surprising that people seem to think that Cockapoos are a breed. Someone ran up to us and asked us what breed of cockapoo our poodle is. When you say poodle crossed with a poodle, they don’t know what to say. 🤷‍♀️😂

We have a cavapoochon which is similar to a cockapoo. He's a lovely dog but he is barky, a bit anxious and doesn't love being left alone. He is fine being alone for a few hours but they are known as Velcro dogs for a reason. He is however a gorgeous dog and now he's 3 he's a bit more chilled.
Have you considered a whippet? They are fabulous. Don't need loads of walking, don't tend to bark. Make great pets.

You’re also going to find it hard to weed out a “reputable” breeder because the only reason for breeding these crosses is for £££.

even if you’re doing it for the love of the dogs or whatever, the bottom line is there’s no reason for these crosses.

when I got my pedigree I narrowed down the initial search by finding breeders who actually worked with their dogs. So showing, agility, fly ball etc. the breeding usually came secondary to that, the intention usually being to find another dog for their hobby.

Get a whippet
from a breeder -
they don’t bark
they have minimal fur
they don’t smell
they have a half hour walk and will lie on the sofa ALL day
they don’t have any congenital over breeding problems
they get on with cats if introduced when young
they are ok left for a bit
you can pick them up if you need to
they are fine with kids

they are gorgeous and loving and lovely

Oh and no grooming. Save yourself £££

I love my cockapoos. I have a F1 American cocker/mini poodle and a F1B cockapoo/mini poodle.

They are not low maintenance. Their coat takes work or it will matt. There is regular grooming required (mine are groomed every 6-8 weeks). Any breeder that tells you they are low maintenance and hypoallergenic is to be avoided.....it's a lie. Also you can't guarantee which cost you'll get, so it could be shedding like the cocker spaniel coat. You need to be prepared for that.

As puppies they are more like crocodiles and children and adults can find the mouthing (which is normal) that puppies do frightening. Many people misinterpret this as biting.

They require stimulus, both breeds are clever and inquisitive so you'll need to be on top of training. Even now mine pull on the lead. They walk off lead well and their recall is 100%. Training isn't one hour a week at puppy class it's every day, reinforcing the behaviours you want. They might get on well with a cat, depends on how you socialise a pup and how receptive the cat is to a puppy! There are no guarantees.

Both mine were quick to housetrain. But you'll need to factor in cleaning up mess. Also if they are house training and signal to go out you need to be able to respond which isn't easy if you have children needing attention.

Have you thought about how you will transport them in the car? Is there room for the dog to be suitably restrained away from the children? Can you get a crate in the boot?

There are a lot of ongoing costs involved as well. Grooming, insurance, vet fees, vaccinations, worming and flea treatments, dog walker/daycare/boarding kennels/pet sitter/food etc that all add up. You also need to think about the impact on your weekends, what do you enjoy doing and how does a dog fit into that?

They are a lovely pet but you have to invest time and money in them and not everyone realises or is prepared for it.

I really dont love cockers or cocker crosses of any kind around small children. Insanely prone to resource guarding which can lead to small children being bitten.
Just take a look at the spaniel aid page to see how many have been surrendered after biting a child due to resource guarding.

I have a cockapoo and a toddler .. the furbaby is a Velcro dog, loves cuddles, following people all day. She is happy to snuggle on a lap, or to play with her ball so I think she’s a great family dog as doesn’t need a 2h walk everyday

Just make your life easy. If you want the perfect family dog get a golden retriever. Easy to train, great with children and capable of being left plus absolutely adorable.
But also hairy muddy, greedy beasts. But that's dogs for you.

Or how about a cat? Can be left all day. no training required and generally good with children? Some breeds are very dog like and will play fetch etc.

I have two friends with cockerpoos. Both dogs are amazingly behaved and were both brought into the families when the children were toddlers/preschool age. However both dogs were impeccably trained from day one. One of them spends all day every day with the Mum and two kids (unless they are going to a place where he isn't allowed in) and they prioritise outside time so he's off lead, running and exploring most of the day and can be trusted to avoid others and recall is amazing. The other is walked every morning for an hour minimum and has free reign of a huge garden the rest of the time.

They are both quite high maintenance and require regular trips to the groomers. They are also both very needy and want constant company/attention. They're both gorgeous, but I would think very hard about getting one. I have a GSD and she is quite happy just sitting at our feet, not sure I'd want a dog clambering onto my lap constantly along with the kids!

We have a year old cocker spaniel. We're fairly experienced dog owners and, with no exaggeration I would have happily given her back several times. She is very hard work...lovely...but hard work. We have two other dogs who are vastly easier and different breeds. She needs lots of work not just running off lead.

The biting was awful and my DD was scared of her. We are out the other side but I would not recommend a cocker or cross cocker with children or for a first time owner.
Also as lots have said there are very few good breeders. Get a pure breed. And