Cavapoo puppy

[stripesorspots]

Hi, Potential first time puppy owner here, looking at a Cavapoo. Will be fully health checked when we get her. Can anyone give me an idea of approximate monthly costs - food/pet insurance/grooming and anything else I haven't thought of please! Just trying to work out if we can afford her..... Thank you!

Look into it even if you have someone that says they can help as circumstances change.

Definitely do this. The person who we had lined up decided to die!

I'd also add - get your dog used to their boarder/sitter before you even book a holiday. A good one will recommend at least one trial night as well as walks leading up to the holiday.

The last thing you want is to leave your dog for two weeks and find they won't settle. Again, decent (licensed) boarders and sitters will require emergency contacts who can step in if required.

I do sits in the owners home and gave had a few dogs who wouldn't settle for their trials so the owners have had to look for an alternative - you don't want to be doing that with only a couple of weeks until you go away.

Another thing is that walkers, daycares and boarders often book up months in advance so you really do need to plan ahead. I've taken bookings 18 months in advance before and my sits for this year were already full last August.

If you're not sure you can afford a dog then I would really, really recommend that you don't get one.

I'm not sure this is fair - if you've never had a dog before, you're not going to know about costs. But also, dogs don't have to cost a fortune. I see some of the costs people fork out on here it genuinely baffles me, lol.

A lot of it also depends on lifestyle - millions of dog owners never go near a groomers or use a walker or kennels. Their dogs stay with family or come with them on their holidays.

The most sensible thing you can do is ask - especially as prices vary massively depending on your area and often even by the size and age of your dog.

Rather than paying into insurance we've always had a 'pet bank account'. Put in what you can afford a month.

My cavapoo is now 12. She's always been healthy so no vet costs except for annual vaccination. She does now go to the vet nurse every 8 weeks and have her glands done though. Costs £26. Grooming is essential especially around the eyes so that's £35 every six weeks. She adores agility so that costs extra and will depend on how far you want to go. Shows are fun! We love our holidays so a good home boarder is worth finding.

Enjoy. They are lovely little dogs.

Dreadful choice @stripesorspots . None of these poodle crosses are ethically bred.

We have a miniature poodle and she is amazing. Just get a poodle! You will have a beautiful, intelligent dog, which is properly bred and health checked.

Health checked puppies, instead of having a load of specific test results on the parents should be a huge red flag btw.

The cavalier parent should have annual eye and heart checks and the poodle should have DNA test results.

I don't think I've come across a Cavapoo that doesn't yap all the time and isn't highly strung.

Bizarrely the majority are females called Luna.

I’ve just come on here for a read about Cavapoos as a colleague isn’t coping with hers and has buyers regret. We’ve been seriously talking about getting a dog for the family, so I’ve taken into account the comments here before committing to my colleague’s offer on taking her on…

How does that work if your dog gets hit by a car at 10 weeks old? Do you start off with a large lump sum in there and add to it?

I'd just get a Cav or Poodle from health tested parents.

I've got a Cav (she's not 2 yet) from health tested parents and she's an absolute dream. I see a lot of cav/cockerpoo mixes on walks and most of them are crackers. One of the owners said she loves hers to bits but wouldn't have another.

My dog costs me an absolute fortune but she doesn't need to I just spoil her. 🤣 my unavoidable monthly expenses are

£47 Petplan insurance
£18 vet package but this includes all wormer/flea treatments, her annual booster including kennel cough, 2 free consultations a year and some other stuff.
£50 for a 6kg bag of dog food but I'm not sure how long this lasts but at least 2.5months.

I buy toys, treats and JR Pate for training on top of this and I only give her good quality natural treats so works out expensive but I try to buy in bulk. She's does love things like raw carrots and broccoli as well. Obviously these are optional expenses. I also get her groomed every 2 months at £42 again not compulsory because she has a smooth coat.

It costs a lot getting everything you need to bring the puppy home, collar/lead/harness, bed/blankets, toys, treats, bowls and maybe a crate. Then you have to factor in the first vaccinations and if your local vet doesn't do the same ones as the breeders vet then it'll cost more. You are probably more likely to make more trips to the vets in the first year or 2 as well because puppies generally eat things they shouldn't or injure themselves charging about.

Including the ones about wonderful family pets who are very healthy, like ours?

We chose a cavapoo because we wanted cavalier gentleness but without the chronic health conditions in the breed. The non-shedding coat and the poodle cleverness were added bonuses. We did get a puppy from a home breeder and both parents had DNA clear health tests, and 4 generation pedigree papers - so it is possible despite what some on here are saying.

I wonder if everyone slating the breed on this thread has ever even owned a Cavapoo? 😅 yes obviously avoid backstreet breeders like the plague, but any dog can develop a health or behavioural problem. Pedigree dogs are more prone to health issues as they are more closely bred than cross breeds. All anyone can do is go to a responsible breeder, get the right insurance, and train their dog.

I've had 3 Cavapoos and they are honestly a fantastic breed. They are a delight to train, they are wonderful with people, they love children, they have all the warmth and loving nature of a Cav and all the intelligence of a poodle. Also a great breed for a first time dog owner.

Do you mean four generations for both parents? So all the KC paperwork for the poodle and the cavalier? And DNA tests including heart etc? Eye tests? You saw all the evidence of this? You saw evidence of the dogs inbreeding coefficient too (dogs with high coefficients are more likely to pass on defective genes even if they produce a mongrel puppy). Did the puppy have tests done? Including eye tests? A good breeder will get the puppies tested - this can be done at six weeks

Non-shedding doesn’t mean it doesn’t need grooming (and you should make that clear to OP and so often people get these dogs and do not adequately care for them as they think they’re low maintenance).

Technically, all breeders are ‘home breeders’ unless they have a business premises separate.

I’m not trying to be picky, but the way you’ve phrased your post makes it sound like your dog came from a respectable breeder and unless your answers are ‘yes’ to all my questions, you didn’t.

Surely mix breeding could mean you get the best of both breeds, but equally you could end up with the worst of both. With mix breeding the breeders are less likely to care about health issues in the breed, often they just wanted their dog to have puppies and mixed it with any old dog and gave it a daft name so it sounds legit or they had an 'accidental' litter. Often they inherit the anxious cavalier mixed with the agressive poodle.

A couple of people have mentioned non-shedding. Be aware OP that you're not guaranteed to get a non- shedding cavapoo. If that's important to you then go for a miniature poodle.

My parents got one about 4 years ago. It's a yappy, controlling, anxious little bugger. It completely rules the household.

4 generations for stud (no repeated dogs) 3 generations for dam (no repeated dogs)
PRA clear poodle sire
EF clear dam, also saw heart murmur paperwork (no murmur)

Puppy didn't have eye tests as PRA couldn't be passed on. We also had hips and knees checked at first vet visit and cleared.

Have the parents been health tested? The Cav should be MRI scanned for SM/CM, eyes and heart tested, the poodle should have eyes tested and be tested for VWD. If they haven’t been walk away.

We have a 7 month old Cavapoo and apart from stealing everything he can get his mouth round, he’s a total delight!

There’s a lot of misery on here!

We pay per month £18 vets package, £18 insurance, £15 on puppy Iams food, god knows how much on treats though! He’s only needed grooming once so far and it was £30.

Standard pic as dog tax:

That little angel could do no wrong

@mnahmnah what a cutie , I love the colouring

@olivebranch31 tell that to DH as he chases him round the bottom of the garden trying to get the tv remote back!

Just a note on the cav element of a cavapoo. Cavaliers are beautiful, gentle dogs & I have three of my own. They’re amazing & I wouldn’t have any other breed, I adore them.

However, the breed has a number of potential health issues which can be costly for you & painful for them - primarily due to bad breeding.

Please check the history of the cavalier side of your potential dog. Be careful with the wording “health check” which often means little more than a quick physical exam by a vet - you would really want to know the parents have been tested clear of the key hereditary conditions that can pass down - SM, heart murmurs up to a senior age, dry eye, C malformation etc & a good breeder would have certificates and paperwork to back that up.

Good luck, they are an absolute joy