Cockapoo or Cavapoo

[KaleQueen]

We’re taking the plunge with our first dog this year. In the research phase and it’s down to either a Cockapoo or Cavapoo. We’re going for male I think. We’re an active family and have one of us working from home. Two kids over age of 10 both sensible. Small ish house and mid size garden. Lots of fields and green space nearby. Want a dog that won’t chew our house to bits and be fairly well behaved! Committed to fully training them obviously as I know that’s an essential factor for behaviour. I adore dogs and walk others’ regularly so I’m really excited we’re taking this first step to get our own but I’m worried about making the wrong choice. Any advice would be hugely appreciated

Oh and more importantly @BeethovenNinth, no good person (let owner breeder or owner) breeds a dog without full health tests.

No one should want more possibly defective dogs in the world.

You've yet to answer whether you fully health tested your bitch, or the sire, before you studded them - multiple people have asked...

Staffies have amazing smiles and make great family dogs.

And the attacks. Yes I know the owner of the male. We did the standard genetic tests both sides. Patella issues are more common than hip dysplasia in cockapoos actually. All our dogs and puppies are healthy. The one we kept is slightly skittish hence why we kept her but we have worked on that - spaniels can be skittish.

I slept with my dog and her puppies for three weeks such was my fear she would squash one. I had advice from a breeding friend who saved the day first time round when she needed more calcium.

it is possible to like cross breeds that look cute and be a responsible dog owner!

ps to the poster above. One of my regrets is not rescuing a gorgeous staffie I got to know at the rescue centre. I didn’t know enough about staffies at the time. She was gorgeous and we bonded. I agree they make amazing family pets in the right place.

@BeethovenNinth How do you know your dog was perfect, since you clearly didn't have her health tested before breeding? What you really mean is she had a nice personality, so you thought letting her have puppies would be cute.

No one has attacked you. Several people have politely asked if you health tested your dog before breeding and you haven't answered. That has led people to assume you didn't. If the puppy farmer cap fits......

And your world must be full of ineffectual owners if they can't train recall in a springer.

ETA - Cross posted. You've finally answered the question. I'll leave my post up though, as I stand by my comments.

@BeethovenNinth I’m glad you fully health tested, including heart testing your dog.

I haven’t heard of a test for luxating patella though! I was under the impression it didn’t exist! Great news that it does😊

Cavapoo definitely preferred
cockerpoos have so many many behavioural problems

AFAIK the only test is a physical exam by the vet, saying yay or nay. And grading it between 1 and 4 if it's a yay. There is no test to see if the dog is a genetic carrier.

It’s mad reading all of this argy bargy about whether someone is a better breeder than someone else. I think we all need to remember that 1) we’re all humans on this thread with personalities and feelings (just like dogs and 2) if us humans hadn’t intervened and taken control of which dog breeds with which, they’d all just be breeding randomly with each other 😃

In the ‘natural’ world unhindered by human intervention I doubt a male cocker would be asking a female poodle about her health testing before he ‘went and got his leg over’ 🤣🤣 when I was growing up with the dogs around ours, if you asked what it was you’d often be told ‘it’s a Heinz…’ (aka 57 varieties of dog in one due to years of dogs just getting on with it.)

Having said that I’m very glad I know about the potential allergy issue with cross breeds. So will def be going poodle.

@KaleQueen i guess the difference is the male cocker wasn’t making thousands on each puppy and making claims on health

General rule of thumb is the smaller the dog the more likely it is. “Teacup” dogs it’s common, as it is in most “miniature” and “toy” breeds. If you’ve got a dog that is small for it’s breed as well.

but no genetic test as far as I know also.

It’s mad reading all of this argy bargy about whether someone is a better breeder than someone else.

It's not really argy bargy.

It's people who care deeply about dog health and happiness being keen to ensure people aren't doing stupid things for a quick buck.

Never heard of natural selection? Survival of the fittest?
Obviously doesn't apply to Heinz 57 mutts of old but they weren't unhindered by human intervention.

@KaleQueen All your last post tells me is you don't care about the ethics of dog breeding and will be perfecty happy filling the pockets of Donna of the poodle world.

What a shame you couldn't take on board more than poodle crosses aren't hypoallergenic.

Wow. Nothing to say in response. Some people astound me at how rude they can be anonymously.

most of it is (and it’s taught me so much) but some recently did get a bit feisty. I think my point (clumsily made) was let’s all just be a bit nicer. We clearly all love dogs and it seems we’re all trying to do our best by them, and it seems like people’s opinions differ on what that ‘best’ might look like. Even (the now dreaded) ‘Donna the doodle peddler’ I think has good intentions and thinks she’s a lovely dog breeder.

Thats 100 percent a puppy farm.

We have a Cavapoo. He’s perfect. Small, doesn’t shed, doesn’t smell, loyal, loving, clever, so cute he has a fan club in our park and knows exactly who will give him treats. Agree with all the advice on picking a breeder. Ours definitely vetted us in person before committing.

If your kids have promised to walk him, assume they never will…..

Toilet training in winter is hard, so best to get a puppy in spring.

Walking around on the patio in the pouring rain at midnight in February is perfect training for dog owning. A large golfing umbrella recommended. 😬😂

@KaleQueen no, Donna doesn't have good intentions. People like her don't. There's a puppy farm near me just like her. The website is nearly identical. This year alone, they'll make £140K from puppy sales of Golden-doodles across the various litters they've had.

No puppy farmer or mass breeder cares. They sell you a lie. Just like old 'Nigerian Prince' scams everyone used to get to our email addresses. They do not care as long as they are making money.

You get baited in by sweet looking puppies, fancy websites, expensive prices, AI photos, 'buzz-words' etc.

You get promised the world - a happy, healthy puppy, life-long support, excellent temperament, 'a family pet.'

You fall for it - you pay a deposit before you've even seen the puppy, you get distracted by the 'professionalism' of it all, the fact the dogs are raised in a loving family home, the fact there are no bitches older than 6, the fact there are multiple breeding bitches. And then you take the puppy home.

If you're lucky, the puppy might be healthy. It might be happy. More likely though, due to the way it has been raised, it'll be liability. It won't have a foundation of basic training. It won't be clean. It'll probably have serious, expensive, life-limiting health issues and behavioural issues - all of which are known to the puppy farmer, but they don't care because you've paid and the dogs no longer their problem. And, suddenly, that life-long support you've been promised? Yeah. That vanishes. You're left alone, £3K out of pocket, with a defective, unhealthy, neurotic mess of an animal.

You've enabled animal abuse to continue and, because of that, you are part of the problem.

Please don't be naive - it's the worse thing you can be when wanting to buy a puppy. Because, quite frankly, these scam artists will see you coming a mile away - in the nicest possible way, we all did...even before you posted the link to Donna's website.

And, most importantly...Donna's dog breeding licence? Doesn't appear on any traceable records including the local council website.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks this is her licence number issued by Northumberland County Council
NCC Licence Number: NDB/12

This is their current register

https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/NorthumberlandCountyCouncil/media/Business/Licences%20and%20permits/premises%20applications/Master%20Animal%20Register%20APR%202026.pdf

she could be any one of the breeders named as ‘private breeder’ on here with five stars? Anyone could ask to see her licence and report her if she is making a false claim surely? People are allowed to breed doodles, even if some don’t agree with it.

Five star license? Means pretty much nothing ime
For example, one requirement listed is that a bitch should have no more than SIX litters in her lifetime.
2 (or maybe 3 depending on health and age of bitch) would be the recognised limit for wellbeing

It has nothing to do with it being doodles! And everything to do with welfare

@KaleQueen yes, I know how it works. I have a licence myself and I have never - in twenty years - seen a licence with only two numbers on it.

If you google her alleged breeders licence...nothing comes up. If you google any of the other 'breeders' in the area, their licence comes up. Why is this important? Because it shows how many dogs they can have on a premises. The fact she hides hers (if indeed she is one of those 'private breeders') tells you she has something to hide.

Please just stop defending her. It's just making you look like a puppy-farm sympathist.

@Dunnocantthinkofone I would just give up. I am about to. OP clearly does not want to hear it. She'd still be buying from this puppy farmer if she thought the breed she wanted were hypoallergenic. Anyone who can have dozens of people tell her something in a puppy farm, and still defend the puppy farm, doesn't care.

@TheHungryHungryLandsharks I’m inclined to agree. The only reason I’ve continued to bother is for future posters……the OP clearly isn’t as interested in facts from those knowledgeable as she led us to believe earlier
Arguing the toss with industry professionals when you have by your own admission got zero knowledge is just making her look stupid at this point

@Dunnocantthinkofone I've actually just found 'Donna' on Pets4Homes. Completely different council licence reference there. 😯

Not at all suspicious. Totally normal. Like a pig flying. Or a politician telling the truth.

It also says she breeds GoldenDoodles as well as Maltipoos. So that's four types of dog she breeds. I wish I could be surprised, but honestly...I can't. People will still buy from here though, because their desire for a cute puppy trumps their concerns over animal abuse.

To be fair, I thought dressing up the Maltipoo puppies in ludicrous outfits was a nice touch 🙄🙄🙄🤮🤮 🤬🤬

It’s bloody infuriating isn’t it? Most people are scammed by these absolute parasites. Then you get others who basically just don’t want to hear it when those of us who actually know what we are talking about tell them the truth