# Crazy Cockapoos



## kimberleigh (8 August 2018)

How many of you all own these mad beasts?? 

My first thought was that a Cockapoo would be an easy, fluffy, family dog who would give me an enjoyable break from the more high maintenance working dog breeds I have - how wrong I was &#128584;

Why I had this idea I do not know - after all, a working cocker spaniel crossed with a poodle, on paper, is never going to be a laid back sofa surfer! 

She's fluffy yes but she is just as much work as the ones I wanted to chill from. She is like a kangaroo on speed, agile as a cat and faster than I deemed possible for her type! She has endless energy and requires a huge amount of physical exercise plus a ton of mental stimulation to keep her on a sort of even keel. 

She has an exceptional nose and loves going off flushing with the springer, copes very well in all weathers and loves water. She is tough as nails, having been recently stepped on by one of the horses without so much as a whimper! If she gets hurt, she dusts herself off as if nothing happens!! Her conformation is second to none.

Downsides to her are that she has an incredibly sensitive digestion so frequent bad tum from scavenging in fields, reacts badly (skin wise) to grain/fillers etc and can be a little nervy environmentally if something unexpected happens. It is hard to keep any weight on her, under the curls she has the frame of a whippet. She is also fairly reactive to new people and dogs despite extensive socialisation, but once she gets over herself she loves to play with dogs (though can be a little bit of a bully if a dog cant match her in rough and tumble stakes &#128584

It would be interesting to know sizes of others too - I think shes a big girl at 22" and 16kg. She just turned 10months yesterday!


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## splashgirl45 (8 August 2018)

you are just confirming my thoughts on this cross.  we have quite a few near me and most are very hyper and cant be let off lead as they will pee off or attack other dogs.  why anyone would think this mix is a suitable first dog for families is beyond me.  you fell for the it and sound like a sensible owner so its not surprising so many people have been taken in....on the other hand the pure cockers i know seem to be well behaved sensible little dogs, i dont know many poodles so cant comment on their behaviour...good luck with yours, hopefully you will get your family dog eventually....


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## kimberleigh (8 August 2018)

splashgirl45 said:



			you are just confirming my thoughts on this cross.  we have quite a few near me and most are very hyper and cant be let off lead as they will pee off or attack other dogs.  why anyone would think this mix is a suitable first dog for families is beyond me.  you fell for the it and sound like a sensible owner so its not surprising so many people have been taken in....on the other hand the pure cockers i know seem to be well behaved sensible little dogs, i dont know many poodles so cant comment on their behaviour...good luck with yours, hopefully you will get your family dog eventually....
		
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Yeah luckily I'm a very experienced owner and in all fairness she is a doddle compared to a lot I've had. No human or dog aggression whatsoever, which is nice! 

But I cant imagine that she would be a good fit for a family who just wanted a cute house pet.

Ive heard about loads that people wont let off lead for fear of them doing a runner; if I kept mine on a lead she would drive me insane &#128514;


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## Pearlsasinger (8 August 2018)

I know 2, one is a terribly nervy creature, very lacking in confidence, although she is with an experienced owner and the other should be on a lead all the time but isn't because the owner is feckless.

I have known some very clever poodles who were very trainable.


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## CorvusCorax (8 August 2018)

I've spoken about this here before. There are obviously regional differences and it is possible that the ones around here are all coming from the same lines/place, but as a rule they are hyper, reactive and environmentally sensitive.


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## kimberleigh (8 August 2018)

Pearlsasinger said:



			I know 2, one is a terribly nervy creature, very lacking in confidence, although she is with an experienced owner and the other should be on a lead all the time but isn't because the owner is feckless.

I have known some very clever poodles who were very trainable.
		
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As is so often the case sadly with owners not having a clue, the dog suffers for it &#128527;

Yes I am a big poodle fan and the idea behind the cockapoo was actually to help convince OH that poodles werent just poncey fluff balls but actually highly driven, intelligent dogs - with the excuse that the working cocker made it more of a "real dog" &#128584; plan did work as he adores her - thinks she wouldmake a cracking bushing dog for working with lurchers!


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## Amymay (8 August 2018)

Just spent 4 days with one. Hyper, crazy and totally adorable.  A really super family dog who is great at agility and just loves everyone.


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## kimberleigh (8 August 2018)

CorvusCorax said:



			I've spoken about this here before. There are obviously regional differences and it is possible that the ones around here are all coming from the same lines/place, but as a rule they are hyper, reactive and environmentally sensitive.
		
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Having read up a lot on different peoples experiences, it does seem this is a trend within the mix - esp when working cocker is used rather than show cocker (though some show cocker lines do come with their own behavioural/temperament issues!)

It is sad that they've fallen victim to being known as a "designer dog" as this is usually a pretty big nail in the coffin for breeds/types/mixes.

My OHs very first dog as a child was a labradoodle...back in the 60s!! Of course back then it was just called a lab x poodle or as he put it, an accident! Then all over a sudden, decades later, people start deliberately mixing the two and making thousands of pounds for their 'new creation' &#128527;


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## kimberleigh (8 August 2018)

amymay said:



			Just spent 4 days with one. Hyper, crazy and totally adorable.  A really super family dog who is great at agility and just loves everyone.
		
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Sounds very much like mine, as she actually is a great family dog for our family...but wouldn't be for others! Though in fairness I expect you could say that about loads of breeds


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## Cinnamontoast (9 August 2018)

I see a lot due to the grooming parlour at the yard. They must be churned out by a byb, cos they all have undershot jaws and are barky nervy things. I&#8217;m sure some, like the OP&#8217;s, are fabulous, but I think they need a certain kind of owner who know what to do with them. 

I yearn for a standard poodle, I&#8217;m not sure why you&#8217;d want to cross them or any size poodle with something else?


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## kimberleigh (9 August 2018)

cinnamontoast said:



			I see a lot due to the grooming parlour at the yard. They must be churned out by a byb, cos they all have undershot jaws and are barky nervy things. I&#8217;m sure some, like the OP&#8217;s, are fabulous, but I think they need a certain kind of owner who know what to do with them. 

I yearn for a standard poodle, I&#8217;m not sure why you&#8217;d want to cross them or any size poodle with something else?
		
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Mine is noisy, likes the soundnof her own voice...but makes a good watch dog haha. I think they're incredibly common with BYBs, IF ours is ever bred from she will have a strong working whippet put over her and they'd make cracking rabbiting dogs but she would have to pass hip/elbow scoring first along with heart/eye testing. The idea behind the outcross would be to eradicate the digestive sensitivity and slight environmental nerve. But it wouldn't happen for years if it wver did so more of a musing than anything else

The standard poodle is what I want too!! They are fantastic dogs


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## Tiddlypom (9 August 2018)

cinnamontoast said:



			I yearn for a standard poodle, Im not sure why youd want to cross them or any size poodle with something else?
		
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Because you can call the resultant cross by a cute made up name. I mean, *****poo and ****oodle are just gawguss descriptions for your new puppy, aren't they .

We had a cracking poodle back in the 60s/70s, he was a cross between a toy and a miniature poodle. He was all real dog, a proper friendly family pet and not nervous at all. Do the nerves in the cross breeds come from poor poodle blood lines then, as suggested above?


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## kimberleigh (9 August 2018)

Tiddlypom said:



			Because you can call the resultant cross by a cute made up name. I mean, *****poo and ****oodle are just gawguss descriptions for your new puppy, aren't they .

We had a cracking poodle back in the 60s/70s, he was a cross between a toy and a miniature poodle. He was all real dog, a proper friendly family pet and not nervous at all. Do the nerves in the cross breeds come from poor poodle blood lines then, as suggested above?
		
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I dont think the poodle not the cocker can be "blamed" for nerve issues - rather idiot owners/breeders not doing correct socialisation and using the dogs purely for producing pups. If dam is never socialised as a baby puppy and sees her own dam displaying nervous tendencies then it stands to reason that if her owners dont work mega hard to turn that around then she will end up the same, as will her pups - and so on and so forth.

I also feel that most breeders of designer crosses dont look for a mate that compliments or improves on their bitch - its more a case of "ooh hes a fancy colour we will use him" or "ah he is only in the next road over, he will do". The stud owners ofren appear to accept any botchbas long as the fee is paid


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## CorvusCorax (9 August 2018)

Nerves (whether good or bad) are genetic and can go back a long way or indeed skip generations.
Socialisation is only a part of the puzzle.
I've seen well socialised dogs still not be comfortable in a busy environment, I've seen dogs kennelled for the first year of their life walk down a street confidently.


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## kimberleigh (9 August 2018)

CorvusCorax said:



			Nerves (whether good or bad) are genetic and can go back a long way or indeed skip generations.
Socialisation is only a part of the puzzle.
I've seen well socialised dogs still not be comfortable in a busy environment, I've seen dogs kennelled for the first year of their life walk down a street confidently.
		
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I agree 100%, but if a dogs nerves arent good genetically then it takes a huge amount of work to get them approaching what a normal dog should be - and if not bothered with the dog will only become worse.

Same with a dog with good genetic nerve, if no socialising is done then they wont ever be as stable as their genetic potential but they wont be as bad as a dog with naturally poor nerves either.

One is not exclusive to the other, and both play a massive part in how a dog ends up


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## Clodagh (9 August 2018)

I have seen a cockerpoo out shooting and he was great, the owner also had a mid sized poodle he worked, they were both very game and well trained. I would not have wanted the burr removal job at the end of the day though!
There are lots, all related, around here and they are small, mad. food senstive, clingy and neurotic. All much loved though.


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## Cinnamontoast (9 August 2018)

Tiddlypom said:



			Because you can call the resultant cross by a cute made up name. I mean, *****poo and ****oodle are just gawguss descriptions for your new puppy, aren't they .

We had a cracking poodle back in the 60s/70s, he was a cross between a toy and a miniature poodle. He was all real dog, a proper friendly family pet and not nervous at all. Do the nerves in the cross breeds come from poor poodle blood lines then, as suggested above?
		
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You said what I was thinking. I reckon the nervy thing is likely to be from being permanently pregnant, stuck indoors, being bred from back to back if we&#8217;re going on nature v nurture and the dam&#8217;s temperament being very influential on the resultant pups.


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