The Cockapoo
The Cockapoo, also known as the Cock-a-poo or the Cockerpoo, is a designer dog or hybrid cross-breed consisting of equal parts Cocker Spaniel and Poodle. The Cocker Spaniel is usually an American Cocker Spaniel but can also be an English Cocker Spaniel. The Cockapoo hybrid started to become popular in the US during the 1960’s. Designer dogs are really hybrid or cross-breed dogs that have been developed to try and achieve some positive characteristics from the founding pure-bred dog breeds. “Poo” hybrid dogs where the Poodle is crossed with a number of breeds such as the Labrador Retriever (Labradoodle), Golden Retriever (Goldendoodle), Maltese (Maltipoo) and the Schnauzer (Schnoodle) are very popular. This is because the Poodle is a very intelligent breed with a non- or low-shedding odorless coat which is said to be hypoallergenic. See our section on Dog Allergies. This non-shedding coat seems to be a dominant characteristic which is passed on to the first generation of puppies, accounting for the popularity of the “poo” hybrids.
Many hybrid breeds will have fewer genetic health problems than the founding breeds. Nevertheless purchasers should always ask to see the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) certificates for both parents. The Cockapoo Club of America (www.cockapooclub.com) has set standards to help the Cockapoo eventually become a recognized breed. They encourage breeders to start with AKC registered Poodles and Cocker Spaniels with provable backgrounds and then carefully breed and document unrelated pairs of Cockapoos for health and temperament. All breeding pairs should have OFA and CERF certificates. They have identified three separate breed categories. The first is the American Cockapoo, the second is the English Cockapoo and the third is a temporary non-provable Cockapoo category where the parents may not be AKC registered or there may have been some Cockapoo – Poodle back cross or Poodle – Cockapoo back cross breeding. This third category will be phased out after a period of time so that breeders can standardize on the first two categories.
Four sizes of Cockapoo are designated. These are the: Teacup Toy (under 6 pounds grown weight); the Toy (7 – 12 pounds); Miniature (13 -18 pounds); Maxi (over 19 pounds). Either founding breed can be the dam or sire but usually because of size differences, the Cocker Spaniel is the dam and a Toy or Miniature Poodle is the sire. Generally a Cockapoo does not look like either of the founding breeds but has many features of both. The tail is undocked but can be straight or curled and the eyes are large, round and brown with a soulful intelligent look. The ears are medium-long and hang straight down. All colors are acceptable with a long full coat that can be loose curly or wavy to straight. The muzzle and legs are covered with fur. Coats are low to non shedding and are likely to need combing, brushing and clipping on a regular basis.
Cockapoos are affectionate, loyal and friendly and get along well with children – even tolerating their clumsy handling. The Cockapoo is eager to please and can be trained quite easily. Because of the heterosis effect, when two in-bred breeds are crossed, the resulting progeny should be healthier and have fewer genetic defects than the parents. Therefore it is expected that the Cockapoo should live for more than 15 years.
Health-wise both founding breeds are subject to a number of genetic problems which is why it is essential to have OFA and CERF testing done before breeding. Cocker Spaniels are prone to eye problems including cataracts, glaucoma and progressive retinal atrophy as well as ear infections, allergies and elbow dysplasia. Poodles can be subject to heart disease, skin disease, luxating patella, and eye problems including cataracts and glaucoma. Information on most of these genetic diseases can be found in our article Hereditary Diseases in Dogs. It is expected that because of hybrid vigor or heterosis and parental testing, that the resulting Cockapoos should have fewer inherited genetic diseases.
The Goldendoodle
The Goldendoodle or Golden Doodle, often referred to as a Doodle, is another “poo” hybrid and is a cross between the Golden Retriever and the Poodle. Hoping to build on the early success of the Labradoodle and later the Cockapoo, breeders in Canada and the US started to breed Goldendoodles which were initially called Goodles. It is thought that US breeder Amy Lane was the first to coin the name Goldendoodles to describe her first litter of hybrid puppies.Generally accepted guidelines for Goldendoodles assume that the first generation hybrid Goldendoodles that result from breeding a Golden Retriever with a Standard Poodle will range between 21 to 24 inches tall at shoulder height and 55 to 75 pounds for males and 20 to 23 inches tall and 45 to 65 pounds for females. Goldendoodles sired by Toy or Miniature Poodles should range in height from 13 to 21 inches tall and 25 to 45 pounds.
Most of the breeders of Goldendoodles seem to emphasize the advantages of hybrid vigor or the heterosis effect in the first generation hybrids. In order to minimize shedding and ensure allergy friendliness, some breeders are producing backcrosses where a Goldendoodle is bred back to a Poodle to produce a hybrid that is ¾ Poodle and ¼ Golden Retriever. Some experienced breeders are breeding multi-generation Goldendoodles using unrelated pairs. This type of breeding may reduce the hybrid vigor but will guarantee more standardization on the Goldendoodle characteristics.
No matter which type of hybrid you purchase always ask to see the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and the Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) certificates for both parents.
The Doodles coats are generally light to non-shedding, 3-7 inches long, and range from soft and wavy to tight and curly. Colors range from the traditional light whites and creams to apricot, brown, chocolate, silver, gray, black and multi-colored. The doodles coat requires daily brushing and combing and should be clipped on a regular basis. Wash your Doodle only when necessary as too many baths will dry out the skin and coat.
The Goldendoodle is a wonderful family dog which gets along extremely well with children. The Doodle is extremely bright and athletic and can be trained to high level for agility, obedience and competitive sports. Doodles also make great guide dogs.
From a health viewpoint both the founding breeds can have a number of genetic problems. Poodles can be subject to heart disease, skin disease, luxating patella, and eye problems including cataracts and glaucoma. Common Golden Retriever health problems include: inherited musculoskeletal disorders such as hip dysplasia and elbow dysplasia; eye diseases such as progressive retinal atrophy and juvenile cataracts; sub aortic stenosis (SAS) heart disease and hypothyroidism. Information on these inherited diseases can be found in our article on hereditary diseases. Hybrid vigor resulting from cross-breeding and ensuring that the parents are
OFA and CERF certified will go a long way to minimizing the possibility of genetic diseases in the Goldendoodle.
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