Crossbreed · United States, 1960s
Cockapoo
Also called Cockerpoo, Cocker Spaniel x Poodle, Spoodle.
What makes them remarkable
One of the first deliberate crosses, bred in the United States in the 1960s, long before the word designer dog existed.
- Friendly
- Eager
- Playful
- People-focused
- Bright
- Size
- Small
- Weight
- 5 to 11 kg12 to 25 lb
- Lives
- 12 to 15 years
- Energy
- High
- Trains
- Very High
- Barks
- Moderate
Training
Training a Cockapoo
Crossbreed breeds. Train the dog in front of you, not the label. Read both parents, then watch which one turned up.
Teach alone time early
Start here
Bred from two people-focused breeds. Practise short, calm absences from the first week so being left is ordinary, not a crisis.
Use the eagerness, then stop
This is a dog that wants to get it right. Short, upbeat sessions and finish while the dog is still keen; drilling dulls them.
Grooming is training too
The coat needs handling for life. Brush, pause, reward, from puppyhood, so the groomer is never a fight.
The app turns this into five to fifteen minutes a day.
Add your Cockapoo and it builds the plan around their age, where they came from and what they already know, on video with Atlas and Shango.
Free to start. iPhone. No card needed.
At home
Living with one
Deliberate crosses of two breeds. No standard, so more variety within the cross than within a breed; the two parent pages explain the range.
Gets on with
- ChildrenHigh
- Other dogsHigh
- StrangersHigh
- CatsModerate
Breed averages. Early socialisation and the individual dog matter more.
- Exercise
- Around an hour a day, with games and sniffing time. Happy to do more.
- Grooming
- Brushing several times a week and a clip every six to eight weeks. Low shedding is common but not guaranteed.
- Drool
- Very Low
- Coat
- Wavy, Curly, Low shedding in mostApricot, Red, Chocolate, Black, Cream, Parti
- In a flat
- Can work, with enough exercise outside it.
Health
Things to ask a breeder or vet about
Ear Infections
Moderate
Drop ears and a hairy canal from both parents; weekly checks
Progressive Retinal Atrophy
Moderate
Inherited eye condition present in both parent breeds; test the parents
Luxating Patella
Mild
Kneecap slipping, more common in smaller dogs
Where they come from
History
One of the earliest deliberate crosses, appearing in the United States in the 1960s and long established in Britain, where it is one of the most common family dogs. The coat can come out anywhere between a loose spaniel wave and a tight poodle curl, and shedding varies with it.
The two sides
American Cocker Spaniel and Miniature Poodle
A cross has no standard, so any one Cockapoo can lean either way. Read both parent pages, then watch which one turned up in your dog.
Similar breeds
All breedsPuggle
Puggles were among the first crosses marketed by name, from a Wisconsin breeder in the 1980s.
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Two Cavapoos from the same litter can have completely different coats, one wavy and shedding, one curly and not.
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