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Cockapoos, Over Priced Designer Dogs? Your Choice
Cockapoos, Over Priced “Designer” Dogs? You decide.

This is my own opinion and is not targeted at anyone.
I believe there is a place for this particular cross especially in the assistance dog world.
I have been accused in the past of jumping on the “Cross anything to a poodle brigade” band wagon!
I breed Cockapoos and allow my Stud dog Rupert to mate with different breeds with the hope of highlighting the fact that it is easy and very rewarding to give something back by donating a pup. I try to do this responsibly by health screening Rupert and making sure he is up to date with all his tests and has the relevant documentation for anyone to see. I also ask the same of the owners of visiting bitches. I also make sure that the dogs temperaments are friendly as this is the most important quality a dog can have.
The very fact that poodle crosses are highly desirable has led to a huge surge in Labradoodles bred by anyone with a lab with access to a standard poodle with no regard for the dogs health or that of the resulting pups. The sad fact is that a lot of these dogs are now ending up in rehoming centres around the world because they are too big, they moult and they just aren’t suitable for allergy sufferers. No matter what anyone tells you the only dog you can trust that is successful for dander allergy sufferers is a POODLE. This IS a fact! You may be ok with a Poodle cross but why take a risk?   Also there are very few health checks on the dogs before a mating takes place. Although you can argue that “Highbrid Vigour” will cancel out any issues it can also be the cause of quite the opposite when all the bad traits from both breeds are present in the resulting litters.
I am happy for Rupert to mate with Labradors as long as the Labrador girls have acceptable hip scores and fabulous tempraments. The pups he produces (Mini Labradoodles) are medium sized dogs that fit very well in a family environment and make fantastic assistance dogs. They will range in coat types from scruffy to shaggy, high moulters to non moulters. I don’t dictate the price of these as I’m not the breeder. But I would hope that the price will not exceed £850. I also am happy for Rupert to mate with Labradoodles to produce Miniature Backcross Labradoodles. It would be nice for Labradoodles to all be hip scored but untill they are registered as a breed with the KC then a certificate is easily forged. At this present time is impossible to proove as no records of Labradoodles are kept. By breeding a labradoodle with Miniature Poodle you lessen the risk of Hip dysplacia considerably, if you'd like confirmation please check with a PROFESSIONAL who knows what they are talking about, like a vet for example.
Hip Dysplacia is not always hereditary it can also be caused by over excersising a puppy, too much walking on slippery modern floors, being overweight amongst other things. So after carefull consideration and advice from several vets, I don't ask for the Labradoodle girls to produce a hip score.
I charge £700 for my Cockapoo pups. This is a decision I have made based on how much it costs me to bring up a litter of pups properly with their first vaccinations in the home and I have looked at the average price it costs for a pedigree Cocker Spaniel puppy and used this as my base price.  
I do look at what others charge but I bare in mind that it costs me no more to bring up a litter of Cockapoos then it does to bring up a litter of Cocker Spaniels. I have a conscience and don’t like to charge inflated prices for a cross breed. There are no show classes for Cockapoos and no breed standard so you can’t be breeding for the good of the breed as they aren’t recognised, this go’s for Labradoodles too (at the moment) I’m afraid.   One day in the future they may well be allowed to join the hallowed rankings of pedigree dogs in the Kennel Club but until then they are classed as a cross breed.
I have heard of a breeder of Labradoodles who are now breeding Cockapoos and charging £1300 per pup! If you pay this then you must have more money then sense. I don’t blame the breeders particularly, if there are stupid people willing to pay that much for a dog then please leave a donation to the Samantha Smith retirement fund!
I’m not judging people but admittedly I am defending my choice to breed these crossbreeds and after donating a puppy I do still make enough profit to spend on a treat for my family. I also breed cross breeds because they are usually healthier dogs and the fact the resulting pups are frequently non-moulting, does make them a more desirable pet, but anyone who tells you they aren’t breeding crosses to make some money is a liar. There are breeders who are completely dedicated to producing the perfect showing specimen of their breed and in the Labradoodle world there are some breeders who are health screening and striving to perfect the ultimate Labradoodle. The only way to tell is to ask lots of questions as I'm sure they will ask you lots of questions back, to make sure YOU are suitable for one of their pups.
Overall Cockapoos are an excellent choice for a pet home or a working assistance dog. They make healthy, loyal, trustworthy, happy, little dogs that look like curly cockers with fabulous moustaches and beards. The majority are non-moulting but remember this does in NO WAY guarantee them to be ok with allergy sufferers. What ever you pay.
You could argue that I'm trying to make it respectable by involving Hearing Dogs and Canine Partners, but I like to think I put my money where my mouth is by keeping my prices lower and donating from my own litter. I am also very aware that health tests need to be carried out regulary which obviously cost money but I believe this is money well spent as I'm not willing to risk my dogs, visiting bitches or the future puppies health! I hope others will follow my lead and eventually the Designer Dog name will disapear.
Please share your thoughts about cross breeds in the guest box on this page only. Thank you.
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Jun 18 2009 11:18 am
Hi I am the owner of a beautiful chocky cockerpoo who is 12 months old please is there anybody out there who can tell me the best way to groom these fab dogs Jackcie
Hi Jackie,
The best way is to use a slicker brush every day and I use mild shampoo followed by conditioner, also if you have a few knots spray on some detangler (the kind you use on your kids) this covers the hair in a protective gloss that helps the comb or brush to glide through without splitting the hair.
Most importantly you must clip your Cockapoo at least every 2-3 months to keep the coat healthy.
I advise a teddy bear clip which is about 2" all over, you can leave the tail flowing, the top knot and moustache as long as there are no nasty matts.
I will be adding a grooming page soon with lots of ideas for different clips and grooming advice.
Hope that helps
Sam x

Mar 17 2008 02:29 am
Every dog that is intentionally bred is a designer dog.   Never more true than when applied to the pedigree breeds.   As the occasional carer of my sister-in-law's beautiful cockapoo, and soon to be owner myself, I feel the designer dog tag comes from owners of other pedigree breeds who feel jealous that the cockapoos are not only stunning to look at, with adorable temperaments, but also clearly highly intelligent.   There are responsible breeders and greedy breeders.   It's up to us cockapoo worshippers (oops, sorry, owners!) to buy responsibly.

Aug 22 2007 09:27 am
Although I do think producing designer dogs, or intentionally breeding large numbers of any dogs, is counter productive to getting the huge number of unwanted and stray dogs adopted, I have no huge objection - EXCEPT, in North America anyway, Cockapoos   all have docked tails, apparently because most of them come out with the lovely spaniel tail and according to the designers that looks silly with a poodle coat. How cruel is that?

That is awful, Docking a Cockapoo is completly unnescesary and would ruin the look in my opinion. How awful to hear that in North America they find the need to mutilate their pups. Thank you for your point of veiw.
Kind regards
Sam

Sep 26 2007 10:29 am
Couldn't agree with you more!!I breed Goldendoodles and feel very strongly about health screening.I can quite understand Poodle people being so anti-Doodles when there breed rescues are inundated with Doodles bred by unscrupulous people who do not hip score,eye test etc and are not willing to take responsibility for pups they have bred.
Do you DNA test (Optigen for PRCD PRA) ? Jackie

Hi Jackie, Both of Poppys (my Cocker)Parents were Optigen tested as genetically normal clear, so unaffected by GPRA, CPRA as were Ruperts, he also has a current BVA clear eye certificate and will be tested every April while in use as a stud. He is also swabbed every 3 months.
Are you Jackie from Jastra Goldendoodles, if so your dogs are gorgeous! Lovely to see a Goldendoodle donated to Canine partners.

Jun 23 2007 12:58 am
hi sam, im new to this site and found you by pure luck .ive being looking for a cockapoo...not an over priced one :) :) my other email add is ladykarineve@hotmail.com or my number is 00353876789808. my friend has a cockapoo in the us and ive fallen in love, so dont mind traveling for one. kind regards karin eve

May 17 2007 07:21 am
Please share your thoughts about cross breeds in the guest box on this page only.
Thank you
Samantha