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Cockapoo Dog Breed

A Cockapoo or Cockerpoo is a hybrid dog, created by crossing an American Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle, in most cases the Miniature Poodle or Toy Poodle. Also by breeding cockapoo to cockapoo of like generations. Breeders usually try to retain the small build of the American Cocker Spaniel, while retaining the wavy quality of the Poodle’s coat.

Health

Cockapoos tend to have far fewer genetic problems than their parent breeds. This is due to what some call hybrid vigor.

Nevertheless, both Poodles and Cocker Spaniels can suffer from luxating patellas (loose knees) and PRA (Progressive retinal atrophy, an eye disorder), so it’s essential to ensure that the parent dogs are tested for these problems.

It’s also important that a Cockapoo’s ears be kept clean and dry, as like Cocker Spaniels and other long-eared dogs, they can be prone to ear infections.

History

The Cockapoo has been popular in the United States since at least the 1960s. It has become so common that many Cockapoos are the result of breeding Cockapoo to Cockapoo rather than of a direct cross between a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle.

Cockapoos have also become very popular in other countries. In Australia and Sweden, they are usually called Spoodles, and can be the result of mating either the American Cocker Spaniel or English Cocker Spaniel with a Poodle, or of breeding successive generations of Spoodles.

Strictly speaking, the Cockapoo cannot be described as a purebred because it does not ‘breed true’. In breeders’ terms, ‘breeding true’ means that the pups of two mated specimens will have more consistently predictable characteristics, and will resemble their parents, rather than exhibiting random characteristics of the dog breeds in their ancestries.

There are currently three Cockapoo clubs in America that are working towards developing the Cockapoo by breeding successive generations, and establishing the Cockapoo as a recognized breed.

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