03/12/2025
A must read if youโre thinking of supporting the commercial puppy farmers
๐พ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ผ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ ๐พ
In recent months, weโve seen an alarming number of surrender requests for Cockapoos and Cockapoo puppies, many with ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐. These dogs, bred from a Poodle and Cocker Spaniel, have surged in popularity, but the rise in demand is causing serious, often overlooked consequences.
๐ Currently, 4.9% of all ads - 23 out of 467 - on Dogs.ie are for litters of Cockapoos, making them the most advertised "breed" on the platform. These puppies are sold with a high price tag, around โฌ500 each, drawing in buyers with their cute appearance and trendy "designer" label. But what happens when the new owners realize the reality of owning one?
๐ Breeders, especially those producing puppies purely for profit, are unlikely to take them back when the owners struggle. That responsibility falls on rescues and pounds who are left to pick up the pieces.
๐ถ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ผ๐: ๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐ป-๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐
Despite their high price, Cockapoos are not a pedigree breed. There are significant drawbacks to choosing a non-pedigree dog, like Cockapoos. With mixed breeds, itโs often difficult or impossible to determine exactly what breed traits will dominate, making it hard to predict their behaviour and size as adults.
๐งฌ While the disposition of the parents can offer clues to a puppyโs temperament, in many cases, Cockapoo parentage is undocumented or unknown. This contrasts with pedigree dogs, whose medical and behavioral histories are well-recorded. With Cockapoos, health issues can be much more unpredictable.
โ ๏ธ ๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ด๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ?
Cockapoos are often bought as family pets because of their adorable looks, but their ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ can lead to significant ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ that many families arenโt prepared to handle. Cockapoos are a mix of two highly intelligent working breeds - Poodles and Cocker Spaniels. This leads to a unique set of challenges:
๐พ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ต๐๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: With strong hunting instincts from both sides, Cockapoos can become reactive and may chase small animals if not properly trained.
๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐
๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐: These dogs thrive on companionship and can develop severe anxiety when left alone for long periods, often leading to destructive behavior.
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ-๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐: Without proper early socialisation, Cockapoos can become fearful and reactive to unfamiliar situations, people, or other dogs.
๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ-๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: Cockapoos often exhibit ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, a behavior linked to their hunting breed background. Both Cocker Spaniels and Poodles have instincts to protect valuable resources like food or toys. Without training and clear boundaries, these traits can escalate into possessive behaviors and even aggression.
โ ๏ธ These behaviors, especially resource guarding, ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ท๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐. This is why many Cockapoos, despite their cute appearance, find themselves surrendered to shelters.
๐ก ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ: ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐
Cockapoos are rarely, if ever, ethically bred. ๐ก๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐น ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต-๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ด ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ผ๐ป-๐ฝ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ. Reputable breeders are dedicated to improving the health, temperament, and overall quality of their specific breed. They carefully select mates for their dogs to maintain or enhance these traits - not to crossbreed for profit.
Breeders who are committed to improving their breed follow strict guidelines, health tests, and pair their dogs based on genetics, temperament, and health. In contrast, many Cockapoos are bred without these considerations. The primary focus for these breeders is demand and profit, not the welfare of the animals or the long-term health of the breed. The results are dogs that often suffer from poor genetics or behavioral issues that could have been avoided with responsible breeding.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ?
If people stopped purchasing from bad breeders, they would no longer profit from this cruel cycle. When people buy Cockapoos from irresponsible breeders without doing proper research, theyโre unknowingly supporting an industry that cares more about money than the welfare of the animals.
โ
๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐.
Before committing to any dog, especially a "designer" breed like a Cockapoo, itโs crucial to understand their unique needs.
๐๐ ๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ผ๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฝ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
