Cockapoo History

Cockapoos are one of the oldest “hybrid dog breeds” around having been developed in the United States back in the fifties.

The first mating of a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle produced an F1 Cockapoo which is still thought of as being the better and therefore more stable crossing of the two breeds because it boasts having the more consistent results. F1 Cockapoos tend to be a little taller than their parent breeds when they reach maturity and breeders believe that this results in the dogs having “Hybrid-Vigour”. When F1 Cockapoos are bred things get a little more complicated and the same can be said of F2 and other crossings too. Being “hybrids” as they are often referred to, the Cockapoo is not a recognised breed with any of the international breed clubs which includes The Kennel Club here in the UK (July 2017). However, many local breed clubs have been set up all over the world with an end goal being to make sure Cockapoos are bred responsibly so that puppies are healthier with less risk of them developing any of the congenital and hereditary health concerns that are known to sometimes affect their parent breeds, namely Poodles and Cocker Spaniels. With this in mind it’s really important for potential owners to contact responsible breeders who routinely have all their stud dogs checked for any hereditary disorders which is the only way of reducing the risk of puppies developing any of the conditions. It is, however, worth noting that no matter how carefully bred a Cockapoo happens to be, there is never any guarantee they won’t develop a congenital or hereditary disorder during their lives. It does however, reduce the chance of it happening.

I begin the weaning process at around 3 and half to 4 weeks of age and this consists of soaked premium puppy biscuit and warm goats milk. I then move on to introducing a raw diet as I feel that this is the best diet for my puppies for many different reasons, their skin and coat, bones and development, mental stimulation, smaller stools and a much easier way to maintain a suitable weight for your dog. However I do appreciate that this is not the ideal for every new dog owner, so by feeding a biscuit for growing puppies it means that if you chose not to stick with a raw diet for whatever the reason its a smooth transition. All the puppies are on a worming and flea regime, the worming begins at 2 weeks old and is given every 2 weeks up until they leave at 10 weeks and a flea treatment is given once a month.