Cocker Maggie & Co

Okay.. This will probably not make me the most popular person on earth to debate this topic, but I really think we need some nuances on why many breeders are not entirely positive in regard to “doodles” and “Poo’s”

So far we have several difference types, and they keep coming, but as far as I see the most popular are the Goldendoodle, Labradoodle, Cavapoo, Maltipoo, Bernedoodle and last but not least, the Cocker Spaniel variety called Cockapoo. It all started with an experiment back in the 90’s, where you wanted to breed an allergy friendly guide dog. You can’t say it was complete success, but the mix between the breeds where a success, as the outcome where overloaded with cuteness factor. The curls, the happy tail, the goofy expression and the sudden guarantee of an allergy friendly and healthy dog: everything a human could wish for!

Overselling a factory produced puppy?

So, why aren’t we all just happy and appreciating this new “breed” in town? Well, first of all I need to say, there are no bad dogs and I have nothing against mixed breeds. But the negativity from many regular breeders starts when doodles are being sold as something they are not. By crossing two breeds, you can’t chose to get the 50% good from the poodle, and the 50% good from Cocker Spaniel, to get your perfect Cockapoo. Generally, you cannot guarantee anything in breeding, but what we see on the homepages of the different doodle breeders is that they actually are promoting the doodles will be: allergy friendly, great family dogs, specific size/weight, no illness, etc. So here you just have a couple of comments on these topics:
Allergy friendly: If you are allergic to dogs, it will be triggered by the dogs skin and also saliva. so, even though the dog doesn’t shed, you could still be allergic. But, if your allergy is more mild, a dog that doesn’t shed can be enough, as the air will be hair and dust free. But still, by crossing one breed with a poodle, you can not be sure they get the poodle non shedding genes. Also, you often see doodles really struggle with their coats and many dog groomers say they are their worst nightmare, because you have combined to different kinds of coat, and they are really difficult for the owners to maintain.
Great family dogs: yes, I’m sure many of them truly are great family dogs – i know a few great ones at least. The poodle is very intelligent breed – intelligent dogs require something from their owner. Some poodles can be a bit reluctant, but otherwise they are happy, social dogs. But it’s also important to mention, that poodles actually are a hunting dog and a very active one. So let’s say you cross that with a Cocker Spaniel – also a happy go lucky family dog, very active, intelligent and certainly a hunting dog. The cross between the two breeds will not give you an easy “family of four with kids, living in the city” dog. In my opinion neither the Poodle or the Cocker Spaniel is a breed I would recommend to everyone as a great family dog. They both require firm, loving and clever training, and they are a not always a good match if you have kids. So by mixing the two, I’m having a hard time to see why now all of a sudden it’s a great family dog for everyone.
Specific size/weight: I have seen so many webpages describing the exact size and weight of the doodle puppies from this specific breeder. The weight and bone structure of a Labrador vs. a Poodle is quite different from each other, so to me it is a strange thing to promise people, when you basically don’t know. It might not matter if the dog is 4 or 4,5 Kg, but to me, it is just not a selling point to have a specific weight.
No illness: again you find webpages with breeders saying these mixes are so healthy, because they won’t have the breed-specific illnesses you find in the pure breeds. As written earlier, I’m not trying to make pure breeds something holy, but by mixing two breeds, you cannot assure that you get and illness-free dog. Again, how can they be so sure they only get the good 50% of the mother and farther dog, and not the 50% bad genes? I think many puppy buyers are being tricked (.. and I don’t blame them), because the doodle breeders write on their webpages that their dogs have health checks and different tests, but as this is a mix of different breeds, what is the necessary things to test for? Most certainly I have never seen a Cavepoo breeder test for HD or inherited eye diseases, which you will check for in the Cocker Spaniels. Besides that, in general when you are buying a puppy without a pedigree, you cannot be assured the parent dogs are actually tested for anything.

Two different commercial strategies

In Denmark you don’t see many breeders making a living from breeding. There is simply not enough money in it. But, asking google for doodle breeders, you will find several doodle breeders, that most certainly are making a living out of it. This also makes a big difference in the way they are running their sales machine. The doodle breeders have a nice webpage, they are taking the puppy buyers through the different steps of getting a puppy from them and it all seems very professional. They openly write about waiting lists (and the price for being on a waiting list), price of the puppies, rules when you buy one, how you will pick up you puppy on one specific day, so you can get a hole lesson about dogs with the other puppy buyers. Many of the breeders have different variants of the doodles, so you chose exactly the color and size you want. Like the puppies are something you can order from a vending machine. I’m not kidding, I have just seen a webpage, where you can chose on a scale from 1-10 how active a dog you want or how social you want the dog to be on a scale from 1-10. Does that mean, they have all variants in stock? To me this is a warning sign, that this has become a commercialized machine. What I’m missing here, really is the passion, the deep breed knowledge, the authenticity of a regular breeder.

“I have just seen a webpage, where you can chose on a scale from 1-10 how active a dog you want or how social you want the dog to be on a scale from 1-10. Does that mean, they have all variants in stock?“

Many doodle kennels are pure business, and a very well oiled one of it’s kind. The price of the doodles is way, way, way higher than the pure breeds and that’s even though the regular breeders have much higher costs on their litters. The regular breeders will most often have higher costs on health tests, registration in the Kennel Club, many of them are doing some kind of costly activity with their dogs as well like hunting or going to dog shows – and that’s expensive as well. So, you can get a Cavapoo from somebody who just started breeding 5 years ago and now breeds 100 puppies a year for around 25.000 DKK or you can get a Cocker Spaniel from a breeder with let’s say 30 years of experience with this one breed, decorated show dogs with perfect health results, and only having one litter a year, and here a puppy will cost you around 15.000 DKK. To the latter price, is the fair price – no need to change that, even though you maybe could. But breeding dogs is not a business, it is and should be a passion.

But at the end, I have to say that regular breeders aren’t making it easy to be a puppy buyer. Many breeders are hiding and you have to know someone, who knows someone to find them. The reasons for this are many. Top of mind because they have a full time job on the side, they also have to take care of therefor, they don’t have the time, energy or resources to update their webpage all the time or to make commercialized material in some other way. Also, when this is not your full time job, you don’t have the time to talk to potential puppy buyers every single day. When you are passionate about what you do, what often happens is that a single phone call from a potential buyer takes an hour telling about the breed, asking them about their life situation etc., so you end up being your own secretary when posting that you have puppies on your webpage or at Koebhund.dk. But these regular breeder could make it much easier for everyone to chose a pedigree dog, if they learned a little bit about promoting them selves from the doodle breeders, and if they started to be a bit more welcoming towards new potential dog owners, instead of sitting on their high horse expecting potential puppy buyers to come to them.

Doodle vs. regular breeders are doing a lot of things differently from each other. Below you have some of the most eye catching differences, that a doodle breeder does, which regular breeders would rarely do:

1. Having a webpage almost purely about how to buy a puppy from them, what the process looks like, what rules you have to follow, etc. (regular breeders normally don’t have that, they are showing off their pack of dogs, maybe writing about their latest show or field test results. If you want a puppy, you can contact them)
2. Gives you the possibility to fill out a “order a puppy here” formula
3. Invite you to be on a waiting list, that comes with a price (and you won’t get your money back, if you chose not to buy)
4. Invite you to meet the litter together with everyone else who is having a puppy from that litter (efficient, when you have so many puppies, but not normal for a breeder who doesn’t have several litters at a time)
5. Taking half the price of the puppy before you pick up the dog
6. Arranging a “puppy pick up” day with you and everyone else who is picking up their puppies (again, what a well oiled machine)
7. Making sure you sign, that you will spray your dog, when they get a certain age (regular breeders normally recommend you not to spray)
8. Last but not least, expect to pay double the price for a dog only breed for business purposes

A last thought to sum it all up

Honestly I think a lot of the doodle breeders are treating their dogs well, they seem like they are happy and well kept. They just have a lot of dogs and that’s all right, if you are giving them the care they need. There will always be some breeds more popular than others from time to time. Like when Paris Hilton started promoting the Chihuahua or when Disney made sure everyone wanted a Spaniel, because they made Lady and the Tramp. But the popularity of the doodles just exploded, especially during Covid-19, it seemed like everyone needed to be the owner of a doodle, and in my world they are choosing the breed based on look, cuteness factor and exposure on social media, instead of thinking twice about what they want from a dog and what they can offer a dog. And when this meets with a doodle breeder, who is in it for the money, it doesn’t always turn out pretty. So, if you are considering buying a doodle, just know the breeders cannot promise you a wonder-dog, you are paying overprice and think twice about the active breeds mixed creating this cuteness overload dog.