My website is about my cockapoo puppy, Sunnie. Her mum is a red/apricot cockerspaiel, and her dad is a champange minature poodle. Because Cockapoos are a cross-breed, they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes with some dogs leaning towards the Cocker Spaniel whereas other inherit more Poodle traits whether it’s their physical traits or their temperaments. Some dogs may have the curly coat of a Poodle and others could have much straighter and longer hair because they inherited more of a Spaniel's coat, so it really does depend on the luck of the draw as to how a puppy Cockapoo turns out. With this said, they are small to medium sized dogs with most responsible breeders now using Miniature rather than Toy Poodles to cross with either American or English Cocker Spaniels to reduce the chances of puppies inheriting any of the many disorders that seem to affect the Toy Poodle. Although most dogs are small in stature, this is not to say that some Cockapoos are larger than others because it really does depend on their parents as to what size they throw to. As previously mentioned, a first crossing of a Cocker Spaniel with a Poodle produces an F1 Cockapoo which is thought of as being the more stable crossing of the two breeds simply because the mating produces a more stable result in their offspring. F1 Cockapoos are often slightly taller than both their parent breeds. When two F1 Cockapoos are mated, they produce F2 puppies and often this can produce "throwbacks" which are referred to a F2 Cockapoos having a "Grandad Effect". This is when puppies from the same litter can have very different looks with some throwing to a Poodle, others looking more like a Cocker Spaniel and some being a mixture of the two. This "Grandad" trait is not terribly apparent during the first few weeks of a puppy's life, but becomes more evident as a puppy grows and matures into an adult dog. Cockapoos can take on very different looks when they are bred back to a Cocker Spaniel or a Poodle which results in their offspring being referred to as F1b, F2b and so on, depending on what generation their parent dogs happen to be. As such crossing an F2 Cockapoo with another F2 dog produces an F3 Cockapoo. The problem arises when further breeding is carried out which must be thoroughly researched to avoid any in-breeding taking place. This is when both parent dogs have a common ancestor in a five-generation lineage. All variations of these charming dogs are always called Cockapoos, but because F1, F2, F3 etc crossings take place, the size of a dog, their shape and appearance as well as their temperament and intelligence can vary tremendously from dog to dog. It is also worth noting that their shedding rate and whether a dog has a hypo-allergenic coat can also vary a lot, bearing in mind that all Cockapoos shed dander which can also trigger an allergic reaction in people as can a dog's saliva. The Cocker Spaniel in Cockapoos
