All About Cavapoos
Poundlane Bailey
History of the Cavapoo
The Cavapoo is a crossbreed between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Toy or Miniature Poodle. This crossbreed has been around in America since the 1950s and is now crossed the pond to the United Kingdom. In America they have several crossbreed or Hybrid societys which these dogs are registered on but in the UK we have no such society of yet. In Australia it is named the Cavoodle and is often referred to as a designer dog but if you think about it all domestic dogs are designer breeds as they have been breed & designed to humans desire for them to do a job or mainly in are modern times to look a certain way. This crossbreed is becoming a very popular family companion all around the world. The interest in breeding this dog stems from the disire to create low/non moulting dog that makes a great all-round family pet that also is ideal for anyone with low allergys which is a very argued point. There is also the very argued point of Hybrid Vigour which I will discuss further in health. There are also people just crossbreeding anything wishing to cash in on the popularity that there is for crossbreeding. At Poundlane we have taken care & great consideration for its implications before crossbreeding & this is the only crossbreed we breed. At Poundlane we have weighed up all the arguements and feel that crossbreeding done carefully with healthy and good tempered parents is of benefit to the long term well being of our pups.
Poundlane Barney a Cavapoo puppy at 6 weeks old
Poundlane Roxy around 4 months old, 2011
Characteristics
The Cavapoo has a shoulder height of 9-14 inches(23-35cm) and can weigh anywhere between 7-18lbs depending on whether crossed with the Toy or Miniature Poodle. One of the most distinctive features of the Cavapoo are the long ears.The coat of the Cavapoo is known for its soft, Poodle-like coat, though a few have the longer silkier, wavy coat of the Cavalier. The Cavapoo can be a variety of colours including gold, black white, Blenheim(brown and white), or tricolour(black,white and tan). They are agile and sturdy dogs, small to medium in size. They have round and very expressive faces. Also very friendly and thrive on human attention.
Poundlane Alfie from are first litter of Cavapoos at nearly two years old in 2010
Poundlane Albie around 7 months old, 2011
Temperment
The Cavapoo is affectionate, loyal,and friendly. They are good natured,playful and social. They get on well with other dogs and non-canine pets. Cavapoos generally make great companions for anyone, from small children to an older person. Young children though should always be supervised around the Cavapoo to ensure they treat them with respect. They are not a dog for kennels as thrive on being family orientated and may not thrive if kenneled.
Poundlane Big Poppy at 6 months old, 2011
Poundlane Sammy around 4 months, 2011
Health
The Cavapoo may be susceptible to the health problems of either of the breeds( look on "About The Cavalier" & "About The Poodle" page), so great care should be taken in finding a breeder who is breeding from health screened parents. Though crossing these two breeds is said to produce Hybrid Vigour and the lifespan of a Cavapoo is around 10-14 years and some have made 20 years of age, compared to the lifespan of a Cavalier King Charles which is 9-10 years.
I personally think that if done carefully that it can improve health as we see within purebreeding more genetic problems occuring within each breed and although we see more genetic screening becoming available to help eradicate problems within breeds in some breeds removing dogs that carry genetic diseases from breeding programs will leave even less genetic deversity within a breed that within a short time other genetic diseases are then bred into that breed again. Even the Kennel Club have recently released literature saying that with each generation in purebreeds they are losing genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is the key to health as humans that is why we prolifercate the planet because we have great genetic diversity and within humans where we see more hereditary genetic abnormalities in the population is in closed of communities. This is what we have done with purebreeding dogs literally made them closed of communities within a species. The way forward in my eyes is crossbreeding with either creating new breeds or crossing to bring in more genetic diversity to a breed & after crossing back several times you would have the look you started with. This practice is used in other species & in dog breeds that are not recognised by the Kennel Club, as we do have several breeds with breed clubs that keep pedigrees that are not registered with the Kennel Club. The breeds that are not registered with the Kennel Club tend not to suffer with many genetic problems because simple if they get a problem within the breed they can crossbreed to rectify the problem.
Unfortunately most of the purebreed fraternity frown upon crossbreeding with several show producer breeders dedicating whole pages of their websites discrediting crossbreeding, the ones who do it and bestowing all the ills of the dog breeding world upon crossbreeding. Crossbreeding may very well be the saviour of many of the purebreeds in the not so distant future so I watch and wait with interest.
A German study on mongrels which includes crossbreeds as mongrels writes " Mongrels require less veterinary treatment" and a Swedish study writes "Mongrel dogs are less prone to many diseases than the average purebred dog". The Hybrid Vigour though is at its greatest benefit in the first generation cross and there after diminishes with each generation. So if you wish to have the best chance of health benefits to the dog it is best to aquire a first cross or also known as F1 and the next generation F2, etc. You also get F1b which is were a first cross is put back to one of the pure breeds in that cross so putting a first cross Cavapoo to a pure Poodle would then produce a F1b litter of pups.
Hybrid Vigour is also called Heterosis. In an article titled 'Heterosis Effect, Hybrid Dogs, it states "Heterosis effect results in a healthier, more vigorous dog with reduced chance of genetic disease. It is well known in all domestic animal breedings,hybrids 50%-50% mixes of two different breeds will raise the chances of having less genetic diseases because all doubling of detirmental effects will stop in the first generation. The genetic term for this is HETEROSIS EFFECT. This effect often gives non-related individuals stronger descendants than inbreeds."
" Once one goes beyond first generation purebred to purebred, you loose the heterosis effect, which is the goal for hybrid breeders."
A noteworthy extract from Principles of Genetics I`,D.H "Denny" Crews,Jr., Ph.D., P.A.S.;Breeding and Genetics Section, LSU Department of Science, Baton Rouge, states; "Mating of animals which are not alike in their pedigree or that are not related are those which will generally exhibit higher levels of hybrid vigour. Closely related animals do not exhibit high levels of heterosis.
At Poundlane Cavapoos we have only breed first crosses from health screened parents and thus these dogs benefit from the full effect of Hybrid Vigour but due to being very taken with this crossbreed in the all round health & type of puppy after two years breeding them we are now thinking strongly about breeding second generation and so on. We will hope to retain pups in the future as we know the health of are own dogs & that they are sound in temperment.
I personally think that if done carefully that it can improve health as we see within purebreeding more genetic problems occuring within each breed and although we see more genetic screening becoming available to help eradicate problems within breeds in some breeds removing dogs that carry genetic diseases from breeding programs will leave even less genetic deversity within a breed that within a short time other genetic diseases are then bred into that breed again. Even the Kennel Club have recently released literature saying that with each generation in purebreeds they are losing genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is the key to health as humans that is why we prolifercate the planet because we have great genetic diversity and within humans where we see more hereditary genetic abnormalities in the population is in closed of communities. This is what we have done with purebreeding dogs literally made them closed of communities within a species. The way forward in my eyes is crossbreeding with either creating new breeds or crossing to bring in more genetic diversity to a breed & after crossing back several times you would have the look you started with. This practice is used in other species & in dog breeds that are not recognised by the Kennel Club, as we do have several breeds with breed clubs that keep pedigrees that are not registered with the Kennel Club. The breeds that are not registered with the Kennel Club tend not to suffer with many genetic problems because simple if they get a problem within the breed they can crossbreed to rectify the problem.
Unfortunately most of the purebreed fraternity frown upon crossbreeding with several show producer breeders dedicating whole pages of their websites discrediting crossbreeding, the ones who do it and bestowing all the ills of the dog breeding world upon crossbreeding. Crossbreeding may very well be the saviour of many of the purebreeds in the not so distant future so I watch and wait with interest.
A German study on mongrels which includes crossbreeds as mongrels writes " Mongrels require less veterinary treatment" and a Swedish study writes "Mongrel dogs are less prone to many diseases than the average purebred dog". The Hybrid Vigour though is at its greatest benefit in the first generation cross and there after diminishes with each generation. So if you wish to have the best chance of health benefits to the dog it is best to aquire a first cross or also known as F1 and the next generation F2, etc. You also get F1b which is were a first cross is put back to one of the pure breeds in that cross so putting a first cross Cavapoo to a pure Poodle would then produce a F1b litter of pups.
Hybrid Vigour is also called Heterosis. In an article titled 'Heterosis Effect, Hybrid Dogs, it states "Heterosis effect results in a healthier, more vigorous dog with reduced chance of genetic disease. It is well known in all domestic animal breedings,hybrids 50%-50% mixes of two different breeds will raise the chances of having less genetic diseases because all doubling of detirmental effects will stop in the first generation. The genetic term for this is HETEROSIS EFFECT. This effect often gives non-related individuals stronger descendants than inbreeds."
" Once one goes beyond first generation purebred to purebred, you loose the heterosis effect, which is the goal for hybrid breeders."
A noteworthy extract from Principles of Genetics I`,D.H "Denny" Crews,Jr., Ph.D., P.A.S.;Breeding and Genetics Section, LSU Department of Science, Baton Rouge, states; "Mating of animals which are not alike in their pedigree or that are not related are those which will generally exhibit higher levels of hybrid vigour. Closely related animals do not exhibit high levels of heterosis.
At Poundlane Cavapoos we have only breed first crosses from health screened parents and thus these dogs benefit from the full effect of Hybrid Vigour but due to being very taken with this crossbreed in the all round health & type of puppy after two years breeding them we are now thinking strongly about breeding second generation and so on. We will hope to retain pups in the future as we know the health of are own dogs & that they are sound in temperment.
Poundlane Barney around 4 months old, 2011
Poundlane Sammy around 4 months old, 2011
Care
The Cavapoo depending on coat type requires regular grooming to prevent matting. Trimming a couple times a year with clippers and is best done unless experienced by a professional. It is important to keep ears clean And nails trimmed.Look on "Health of Cavaliers" page at" Minor Health Issues" and this covers what you will have to look for in the Cavapoo as well.
Poundlane Fizz at 6 months old and Labradoodle friend, 2009
Training
The Cavapoo is intelligent and easily trained. A gentle and well varied approach is recommended. Most Cavapoos can learn a wide variety of tricks and are eager to please you. Cavapoo's can make great agility competition dogs. The Cavapoo is one of the more easier breeds to house train and soon understand under the right guidance what is asked of them.
Poundlane Roxy Cavapoo out of Lucy at 12 weeks old
Activity
The Cavapoo requires daily exercise. It needs at least one good walk aday and loves games like fetch etc and is suited to small dog agility competitions. The Cavapoo would be a suitable dog for apartment life as a lot of its needs can be met with indoor play.
One of Dolly's pups Poundlane Alfie at 8 weeks old 2010
