Thinking of getting a puppy - advice needed please

[orlandoamber]

I echo what has been said about cross breeds and possible shedding.

I had pure bred crufts standard shih tzus for 16 years and neither of them shedded, however we now have a rescue shih tzu cross (not sure what with) and he has two shedding periods per year. Nothing bad compared to dog breeds renowned for shedding but definitely more so than the pure bred shih tzus!

Shih tzus are lovely dogs by the way.

[mollybogle]

If you want curly coats get a bichon or a poodle or one of the other curly coats. With mix breeds you don’t know what you are getting. Cockapoo’s can be hyper and are prone to separation anxiety. They also need a lot of grooming. They should be groomed by a groomer every 6 weeks (unless you want to do it yourself). I know a fair few groomers who are refusing to take on anymore cockapoo’s or any poodle crosses either because they are a nightmare to groom or the owners have unreal expectations of the groomer because they haven’t brushed their dogs. As someone said Westie’s are hypoallergenic and great family dogs. My main issue with these crossbreeds are people are paying ridiculous prices for a mix and encouraging unscrupulous breeders. The amount of time you hear of a pup dying from an underlying condition due to bad breeding. There was recently a story doing the rounds in Scotland of a cockapoo pup dying after a visit to the groomers. The poor groomer has been named and shamed and blamed and it turns out it had an underlying condition due to genetics and bad breeding and it was nothing to do with the groomer visit

[TheHughesCrew]

Gah. Just lost a long reply.

As has been said, you just can't guarantee what you'll get!

We have a crazy lurcher. She sheds barely anything whatsoever (she's practically bald in places &#128517 and is a biggish dog. She can curl into a small ball, and fits in the back of the car with 2 6ft+ teenagers, but will put her feet on your shoulders if she jumps up! She's a bundle of energy, but apart from zoomies a couple of times a day, and a 45 min walk, she mainly sleeps on the sofa 😴.

I was actually (coincidentally) off work sick for 7 weeks when she was a puppy, and my husband WFH, so we were around a lot of the time. She is crate trained and is still crated when we go out, and at night. But has her position on the sofa firmly marked at all other times! She went to daycare after her 2nd set of jabs, mainly for socialisation, and she loves it. She goes to a boarder when we're on holiday, or out forcthe day. As an example, we went up to the Royal Albert Hall yesterday, so was too long for her to be left alone. She adores her boarder, and she gets spoilt rotten while she's there (she was up on their bed yesterday after I dropped her off, before J could get back upstairs with 2 cups of tea!). They have 5 dogs of their own too, so great opportunities to play and be sociable. We left her fairly early on, for short periods, and can easily leave her for 3 or 4 hours now. We have cameras, she really just sleeps a lot, especially after a long walk. I've left her for 6 hours, with the neighbour popping in to let her out for a wee. We were 100% onboard with taking her on holiday, which we did when she was 5 months old. She was as good as gold; slept in crate, wandered round cathedrals, sat under the table at restaurants, and even had 2 boat trips. But oh my goodness, it was so stressful! I was worried about her overheating, worried about where she would wee, and worried that she wasn't drinking enough. We also couldn't go to the seal sanctuary, or go on the deer safari that we wanted to do. Which is why we now go down the route of a boarder...

We went in to owning a puppy with our eyes wide open, and had read extensively beforehand. We also have lots of friends and family with dogs. But if was oh SO MUCH harder than we anticipated. Well worth it though, and I've almost forgotten those crazy days. But you do need to be around for a lot of the time. And as has been said, it's much easier to train a puppy during the summer when you can have the doors open, and free access to the garden. I dint think either of your holiday times are ideal tbh, but might be workable with some considerations.

Good luck! Luna is the best thing that's happened to our family for a long time 🥰

[LoopyLoo07]

Originally Posted by alkel2730

Ours was skirting boards and door corners. Wrecked! Although my friend got a cockerdoodle and he ate her barker and stonehouse table so I’ll take skirting boards any day! 🤣

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Oh don’t worry, the skirting boards are wrecked too! And the bottom of the dining room chairs… and the wooden decking step in the back garden 🤣

[Loopylooloo]

We have an irish mini doodle, mum is red setter, dad is miniature poodle. He doesn’t shed, but needs grooming. His temperament is very calm and easy to train.

It’s a huge commitment though, not to be taken lightly and I am already fretting about leaving him if we go away.

[Minniebella]

We have a few friend with Cockerpoo’s and have also met quite a few at our local park…..they are all completely different!Some have very curly hair, some have wavy shaggy hair and some are completely straight and silky.Also, every one we have met is slightly bonkers, they are full of energy!
We have a Maltipoo, he is the sweetest boy.He doesn’t really shed, only when his fur gets really long and I need to brush him twice a day to stop matting, but even then it’s only a few stray hairs that are on the brush.
We have stayed with family members who all have pet allergies, but have been fine with him.
The other bonus is that he is so compact, I can pick him up easily when needed.
When leaving him home alone, we left him in the kitchen with the door closed & we had a camera to watch him, at first he would whine a little bit but only a few minutes, now I leave my slippers in the room with him and he sleeps on them whilst we are gone.
Luckily we can leave him with my mum whilst we go away for now, but a lot of dog sitters I have spoken with will only take him if neutered.
I would probably start looking towards the end of the year if you want to enjoy you holidays guilt free

[Sparksy72]

We have an almost 2 year old Cockapoo called Milo. His fur is slightly shaggy and he does shed slightly. My DH can have allergic reactions to pet hair but does not have any issues with our pooch.

Milo was super easy to toilet train and he sleeps in a crate at night. He loves to be near us all the time and we are very fortunate that my parents puppy sit him for us.

I would think hard about who would take care of your puppy when you want to go out, whether it is for dinner or a day out. We now only go to ‘dog friendly’ pubs or places like Bamburgh for our U.K. holidays because they are so dog friendly. He is a vital part of our family and I miss him when he goes off to the groomers for 2 hours. 😂

[Wazza]

As a new dog owner I can’t too much advice, but I’m probably like your husband, I was the most reluctant in the house to buy a dog. But now me and Rocky really are best buds. Walking him in the morning is like meditation for me and sets me up for the day. As for fur on a Cockapoo, for the first few months he looked like this

But then the groomer suggested as he gets older he needs it cutting shorter. So now he looks like this.

As for leaving him on his own for a few hours, we’ve done that pretty much since the first week.

The best advice I can give is choose a good breeder with a food reputation.

If you’re all committed then you won’t regret it

[Wazza]

Originally Posted by Minniebella

Also, every one we have met is slightly bonkers, they are full of energy!

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As the owner of an 8 month Cockapoo pup, slightly bonkers’ is the biggest understatement I’ve ever heard😂😂

[novocastrian]

we dont have a dog would like one but its really too much commitment & not fair to leave them alone during days we both out at work (imo obviously)

my sister has a F1 cavapoo he dosnt shed (unlike her cat she had before him) is very placid & was easy to train... he was pretty much house trained when she got him from the breeders, once he worked out the way out to the garden he was sorted, she has sleigh bells on the door he rings when he wants out. she got him about may/june

now our neighbours have 3 cockerpoos.. two are pretyy 'normal' the youngest one is mental.. seems to be dependent on the cocker side whether it was working cocker or not ?

all imo of course i dont have a dog so dont really know the whole story