is anyone aware of a reputable cockapoo breeder? I've been all over petfinder - and it's really something - to place animals they want someone home all day every day, another dog in the house, etc. etc... just want to look at all options. I much prefer a rescue, and really want a more hypoallergenic dog, but I've sent out probably 20 emails, and it hasn't been easy at all... thanks
Petite Puppy in Nutley has a three month old female available. Myself and a few other MOL-ers have had very good experiences there: http://www.petitepuppy.com
(and since this has come up before, yes, I bought a dog, but only after going through $1,000+ in adoption and training fees and four different shelter dogs, all of whom were wrongly classified as being able to get along with my cats and/or my toddler -- the latter obviously being way more important)
Eire, Cockapoos are mixed breeds(mutts)---they are cross bred cocker spaniels and poodles. It is unlikely that you will find a reputable breeder for these dogs, because ,frankly, the people who breed them are either pet owners who know nothing about the genetics of their dogs, and breed them because puppies are cute, and they can make some money, or they are puppy mill owners who breed dogs like this because they don't care about the genetics of the dogs, the puppies are cute and they can make ALOT of money. You say you want a "more hypoallergenic dog." Is that because of asthma or allergies? Did you do some research on breeds? Do you have small children? Do you know what you desire, behaviorally, in a dog?If you can answer some of these basic questions, I may have some suggestions for you. The rescues have a pretty stringent screening process because they want to make sure that both you and their rescued dog are a good match.
Just to chime in as a pet-owning allergy sufferer, I'll start by seconding everything that Calliope says. There really are no good -poo breeders. Also, I'll add that there is no guaranty that you'll end up with a hypoallergenic dog in the process. Based on everything I've read, crossbreeding two different dogs and expecting to get a guaranteed result is like having kids and saying with certainty that "They'll get my hair and my husband's nice nose." Maybe they will or maybe you'll end up with a kid with your weird nose and your husband's receding hairline. You have more certainty if you have a good breeder of an existing breed, they have the genes mapped out going back generations and there is a lot less diversity to begin with, so you can more accurately predict what you'll get.
Personally, I know that certain breeds and even certain dogs within breeds that I had thought were "safe" for me trigger my allergies and certain ones don't. The only way to know that is to hang out around a dog and really stick your face in the dog's fur and inhale.
I'll plug the JAC. We adopted our beagle/something mix from them and he is, without question, the best dog ever. The adoption process was no more onerous than I would expect it to be to prevent wackos from adopting.
Our daughter is almost 4 - for the first 2.5 years of her life, we had a rescued dog (1/2 cocker, 1/2 dachsund, as anyone could tell - looked like a Cavalier King Charles a little - a breed I'd also be very interested in) - so the allergy thing isn't huuge, or we would've known it. She does have slight asthma, which is totally under control. Our crazy rescued dog was there before her, so she is very aware of good touch, etc, but we'd definintely want a dog that is potentially good with kids. So - we do want to take our daughter to see any potential dog first to see how they react together, but don't want to set her up for too many heartaches, thus the request for a "reputable" breeder.
Our daughter is adopted as well - so we're pretty aware of that one cannot genetically predetermine anything - we always laughed at the couples who would continually turn down potential adoption referrals, as they looked for the perfect, blonde-haired, blue-eyed child ... as if. We had spoken with a potential birthmother at one point who was caucasian, living with a Honduran man, who had had an affair with an African-American man once or twice, and was sure the baby she was carrying was 1/2 African American "because I saw a big head on the sonogram" !!! Swear to God.
My mother had a labradoodle. He was so sweet, but got the "worst" of the poodle traits. Very smart and stubborn as hell. She invested in many crates before she found one that he could not let himself out of. You aren't looking for the lab part, but just so you know, they have extended puppyhoods: 2 or 3 years. That's why so many of them end up in rescues. I think that the trend of "poo"ing breeds is to get the hair instead of the fur in order to address shedding, allergies, etc. Poodles are great dogs. But they take an extraordinary amount of time & energy and someone in the house who can defintiely establish their alpha position over the dog.
We babysit a toy poodle quite often. If it weren't for the fact that she is small enough for me to pick up & carry when she decides she doesn't want to go somewhere or stop barking, I wouldn't be so willing to take her. No way would I deal with a standard poodle.
cockapoos are pretty small. they have been bred for a long time, much longer than labradoodles (i own a labradoodle BTW-- he's very goofy and a lot of work, but doesn't shed! and is not aggressive at all). i know of a breeder who two friends have used. they found her independently of each other thru referrals and they have both been very happy with thier dogs. whisper me if you want the name.
Get a schnoodle. My Phoebe is the most loving, smartest dog in the world. She is so loyal, always by my side and gets excited after I come out of the shower, like she hasn't seen me in hours. She's also very obedient and was housebroken within two days.
We too have a labradoodle who is great- smart (but not too smart), cute, ADORES my 1 year old, and loves to play. I think labradoodles have more energy than cockapoos. Ours is almost 4 and still needs at least 30 mins of full-out exercise daily.I wouldn't trade her for the world. Don't know much about cockapoo breeders but they are out there and there are reputable ones. Keep looking.
We got our cockapoo from Jan's Cockapoo's in West Orange. After doing a lot of research on non-shedding breeds I looked relentlessly for a legit breeder and she was the best! She loves her dogs and you can meet the parents at her house. She does not over breed so she may not have any right now but well worth the wait... http://www.pets4you.com/pages/jans.html
eire