[Kerry]

After much searching, I've found a little mixed breed puppy at a shelter not too far from my house. I wanted a smaller dog and they say she is a cockapoo. I don't like the cocker spaniel part. Don't they pee a lot? But she is the cutest thing I've ever seen! I am one of several people who want her, so have to decide in the next week or so. Since her background is unknown, I'm nervous about health, temperment, shedding, size. Going to a breeder, you know everything. Going to a shelter, you know nothing. Am I making a mistake?

[Roxie225]

I can't be of much help but you don't always know all the info if you go to a breeder. I'd suggest doing a little "google-ing" on the breeds. Just think, you'd be doing a great thing by giving that little doggie the life it deserves!!!

[MagicToller]

Well it's all in moderation. ALL breeds can be problematic and "pee alot" if they lack proper training. Rescueing a dog is risky when it comes to later health issues, but that depends on whether or not you are willing to deal with them. If you prefer not, I suggest you contact a reputable breeder who doesn't sell designer mutts and put a hold on a healthy puppy.

[Sawyer]

I don't think it's a mistake to get a pup from a shelter. Many people on this forum have rescued dogs they adore. I'm on my third, and so far have had great luck with shelters. I do think it's a mistake to get a dog you are unsure of - maybe this pup just isn't for you. I know you said you did a lot of researching already - I'd say do some more - keep looking, you'll find your dog.

[BeckyBeagal]

I also adopted my Becky (beagle) from a local shelter. It may depend on the shelters but they didnt take a good care of my baby. She got kennel cough and some infection, so she had to go to a Vet twice and was on antibiotics for almost 3~4 months. But it is priceless have her in our life. She is my baby girl and enriches our lives a lot. ( even though I havent trained her properly on chewing and licking yet, its been about 5 weeks by now since we adopted her thus lost quite amount of electronic cords )

Funny thing is we were looking for a puppy. Even though she is not (Vets say she is between one and one and half years old.) my hubby and myself both were drawned to her as sonn as we saw her. There were cutter puppies. We could have gotten one of them if we wanted. And my husband says it many times, as she spends one more day in our home, she is a lot happier than being in that ****hole (excuse my language)

One more thing, who can guarantee heathy life of a dog? You could pay a fortune to get pure bred puppy then she/he might get sick. Who knows.
If you are that much attracted to her, I think you should get it. I believe some connection between animals and humans not to mention people relationship. The one you saw at the shelter might be calling out for you.

Keep us all updated!

[Keno's Mom]

Just cause a dog is part poodle is no guarentee it will or won't shed! It's better to adopt a mix from the shelter instead of buying the mix from a backyard breeder or pet shop who will NOT stand behind their dogs and not give you health clearances.

Now if you want a purebred dog, then search for a good breeder. Not a backyard breeder, but one that stands behind their dogs and tests for genetic problems, shows, and will be there for you if you have problems.

IMO a puppy pees a lot more then an adult. Proper training (crate) and taking the pup out on a schedule will help a lot in house training. How old is the pup you are looking at?

[Lorina]

Going to a shelter, you know nothing.

It's true that going to a shelter, you don't know the dog's medical history, but shelters almost always do temperment testing. If the dog doesn't pass, it it's available for adoption. So while you may not know the dog's history, you will at least know if it's mentally stable.

Another option is going through a rescue. They're often dogs from shelters, or owner surrenders, but they live at a foster home for a few weeks or more so they have a better idea of the dog's personality and temperment. They'd be able to let you know if the dog is good with cats, kids or other dogs, and often start them on basic obedience & housebreaking.

[sobreeze]

my mothers dog that was around 14 years old we think passed away last oct. as i found this dog in my yard years ago he might have been 2 or 3 at the time tryed to find owners one ever clamed him gave him to my mom he turned out to be a mini schnaulzer we did not know any thing about him was a very good dog my brither is handicaped so he walked this dog about 10 times aday till the very end after his passing i told mom she needed to get my brother a dog we check at the shelters and with rescue we went to look at one in the clinton mo. shelter we found a med sized fox terrier female but mom did not like her went home without dog next day mom calls me to say her had a dream about this dog asked if she thought they still had her so i checked on her this was a thursday i said we would take her they said she was going to be put to sleep on friday we went and brought her home aftwer about three weeks we got her a apointment to be spayed she was thin and needed a little fat on her first i thought she was looking good but started to think maybe she was getting a little to fat took her in to vet to be spayed she was 45 days along in pups well we had her fixed if you do the math mom had her 21 days shelter had her for 30 days she was 45 days along got preg. in the shelter and she was in a pen with a large dog but both my mothers dogs were strays both are very good dogs the new dog is realy a very good girl very loving and happy and even smart take my dogs to visit her all the time they have the best time and yes she is very good with my brother love him and gives him hugs had we not gone back and got her the world would have missed out on a great dog so i say yes to rescuesand shelter dogs they need a chance and you dont need to know every thing about them give this dog a chance see what happens it may be a great dog just waiting to happen

[DogAdvocat]

Originally Posted by Kerry

After much searching, I've found a little mixed breed puppy at a shelter not too far from my house. I wanted a smaller dog and they say she is a cockapoo. I don't like the cocker spaniel part. Don't they pee a lot? But she is the cutest thing I've ever seen! I am one of several people who want her, so have to decide in the next week or so. Since her background is unknown, I'm nervous about health, temperment, shedding, size. Going to a breeder, you know everything. Going to a shelter, you know nothing. Am I making a mistake?

I think you're making a mistake if you aren't ready to commit to the dog no matter what it turns out to be. Please understand that in a shelter situation, the breed or breed mix of puppies is often just an educated guess. Sometimes the shelter staff has seen the mother, sometimes not. The father is even rarer. And it's pretty common for shelter staff to call a small curly puppy a cockapoo because they think the curls indicate poodle, but it's anyone's guess what else is in there - ergo, just call it a cockapoo. Cockapoo is really just a generic term for a small curly dog, in shelter terms. The thing is, there's no guarantee at all what size this dog will be. I once rescued 3 toy fox terrier puppies from a shelter - all the same litter. They turned into 60# Collie mixes. I also had someone bring me a rescued Newfoundland puppy, which turned out to be about 20# full grown. The important thing is that no matter how big it gets, you will still love it and give it a lifetime home.

IF you have to be more exact than that, then don't go for a puppy. There are plenty of shelter dogs that are 6 months and up, and at 6 months a small dog is about as big as it's ever going to get. It may fill out a little more, because 4-6 months tends to be the lanky stage, but at 6 month's it's probably not going to get any taller. And of course 6 months is only 4 months different from that 8 week old puppy. And they are still infinitely trainable, and you should be able to tell about shedding because it will have lost it's soft puppy coat.

And by the way, going to a breeder you don't know everything if that breeder is breeding mixed breed puppies -- which is what a cockapoo is.

One other thing -- I'm curious about this idea of cockers peeing a lot. Are you talking about submissive peeing? If so, that's easily fixed with obedience training. Show the dog how to get praise the right way, and they won't feel the need to be so submissive.

[capm]

Ditto on what DogAdvoc wrote.....your commitment is what will make the difference. I'm almost 50 and I've been a dog lover for about 49 1/2 of them. Rarely have I met a bad dog....on the other hand I've met lots of bad owners. One of my pet peeves is a dog owner who complains about their dog's behavior but isn't willing to do anything about it.
I also agree that a lot of shelters will label a small dog with curly hair a cockapoo. It sells but it's rarely accurate unless the parents are a known.
Shop around....you'll find your match.

[cockapoolvr]

I just had to reply. I'm a novice puppy owner, but I do have a 3 month old Cockapoo. He's just great! He's becoming potty trained really quickly and he seems to be very smart. He sleeps thru the night and rarely messes in the house.
I asked the same question about Cockers peeing a lot. The lady at the pet shop told me all puppys pee a lot, just train him from the start the proper way.
My Cockerpoo is a joy to have in the house.
Just wanted you to know that.