Crossbreed Dogs Show More Behavioural Problems Than Pure Breeds, Study Suggests
Research indicates that popular designer crossbreed dogs such as cockapoos, cavapoos, and labradoodles exhibit more undesirable behaviours compared to the pure breeds from which they originate.
In the UK, crosses between poodles and other dog breeds have surged in popularity. This trend is partly driven by the belief that these crossbreeds are hypoallergenic, healthier, and better suited for families with children.
However, studies reveal that cockapoos—crosses between cocker spaniels and poodles—and cavapoos—crosses between cavalier king charles spaniels and poodles—display more behavioural problems than their purebred counterparts.
“The results of this study highlight the importance of owners thoroughly exploring the characteristics of any breed or crossbreed during pre-purchase research to avoid misinformed breed selection,” the authors of the study write in the journal Plos One.
The research team, led by scientists at the Royal Veterinary College, analysed data from 3,424 crossbreed and 5,978 purebred dogs. This data was collected through an online questionnaire completed by owners of cockapoo, labradoodle, cavapoo, cocker spaniel, labrador retriever, cavalier king charles spaniel, and poodle dogs.
The questionnaire gathered information about the owners themselves, their expectations of their dogs, and their training methods. It also included 73 questions focused on the dogs’ behaviour, which were used to generate scores across 12 different behavioural scales.
Results showed that cockapoos differed from poodles on six behavioural scales, exhibiting more undesirable behaviours related to owner-directed aggression, stranger-directed aggression, dog rivalry, non-social fear (such as fear of traffic and novel objects), separation-related problems, and excitability.
When compared to cocker spaniels, cockapoos also showed increased undesirable behaviours in dog-directed aggression, stranger-directed fear, dog-directed fear, and trainability.
Cavapoos scored differently from poodles on three behavioural scales and performed worse than cavalier king charles spaniels on eight of the nine scales where differences were observed.
Labradoodles differed from poodles on six scales, scoring better on all of them, but when compared with labradors, they scored worse on five scales.
Expert Commentary on Behavioural Findings
Daniel Mills, professor of veterinary behavioural medicine at the University of Lincoln, who was not involved in the study, described the research as a much-needed contribution to the field. However, he cautioned that the findings do not imply that crossbreeds are genetically predisposed to behavioural problems.
“Behaviour is always the product of the interaction of genes with the environment, and looking for simple causes in one or the other is doomed to failure,” he said.
Professor Mills noted that cultural factors might play a significant role. These include differences in owner behaviour between breeds, such as variations in training approaches, which are likely influenced by owners’ expectations and experience.
“Obviously more studies are needed and determining cause in a study like this is not possible, but it would be useful to track animals and their owners across time to tease out the main influences for the effects seen,” Mills said.
