Crossbreed dogs show more behavioural problems than pure breeds, study suggests

Research finds cockapoo, cavapoo and labradoodle dogs display more undesirable behaviours than breeds they derive from

The UK has oodles of doodles but a study might offer paws for thought: researchers have found some of these designer crossbreed dogs show more behavioural problems than the pure breeds from which they derive.

Crosses between poodles and other dog breeds have become increasingly popular in the UK, with research suggesting the trend is – at least in part – driven by the expectation such dogs will be hypoallergenic, healthy and good with children.

However, the study has found cockapoos, produced by crossing cocker spaniels and poodles, and cavapoos, crosses between cavalier king charles spaniels and poodles, display more undesirable behaviours than their namesake pure breeds.

“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 team, led by researchers at the Royal Veterinary College, analysed data from 3,424 crossbreed and 5,978 purebred dogs collected via an online questionnaire of owners of cockapoo, labradoodle, cavapoo, cocker spaniel, labrador retriever, cavalier king charles spaniel and poodle dogs.

The questionnaire asked owners about themselves, their expectations of their dogs, and how they trained them. It also included 73 questions about their dogs’ behaviour that were used to generate ratings on 12 different behaviour scales.

Cockapoos scored differently to poodles on six of the scales, showing more undesirable behaviour for owner-directed aggression, stranger-directed aggression, dog rivalry, non-social fear – such as fear of traffic and novel objects – and for separation-related problems and excitability.

The same results showed up when cockapoos were compared with cocker spaniels, with cockapoos additionally showing more undesirable behaviour for dog-directed aggression, stranger-directed fear, dog-directed fear and trainability.

Cavapoos scored differently to poodles on three of the scales and worse than cavalier king charles spaniels on eight of the nine scales on which they differed.

Labradoodles differed from poodles on six of the scales, scoring better for all, but differed from labradors on five of the scales, scoring worse for all.

Daniel Mills, a professor of veterinary behavioural medicine at the University of Lincoln, who was not involved in the study, said the research was a much-needed piece of work, but emphasised the results did not mean crossbreeds were genetically more likely to show problem behaviours.

“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.

However, he noted that the study suggested cultural factors might be important. These included differences in owners’ behaviour between different breeds, such as the type of training provided, which are likely linked to the 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.