A recent study conducted by researchers at the Royal Veterinary College suggests that certain designer crossbreed dogs in the UK exhibit more behavioral problems compared to their purebred counterparts. The research focused on popular crossbreeds, such as cockapoos (a mix of cocker spaniels and poodles) and cavapoos (a mix of cavalier king charles spaniels and poodles), which have gained popularity due to perceptions of being hypoallergenic, healthy, and good with children.
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The study involved an analysis of data collected from 3,424 crossbreed dogs and 5,978 purebred dogs through an online questionnaire. Owners were surveyed about their experiences, expectations for their pets, and training methods, in addition to answering 73 questions about their dogs’ behaviors that were used to create ratings across 12 different behavior scales.
Findings revealed that cavapoos scored differently from poodles on three behavior scales and fared worse than cavalier king charles spaniels on eight of the nine scales where they were compared. Cockapoos showed more undesirable behaviors than poodles, particularly in areas including owner-directed aggression, stranger-directed aggression, dog rivalry, non-social fear, separation-related problems, and excitability. A similar pattern was observed when cockapoos were compared with cocker spaniels, with additional findings of increased dog-directed aggression, stranger-directed fear, and concerns regarding trainability.
Labradoodles, another popular crossbreed, demonstrated a mix of results, scoring better than poodles across six scales while scoring worse than labradors on five. Professor Daniel Mills, a veterinary behavioral medicine expert at the University of Lincoln, acknowledged the value of the study but emphasized that it does not imply that crossbreeds are inherently more prone to behavioral issues. He noted that behavior stems from a complex interplay between genetics and environmental factors.
Mills suggested that cultural aspects, including the training approaches adopted by owners, could significantly influence the results. He called for further studies to explore these influences over time to clarify the underlying factors contributing to the observed behaviors.