Overview
- Published in PLOS One on March 19, the Royal Veterinary College analysis used 9,402 owner C-BARQ surveys collected in March 2023 to compare cockapoos, cavapoos and labradoodles with their progenitor breeds.
- Across 72 comparisons, designer crossbreeds showed more undesirable behaviors in 44.4 percent of cases, fewer in 9.7 percent, and no difference in 45.8 percent.
- Cockapoos differed most from their parent breeds, scoring worse in 16 of 24 measures, including owner- and stranger-directed aggression and excitability.
- Cavapoos scored worse in 11 of 24 comparisons, whereas labradoodles showed a mixed profile, performing better than poodles on several aggression scales but worse than Labradors on others.
- Independent experts caution that the survey-based, cross-sectional results may reflect gene–environment interactions, breeding practices, early socialization and owner experience, prompting calls for owner education, careful breeder selection and longitudinal research.