Our family has had a cavapoo for a few years, and after trying several breeds of dogs over the years, we think the cavapoo is the perfect family pet. A Cavapoo is a mix-breed of a Cavalier King Charles mixed with a Poodle. It is a small dog weighing 10 – 25lbs with a short, curly coat and long droopy ears.
Our family chose a cavapoo because it is big enough to play fetch, but small enough to not knock kids over when it jumps up on them. It doesn’t shed, and it’s an extremely gentle and affectionate breed.
So why should your family get a cavapoo? Allow me to explain with 15 reasons.
Pro: No Shedding At All
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to other people’s houses, heard them mention that their dog “doesn’t shed much” and then I stand up from the couch and there is dog hair all over my pants. I could never get used to that.
In a few years of owning a cavapoo, I have never noticed a single dog hair on our furniture. It is generally considered to be a hypoallergenic dog breed.
Pro: Small Poop
Okay, I know this sounds funny, but it’s actually an important factor for me. When I go to the backyard of an owner of a golden retriever or other large dog breed, the poops are giant. They stink, they ruin the grass, and it has to be picked up.
I love that a cavapoo is a small enough dog breed that I really don’t even pick up my dog’s poop. I have a large yard, and it just sinks in. It’s rare that I even see any dog poop in my yard. I’m sure if you have a small yard, it may be different, but small poop makes a big difference in how easy it is to care for a dog.
Con: High Grooming Needs
Grooming needs are the biggest drawback to owning a cavapoo. Their tightly curled fur can easily become knotted and thus must be brushed and groomed regularly or the fur can become snarled, which can hurt the dog and require being cut out.
For us, we take our dog to the groomer once per month, and in-between professional groomings, we brush him a few times per week and trim long hair with scissors.
One cool thing about the cavapoo, however, is that their curly hair grows quickly enough that you can completely change the look of your dog by how you get it groomed. Would you believe that all of the photos on this article are of the same dog?
Pro: Highly Affectionate
Every cavapoo I’ve been around is very affectionate and friendly. When I am home working on my laptop, my dog always wants to sit right next to me. He’s my little shadow in the house and always wants to be around people.
Sometimes, a cavapoo may sleep on a couch or in its crate even when people are in other rooms of the house, but a cavapoo will usually follow you into whatever room you’re in, and sleep on the ground near you.
Pro: Doesn’t Knock Kids Over If It Jumps Up
To be honest, I’m not the best dog trainer. We have successfully taught our dog to poop and pee outside, to note bite, and to sit. That’s it. So when someone comes over to visit, our dog often greets them by jumping up calmly on people’s leg so they’ll pet him.
It’s really nice to have a medium-sized dog like a cavapoo because they aren’t so big that they knock people over or are too much to handle.
Pro/Con: Intelligent(ish)
One thing I read about poodle mixes is that they are highly intelligent. I’ll put that as a pro here, but honestly I don’t see my dog having any unusual intelligence. I mean, he’ll spend an hour chasing the shadow of leaves falling off the tree and be absolutely mesmerized that he can’t catch them.
Pro: Not Hyper, But Ready to Play
My cavapoo spends about 80% of the day lying down or sleeping; however, if we go out into the yard, he can run really fast and wants to chase balls and play. A cavapoo is a perfect match to our energy level of not being hyper around the house most of the time, but then also not too lazy that it doesn’t want to play with the kids.
Pro: Not Aggressive At All
Our cavapoo takes a lot of accidental abuse from little kids who play roughly with him. He has always been very gentle around others. When he was a puppy, he snapped at us very mildly a few times, but after we taught him that behavior wasn’t acceptable, we have had no further issues. The cavapoo is a very mild-mannered breed.
Pro: Does Not Bark Excessively
The cavapoo isn’t especially “yappy.” They do bark, but they don’t go ballistic every time the doorbell rings. This goes back to how calm the cavapoo is. Since it isn’t a hyper dog, it doesn’t bark as much.
Pro: Easy to Care for If You Have an Underground Fence
This is my #1 recommendation if you get a cavapoo. Buy an underground fence! It takes a few hours to install on a Saturday morning, but this has BY FAR been the best thing for making having a dog easy for our family.
We basically have our dog wear a special collar that either vibrates, shocks, or beeps when he comes close to the fence (you can choose how you want to set it). The kit comes with a long wire that you just put an inch underground all around your property (it can go over the crack in concrete for your driveway).
This is the underground dog fence system that I like on Amazon. Install is pretty simple, it’s reasonably priced, and having a fence has been a game-changer for us.
The nice thing about an underground fence is, even if your backyard is fence, your dog can now roam the entire property. You don’t have to worry about the dog bolting out the front door when it’s opened. It just won’t ever be able to leave.
For us, the underground fence has made owning a dog SO low maintenance! We just have a doggy door in our laundry room so he can let himself out to go to the bathroom, roam the yard, and we don’t have to lift a finger all day.
I know, it’s an expense, but honestly, without the underground dog fence, I’m not sure we could hack it as pet owners.
Con: Provides No Protection
If you are considering a cavapoo, but you also want a dog to protect the home, then you should rethink your decision. A cavapoo would lick a robber, cuddle with a home-invader, and play with a thief.
You could rely on a cavapoo to bark if it heard something in the night or suddenly saw someone new in the home not near the owner, but that’s all you could expect.
Con: A Little Needy
Pro: Good Health
The cavapoo is not known as a problematic pet when it comes to health. There are commonly stomach issues reported, and we have noticed we have to be careful what we feed our dog, but overall, it’s a pretty low-maintenance breed.
Pro: Doesn’t Slobber
Another nice benefit of a medium-sized dog is the slobber situation. The cavapoo doesn’t really slobber at all, which makes them much more clean of a dog to have in the home.
Pro: Handles Stairs with Ease
I have been suprised at how athletic the cavapoo is. I had read before buying one that they weren’t very fast and couldn’t jump very high. That definitely isn’t the case for us. Our dog’s name is Lightning because he’s an extremely fast runner when he wants to be, and can easily climb stairs, jump up on the bed, etc.
Pro: Can Be Left Alone Periodically
We also read before buying a cavapoo that they are very needy and don’t like to be left alone. That’s true. We can tell our dog gets lonely if we leave. In fact, he will sometimes wait 3-4 hours at the same spot in our driveway just waiting for us to get home.
However, it’s not the kind of dog that goes crazy when alone and tears up the house. We have even left on 3-day trips and had a neighbor come over once a day to check on him and play for a minute. He did just fine.
I do think a cavapoo would prefer to not be left alone all day, but as long as you give them plenty of affection when you’re home, I think it could work fine for a busy family.
Pro: Medium Exercise is Required
This one goes back to how nice it is to have a dog that isn’t hyper all the time. Sometimes we can tell our dog is getting restless and he’ll go in the backyard and just sprint as fast as he can for 10 minutes, but most of the time, he’s fine walking around the house and going for a short walk a few times a week. There isn’t a requirement to take them on a long walk every day for the dog to stay healthy and active.
Pro: Still Looks Cute After It Ceases to Be a Puppy
This is the number one thing for my wife. When we looked at dogs, we saw so many photos of cute puppies, but when we looked at adult dogs of the breed, they just weren’t that cool looking. We really like the look of a cavapoo from puppy to adult. You can see the photo above is of our dog when it was a puppy, and then the rest of the photos on the page are the same dog now that it’s full-grown.
