Dan O'Neill¹, Jana Damiani¹, Karolina Engdahl², David Church¹, Dave Brodbelt¹

¹Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, United Kingdom. ²Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden

Objectives

To provide an evidence base on the health of humankind’s latest foray into dog breed invention – the Cockapoo.

Methods

VetCompass cohort study of UK anonymised primary-care veterinary clinical data. Information was extracted for all disorders recorded in 2023 for a random sample of Cockapoo dogs.

Results

Cockapoos represented 5.4% (n=124,394) of 2,283,879 VetCompass dogs in 2023, exceeded only by Labrador Retriever (6.3%). Median Cockapoo age was 3.6 years (IQR: 1.7– 6.3) and adult bodyweight was 11.7 kg (IQR: 9.8–14.0).

From 3,146 Cockapoos examined in detail, 74.7% had at least one disorder recorded in 2023. The median disorder count per Cockapoo was 1 (IQR: 0.0–3.0, range: 0.0 – 15.0) spread across 394 unique disorder terms. The most common disorders were periodontal disease (14.8%, 95%CI: 13.6–16.1), non-specified dental disease (13.0%, 95%CI: 11.8–4.2), otitis externa (12.2%, 95%CI: 11.1–3.4), anal sac impaction (10.1%, 95%CI: 9.1–11.2), aggression (7.1%, 95%CI: 6.3–8.1) and obesity (6.9%, 95%CI 6.1-7.9).

From just 1.5% (46/3,146) Cockapoos recorded as dying during the study period, median age at death was 9.0 years (IQR: 5.3–12.2).

Statement: Impact/ Clinical Significance

Cockapoo are supplanting older traditional dogs breeds in the UK, often based on beliefs about good health and behaviour.  Their manageable 11.7kg often makes them an ideal sized family dog. However, compared to previously published VetCompass disorder prevalence in dogs overall, the current results do not suggest superior health status for common disorders in Cockapoo. Worryingly, 7.1% aggression in Cockapoo was over three times higher than the 2.2% previously reported for dogs overall. This information can help veterinary professionals to give better acquisition advice to their clients.