Cavapoo
Gentle, sweet, calm and devoted. From Australia (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel x Poodle).
Designer Crosssmall breedAustralia (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel x Poodle)Standards checked
Standards checked: this profile's facts are checked against the breed standards of the AKC, The Kennel Club and the FCI, as described on our methodology page.
Gallery
Real photos from licensed sources only, each credited to its creator.
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Photos show different individual dogs from licensed libraries, not one dog growing up. Stage labels are approximate, the way a careful editor would judge them.
About the Cavapoo
The Cavapoo blends the Cavalier's gentle sweetness with the Poodle's brains and low shedding coat. Cavapoos are soft natured dogs that attach deeply to their families and dislike being left alone for long stretches. They are a popular first dog for calmer households.
History
The cross was popularized in Australia in the 1990s as a gentle, low shedding family companion. It is not a kennel club breed, and adult size varies with the Poodle parent used.
Personality
Gentle, sweet, calm and devoted is the record's Cavapoo: the cross of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Poodle (usually Miniature), popularised in Australia in the 1990s as a gentle, low shedding family companion. Cavapoos are soft natured, affectionate and deeply people attached, with the Cavalier's sweetness steadied by Poodle intelligence. It is not a kennel club breed, and adult size varies with the Poodle parent used, per the history. Puppies are bright, silky charmers; adults are devoted, gentle companions. Owners describe the complete little companion: a dog bred for tenderness, happiest in a lap and at the centre of a calm household.
Temperament and traits
Energy (3/5)
Trainability (4/5)
Grooming needs (4/5)
Shedding (2/5)
Barking (2/5)
Good with children: Good with children
With other dogs: Good with dogs
With strangers: Friendly with strangers
Apartment life: Well suited
Coat and care
Coat: Silky, wavy or curly coat, usually low shedding.
Colors: Chestnut, cream, apricot, red, chocolate and tricolor are common.
Brush two or three times a week to stop the silky coat tangling, and keep up with ear checks and dental care, since small mouths crowd teeth. Short, frequent training sessions suit their soft temperament.
Exercise and grooming
Exercise
Thirty to forty five minutes a day of gentle companion exercise: the Cavapoo blends the Cavalier's gentle sweetness with the Poodle's brains and low shedding coat, per the overview, and its exercise is measured in pleasant walks, games and household involvement. Short, frequent activity suits a small, soft natured dog. Puppies need frequent, gentle exercise and careful socialisation on the ground. Cavapoos attach deeply to their families and dislike being left alone for long stretches, per the overview, so the exercise plan is also the companionship plan: little and often, with its people. Indoor play is real exercise at eighteen pounds.
Grooming
Brush two or three times a week to stop the silky coat tangling, and keep up with ear checks and dental care, since small mouths crowd teeth, exactly as the care notes direct for the silky, wavy or curly coat. Clip every six to eight weeks to keep the teddy bear trim manageable. Short, frequent training sessions suit their soft temperament, per the notes, and grooming is trained the same way: little, often and kind. Nails need trims, ears need weekly checks under the spaniel feathering. Puppies need gentle grooming habituation from the first weeks.
Training and daily life
Training
With a strong train score, the Cavapoo is an excellent, willing pupil: intelligent, eager and soft, learning household skills and tricks readily under kind, consistent, reward based training. Short, frequent training sessions suit their soft temperament, per the care notes. Priorities are socialisation from the ground up, housetraining patience, a settle, gentle lead manners on a harness, alone time skills, and cooperative grooming and dental care. Harshness crushes a soft dog; warmth and clarity produce a polished, devoted companion.
Living with a Cavapoo
The Cavapoo suits gentle households, in flats above all, that want a soft natured little companion: gentle, sweet, calm and devoted in the record's words, good with children, good with other dogs and friendly with strangers, and well suited to apartment life in the record's rating. They are a popular first dog for calmer households, per the overview, with one firm condition: company. Cavapoos attach deeply and dislike being left alone for long stretches. Owners describe the cross at its best: the Cavalier's sweetness with the Poodle's brains, in a little dog that wants nothing more than its family's company.
What a Cavapoo costs
Food cost
About $15 per month for a typical 18 lb adult eating roughly 1.4 cups a day of a standard quality food ($1.60 per lb). Full breakdown in our food expense calculator.
Activity and exercise
Plan 30 to 45 minutes a day of walks, play and training. Under exercised dogs of most breeds invent their own projects, and they rarely pick good ones.
Insurance cost
Typical US range $30 to $55 per month for accident and illness cover. Estimate only, based on market ranges for this breed's risk profile; see the insurance estimator and the insurance guide.
On the monthly figures above, a typical adult year runs to about $183 for food and $360 to $660 for insurance, before routine vet care, grooming and gear. Year one costs more: vaccinations, spay or neuter surgery, a crate, bedding and training all land at once.
Growth: puppy to senior
How weight typically builds with age for a small breed, and when full size arrives.
| Stage | Age | Typical weight |
|---|---|---|
| Puppy | 8 weeks | about 2 to 4 lb |
| Puppy | 4 months | about 5 to 10 lb |
| Young | 6 months | about 7 to 14 lb |
| Young | 9 months | about 9 to 20 lb |
| Adult | 12 months | about 11 to 23 lb |
| Adult | Full grown | 12 to 25 lb (standard range) |
| Senior | From about 10 years | Healthy weight stays in the adult range; watch for slow gain or loss |
Growth pattern follows the size class growth curves published by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, applied to the adult weight range in the breed standard. Individual puppies vary; steady growth matters more than hitting any single number, and your vet's growth checks come first.
Life stages
Puppies need socialisation on the ground, grooming and dental habituation from the first weeks, and alone time trained gradually, because attachment is this cross's known management item. Short, frequent training sessions suit their soft temperament, per the care notes. Adults enjoy a long, gentle prime: twelve to fifteen years. Keep teeth brushed (small mouths crowd teeth), ears checked weekly and weight measured. Senior status arrives around ten: twice yearly checks with heart awareness (the Cavalier inheritance), ramps for furniture and continued gentle games. Old Cavapoos stay sweet, calm and devoted.
Health
Ask for health tests from both sides: Cavaliers need heart screening for mitral valve disease, and Poodles need eye and patella checks. Cavapoos can inherit either parent's risks, including heart disease and luxating patellas.
Conditions to know about
- Conditions from either parent (governing rule): Cavapoos can inherit either parent's risks, in the record's own words: ask for health tests from both sides, in writing, for the Cavalier panel and the Poodle panel both.
- Mitral valve disease (Cavalier side): Cavaliers need heart screening for mitral valve disease, per the record, and it is the single most important test in this cross. Ask for the Cavalier parent's current cardiologist heart certificate and its parents' heart history.
- Patellar luxation (both sides): Luxating patellas are named in the record among the inheritable risks. Ask for the Poodle parent's patella grade and report a skipping hind gait at any age.
- Eye conditions (Poodle side): Poodles need eye checks, per the record. Ask for the Poodle parent's current eye certificate and DNA panel results.
This is a designer cross, not a kennel club breed, so there is no official standard. Figures follow the parent breeds and reputable breeder consensus. Health notes summarize the conditions breed clubs and veterinary bodies most often flag for this breed. They are general information for choosing and caring, not a diagnosis or a substitute for your vet.
Gear for Cavapoo owners
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Cavapoo questions
How long do Cavapoos live?
A typical lifespan is 12 to 15 years. Weight control, dental care and screening for the breed's known conditions give a dog the best chance of reaching the top of that range.
How much does it cost to keep a Cavapoo?
Food for a typical adult runs about $15 a month at a standard quality tier, and accident and illness insurance usually falls between $30 and $55 a month in the US. Try the full cost calculator for a complete year one and yearly picture.
Are Cavapoos good with children?
Good with children. As with every breed, supervise dogs and children together and teach children to respect the dog's space.
How much exercise does a Cavapoo need?
Plan on 30 to 45 minutes a day, split between walks, play and training games. Puppies and seniors need gentler, shorter sessions.
Cavapoo or Cockapoo, what is the difference?
The two spaniel doodles: the Cavapoo (Cavalier cross) is the softer, calmer, more lap oriented dog. The Cockapoo (Cocker cross) is the slightly busier, sturdier, more playful dog. Both are gentle, devoted, low shedding companions needing the same coat work.
Are Cavapoos really hypoallergenic?
No dog is truly hypoallergenic: Cavapoos usually shed little, per the coat notes, which many allergy households find easier, but individual dogs and individual allergies vary. Meet the parents and spend time with the coat type before committing.
Are Cavapoos good first dogs?
They are a popular first dog for calmer households, per the overview: gentle, devoted and manageable in size. The conditions are company (they dislike being left), coat work and a breeder who heart tests the Cavalier side.