Behaviour: Doodles vs Purebreeds, what does the research say?

Delightful Doodles!

Poodle crosses, often affectionately termed Doodles, are everywhere!

They are cute, no getting away from it! The influence of that Poodle coat, whilst sometimes troublesome, just immediately seems to add to the cuteness factor.

And so many of them are wonderful, fun, easy companions.

Common crossbreeds are Cockapoos, Labradoodles and Cavapoos.

But when dealing with these fun compound names it’s easy to forget that these dogs are, in fact, crossbreeds. They are a mix of different breeds. This mix of genetics is going to influence their behaviour.

Are Doodles struggling more than their purebred counterparts?

New research published in March in PlosOne (found HERE) has revealed some interesting data regarding the much loved Doodle bunch.

Owners of Doodles (Cockapoos, Cavapoos and Labradoodles in this case), and their purebred counter parts, were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their experiences of being their caregivers. The questions related to their health, husbandry and behaviour.

The questionnaire (the C-BARQ) explores six elements of behaviour: training and obedience, aggression, fear and anxiety, separation-related behaviour, excitability, and attachment and attention-seeking. 9,402 responses were included in the analysis.

Interesting demographic findings:

  • Owners of the Doodles were significantly less likely to see the mother with puppies at the time of collection.
  • Median number of health disorder prevalence of all dogs in the study was 2, and did not differ significantly between Doodles and purebred dogs.
  • The Doodles were significantly more likely to be owned by first time dog owners.
  • Doodles were significantly more likely to live in homes with children.
  • Crossbreed dog owners were significantly less likely to work in the animal care sector than the purebred dog owners.

Some interesting behavioural findings

  • From 72 total behavioural comparisons, the Doodles overall exhibited more undesirable behaviours than their progenitor breeds in 44.4% of comparisons.

  • There was no significant difference in another 45.8% of cases, and fewer undesirable behaviours in the remaining 9.7%

  • Cockapoos scored significantly higher than Poodles in all six categories: owner directed aggression, stranger directed aggression, dog rivalry, non-social fear, separation related problems and excitability. They also scored significantly higher compared to Cocker Spaniels in these areas. No significant difference was found in touch sensitivity or in attachment/attention seeking.

  • Labradoodles showed significantly less undesirable behaviour to Poodles in these categories: owner directed aggression, dog directed aggression, dog rivalry, stranger directed fear, dog directed fear and separation related problems. However, significantly more undesirable behaviour to Labradors in: dog rivalry, non social fear, separation related problems, excitability and trainability.

  • Cavapoos showed significantly more undesirable behaviour than Poodles in three areas: non social fear, dog directed fear and trainability. They showed signifincantly more undesirable behaviour than Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in the following categories: owner directed aggression, stranger directed aggression, dog directed aggression, stranger directed fear, non social fear, dog directed fear, separation related problems and excitability.

What else does it say?

All three Doodle types included in the study showed significantly more non-social fear (e.g. fear of inanimate stimuli such as traffic, loud/sudden noises, novel objects/contexts), separation related problems (e.g. excessive vocalisation and destructiveness when separated from their owner) and excitability (e.g. strong reactions to exciting/arousing events such as walks, car trips, doorbells and visitors) compared to their non-Poodle progenitors.

The paper urges caregivers to seek help with behaviour issues to maximise their dogs welfare. When it comes to seeking help, it was found that Doodle owners were more likely to use animal charity websites and online breed specific websites to seek training and behaviour help. They were also more likely to use social media as a source of such information.

Cockapoos were the most likely of the group to show undesirable behaviour compared to their progenitor breeds, followed by Cavapoos and Labradoodles. It has been suggested that Labradoodles differed the least perhaps due to being popular for longer and therefore there has been more time to breed specifically for desirable “phenotypes” (observable genetic characteristics). There are also other factors put forward by the authors that may influence why the smaller crossbreeds display more fearful, excitable or reactive behaviours.

Cocker Spaniels are designed to flush out game from dense areas of woodland and grassland, and therefore required high-energy levels, mental resilience, intelligence and independence. Labradors were bred to work by retrieving to a person and therefore work closely with their handler. This difference in progenitor breed traits is likely to impact the crossbreed’s behaviour, despite Labradoodles and Cockapoos often being closely grouped together.

Why might some Doodles seem to have more behaviour problems?

  • When looking at your Cockapoo it can be easy to overlook that underneath those cute curls is a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle. Both high energy, intelligent, hunting, retrieving, working dogs. And sometimes that, amongst other things, can result in some difficulties in pet homes.


  • The study states that Doodles were more likely to be owned by first time dog owners, which has previously been associated with a higher likelihood of owner-reported behaviour problems.


  • The crossbreed dogs in the study were more likely to have skin disorders than the purebreds. Skin diseases have been linked with undesirable behaviours.


  • Not seeing a puppy with its mother at collection raises some possible red flags in regards to early rearing experiences which can be highly impactful on behaviour.


  • Advice provided via social media is a potential concern depending on the source. Behaviour and training is unregulated in the UK and therefore there are potentially harmful methods being promoted on social media. 

Not from the study but a suspicion I have: we have really high expectations from our Doodles! Yes they look cuddly and teddybear-like, but they are dogs with their own needs and preferences. We like touching them so we expect them to like to be touched. We want a dog that wants to be with us and is sociable but we also expect them to spend time in isolation.

Many of the crossbreeds inherit the Poodle coat. Accidental inappropriate early grooming experiences causing discomfort or worry, or lack of correct grooming causing matted fur causing discomfort and pain could all contribute to lack of ability to cope with a range of stimuli.

Find out more

If you want to read the study you can find it HERE.

Would you like support with your Doodle? Or any other breed?

Are you are wondering if you could improve things for your Cockapoo, Labradoodle, Cavapoo, Goldendoodle, Bernadoodle, Bordoodle or Shih Poo? Or maybe you have one of their progenitor breeds or something else entirely?

I’m here to help!

©️ Written by Naomi Andrews