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Breed guide · Dogs
She sits on my laptop when I work. I take my lunch on the sofa with her.
Last updated 12 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
Asleep on your lap one minute, learning a new trick for the treat pouch the next.
What's going onOne parent was bred to sit with a person, the other to work with one. Some Cavapoos lean one way, some the other. A few minutes of training a day keeps the Poodle half happy.
At home
Room to room all day, then waiting outside the bathroom door until you are back.
What's going onThe Cavalier was kept for company and nothing else, so following you round the flat is the job. Being frightened when you leave is different. It is one of the things to watch for in a young Cavapoo, and a reason to contact your vet.
At home
Snoring on your feet every night, a slow, steady rise and fall.
What's going onMitral Valve Disease (a leaky heart valve) comes from the Cavalier side, and it is the heart risk to keep an ear on from six months. A cough at night, or tiring sooner on walks, is worth a call to your vet.
At home
Halfway round the block, a back foot scratching at thin air near the neck.
What's going onIt can be neck pain from the Cavalier side, not a habit. Film it and show your vet, and walk them on a harness.
At home
Hardly a hair on the sofa, and a knot behind the ears by the end of the week.
What's going onThe coat holds its loose hair until you brush it out, which is why it mats. No dog is guaranteed to be allergy-free: a 2012 study found no less dog allergen in homes with Poodles and Labradoodles than with other breeds.
At home
A little skip on a back leg on the way to the door, then off again as if nothing happened.
What's going onPatellar Luxation (a slipping kneecap) and crowded baby teeth can both show up in the first six months. A skip on a back leg, or two teeth where there should be one, is worth showing your vet.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their day
Built for: The whole day with a person.
In Dubai: Often a long day alone in a flat.
The Cavalier half
Built for: Good company on a lap.
In Dubai: Still wants a lap all day.
The Poodle half
Built for: Working beside a person.
In Dubai: Still wants something to do.
The crying at the door and the weight that creeps on mostly come from that gap.
A cough at night or scratching at the neck is different: that is their body talking, and worth showing your vet. Most of us cannot be home all day, but we can plan their day around company, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the health risks for a Cavapoo at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Mitral Valve Disease (a leaky heart valve) comes from the Cavalier side.
Before they come home
Why
Mitral Valve Disease (a leaky heart valve) comes from the Cavalier side.
What to do
Ask the breeder whether the Cavalier parent's heart was checked by a vet, and at what age. Ask which size of Poodle was used. Keep the answers, and bring them to their first vet visit.
Young Cavapoos can find being left hard, most of all from six months to two years.
Every age, most of all up to 2 years
Why
Young Cavapoos can find being left hard, most of all from six months to two years.
What to do
Leave for a few minutes at a time from the start, and build up slowly. Give them a stuffed chew as you go. If they cry, scratch the door or will not eat while you are out, contact your vet early. It is treatable, and easier the sooner it starts.
The Poodle half needs a job, even on a lap dog.
Every age, easier puzzles from 7 years
Why
The Poodle half needs a job, even on a lap dog.
What to do
Two short sessions a day: a trick, a puzzle feeder, or part of their dinner hidden under a towel. Pay them from their daily food.
Heat is hard on them, and a collar presses on a neck that may already hurt.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
Heat is hard on them, and a collar presses on a neck that may already hurt.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds first. If you cannot hold it there, they cannot walk on it. Clip the lead to a harness, never the collar.
Mats pull on the skin and hide the itchy patches you need to see.
Every age, hardest from 6 months to 2 years
Why
Mats pull on the skin and hide the itchy patches you need to see.
What to do
Every day or two, slicker brush first, then a metal comb through to the skin. Mats start behind the ears and under the harness, so begin there. Book the groomer on a regular schedule and keep to it.
The Poodle side likes something in its mouth.
Every age, softer toys from 7 years
Why
The Poodle side likes something in its mouth.
What to do
Keep a soft toy that is theirs, and hand it over when you come home. When they take something they should not have, swap it for a treat. Try not to chase them, because that turns it into the best game going.
A leaky heart valve can show first as faster breathing at rest.
Every age, most of all from 2 years
Why
A leaky heart valve can show first as faster breathing at rest.
What to do
Once a month, weigh them and write it down. If their breathing at rest gets faster, or they start to cough at night, tell your vet.
Their hanging, hairy ears hold damp, and ear trouble can start in puppyhood.
Every age, for life
Why
Their hanging, hairy ears hold damp, and ear trouble can start in puppyhood.
What to do
Look and smell inside their ears once a week. Clean with the ear cleaner your vet gives you, and dry the flaps after every bath. Leave the hair inside their ears to your vet. If discharge keeps coming back in puppyhood, your plan includes ear cytology (a swab from the ear looked at under a microscope).
Retained baby teeth and crowding are the first thing to watch for in a Cavapoo puppy.
Every age, most of all at 5 to 6 months
Why
Retained baby teeth and crowding are the first thing to watch for in a Cavapoo puppy.
What to do
Brush every day with a dog toothbrush and dog toothpaste, never human toothpaste. At five or six months, look for a baby tooth still sitting beside an adult one. A dental eruption evaluation (a check that the adult teeth are coming through properly) is in your plan at their puppy visits.
Patellar Luxation (a slipping kneecap) is worth watching for at every age.
Every age
Why
Patellar Luxation (a slipping kneecap) is worth watching for at every age.
What to do
Put rugs where they turn on marble, give them a ramp to the sofa, and lift them down rather than let them jump. If they skip on a back leg, tell your vet. A patellar and gait evaluation (a kneecap and walking exam) is in your plan at their puppy visits.
Four of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Types of Cavapoo
A Cavapoo has a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel for one parent and a Toy or Miniature Poodle for the other. Some are a first cross, and some are bred back to a Poodle. Ask the breeder which you are looking at, then watch what the puppy shows you.
Colours
Each Cavapoo puppy takes a different share of each parent's coat, so two from the same litter can grow up looking quite different. The adult coat comes in between six months and two years, and that is when you see which parent shows through.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, and their heart is listened to at every vaccine visit. Start leaving them for a few minutes at a time now, and build up slowly.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the flat ready
Get a harness for walks, rugs where they turn on marble, and a ramp or step up to the sofa, because a Cavapoo will want to be on it with you.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder about the Cavalier parent's heart, and which Poodle was used. Bring the answers to their first vet visit.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
They'll keep sitting on your laptop. If their breathing changes while they sleep there, tell your vet.
Before they were yours.
Before 1900
The Poodle brought ducks back out of the water for hunters. Its name comes from the German "pudeln", to splash in water. The smaller Poodles were later kept as companions and performers.
What they still carryA quick mind, a love of water, and a coat that keeps growing.
The 1600s
Small toy spaniels were kept at the English court, and are named after King Charles II. By the 1900s, the type had changed to a flatter face.
What they still carryA dog made for a lap, and for company above all.
1926 to 1945
In 1926 an American, Roswell Eldridge, offered prizes at Crufts for dogs of the older, longer-nosed type, and breeders brought it back. The Kennel Club recognised the Cavalier in 1945.
What they still carryA gentle lap dog, from a small breeding pool that carried heart and skull problems forward.
Later
Cavaliers were crossed with Toy and Miniature Poodles for a small, gentle dog with a coat that sheds less, and a working dog's brain.
What they still carryA lap dog with a Poodle's brain.
Today
In the UAE a Cavapoo is a family dog in a flat or a villa, often living with people who go out to work.
What they still carryThe Cavalier part that wants a lap all day, and the Poodle part that wants something to do.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Cavapoo suits you, so might these.
CockapooThe same kind of dog: a poodle cross, with a cocker spaniel for the other parent and a little more energy.
MaltipooAnother small poodle cross, with a Maltese for the other parent and a coat that sheds even less.
Bichon FriseThe same friendly, sociable temperament, in a purebred white lap dog with a coat that needs daily care.
Shih TzuA similar size and the same need for cool summers, in a flat-faced dog with a long coat that sheds very little.
