Study finds crossbred dogs more misbehaved than pure breeds

By Stephen Beech

Cross-bred “designer” dogs are more badly behaved than pure breeds, according to a new study.

Cockapoos displayed the most unwanted habits - including aggression towards both owners and strangers, scientists say.

The survey-based study of three kinds of “designer” crossbreed dogs - cocakpoos, cavapoos and labradoodles - found that all three showed more problematic behaviors than at least one of their purebred progenitor breeds.

Study author Gina Bryson, of the Royal Veterinary College in London, explained that cavapoos, labradoodles, and cockapoos are crosses between purebred poodles and cavalier King Charles spaniels, Labrador retrievers, and cocker spaniels, respectively.

She said: "The popularity of these and other 'designer' crossbreeds as pets is rapidly rising around the world, in part because of widespread beliefs that they tend to have more desirable behaviors - such as being easier to train, or better with children - than other breeds.

"However, very little research has tested those beliefs."

Bryson and her colleagues analysed survey data from British dog owners for a total of 9,402 cavapoos, labradoodles, cockapoos, and their purebred progenitor breeds.

The survey included the Canine Behavioural Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), an established way to analyze dog behavior.

For each type of “designer” crossbreed and each of its purebred progenitors, the research team compared C-BARQ scores for 12 different behavioral traits.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS One, showed that in 44.4% of the comparisons, the crossbreed had more undesirable behaviors than the progenitor breed.

Crossbreeds had fewer problems in just 9.7% of the comparisons, while no notable difference was found in 45.8% of the comparisons.

Bryson said: "Of the crossbreeds, cockapoos had the most undesirable behaviors overall.

"Cockapoos scored worse than their progenitor breeds in 16 out of 24 behaviors, including owner-directed aggression, stranger-directed aggression, and excitability.

"Cavapoos scored worse than their progenitors in 11 out of 24 behaviors, including excitability, separation problems, and dog-directed fear.

"Meanwhile, compared to their progenitors, labradoodles scored worse in five behaviors, but better in six, including showing less owner- or dog-directed aggression than purebred poodles."

On the basis of their findings, the researchers call for wider awareness of potential crossbreed behavior issues both to support dog welfare and to enable safe, rewarding pet ownership.

Bryson added: "Additional research could further deepen understanding of crossbreed dog behavior."