Top 5 Ways to Enhance Resilience of Your Cockapoo

Raising any kind of puppy is no joke, and cockapoos can be a handful. For those of you who are thinking we might be talking about some kind of bird, cockapoos are actually a cross between a cocker spaniel and a poodle. The result is a beautiful, small, healthy dog that is known for its playfulness and friendliness.

Sadly, they’re not known for their overall health, and if you have a cockapoo puppy you might want to start them with the right diet and exercise early in life to avoid any sickness and complications later in life.

If you want, you can visit Pride & Prejudoodles for more info on cockapoos. But if you want to keep reading about how to raise the most resilient, healthiest cockapoos you can, keep reading. 

Mind Their Diet 

Cockapoos need to be fed a high quality diet designed to give them the best nutrition possible. If you’re giving them a different brand of puppy food than the one the breeder fed them, make sure to change the proportions gradually to avoid any stomach issues. 

Put one fourth of the new puppy food in the old one, then increase it to one half after a week, then three fourths the next, and then finally feed your cockapoo the new puppy food from week four onwards. 

You can mix canned food in the puppy food to make sure it’s moist and easy for them to eat. 

Make Sure They Get Enough Exercise 

If you wanna make sure your cockapoo maintains the right weight and health, make sure they get at least one hour of exercise a day, and a lot of human interaction. They are happier and healthier when you don’t leave them alone too much, and it might be a good idea to get a cockapoo if you already have a pet at home, or if you stay at home often. 

They might be able to live happily in apartments, and they might look like small and cuddly bundles of joy, but without the right outdoor time and the right amount of exercise they will become irritable, misbehaved, stressed, and might even end up taking their frustration out on your household furniture – this kind of stress is never good for anyone, much less a small dog.

Crate Train Your Puppy 

Dogs – or at least their wild ancestors – are creatures who love to live in caves and cave-like places. This environment is simulated in a crate, which is basically a small den for your puppy. Crate training your puppy gives them a place to rest and relax. It’s also a great place for your puppies to sleep in and stay out of your way while you’re busy, and an important tool in training them not to defecate all over your home and wait until you take them outside. 

Make sure the crate is the right size for your puppy, or you risk them bumping against it and conjuring themselves. A too-small crate will also make them feel claustrophobic and agitate them more than it will calm them down. 

Leash Train the Puppy 

Leash training is one of the most important things to teach a cockapoo so they grow up to be well-behaved dogs. A dog who can’t behave themselves around other animals and humans is a risk to themselves and the people around them, and it can lead to all sorts of problems that are not the best for them, to say the least. 

The proper size of leash for a cockapoo is about six feet – any longer or shorter and you might have a hard time controlling them – and the leash needs to be clasped lightly around the neck, with about 2 to 3 inches of space between the neck and the leash so it doesn’t hurt your pet. 

Proper Grooming 

You might have expected a list of military-style training exercises for your dog when you read that this article was about increasing their resilience, but really it’s all about staying consistent with the right care for your dogs, and not being lazy in their upbringing. 

The healthiest, most resilient dogs are the ones who are properly trained, fed, and groomed. 

Grooming your cockapoo can avoid health issues like ticks, infections, eye problems, and ear issues. It’ll also make them get used to it so there aren’t any problems with grooming them later in life. 

You need to clean their ears, clip their nails, and trim over their eyes and ears. Luckily, cockapoos rarely ever shed hair, so you won’t be cleaning dog fur from your furniture and won’t need to brush your dog excessively.