NACR to Guide to Cockapoo Colors and Markings
One has to remember that being hybrids cockapoos have the potential for a wide range of colors. Depending on the parents and their backgrounds – factors of recessive and dominant genes for color become difficult to predict. A cockapoo could be any normal color seen in the cocker or poodle. Some unique colors and patterns as well are emerging as we breed down through the generation. Some colors and marking patterns are being seen with more frequency. Here's a bit of a guide to help you along.
Colors:
Cockapoos can emerge in many colors; given that they originate from cockers and poodles, basic color descriptions take their cues from the colors found in the parent breeds. You will find many variations of shades within these color families. The basic colors are:
- Apricot (similar to cream but the highlights will have definite reddish cast.
- Black
- Buff -light cream, honey, golden, tan, beige, auburn - any shade of tan
- Chocolate -can vary from light to dark brown
- Sable - a chocolate factor - base of light to dark chocolate with tipping and shading in black
- Cream - basically a light color close to white but with cream highlights on ears and back
- Red -overlaps to buff depending opinion but does have a noticeable red tint to a full deep Irish setter red rust tone
- Silver is a phenomenon of being a mix of breed genetics - not always a true solid color but may be patches of light to dark silver with considerable black; it can vary from patches to spots and generally changes as the puppy matures so it can only be said that there is a silver inclusion to some extent.
- White
Any of these colors can have white on chest, chin, toes, head or muzzle to varying extents. Pure solid color dogs occur, as well as many dogs that depict shading within their basic color, including tipping at the end of the hair coat.
Markings:
Again based strongly from the Cocker Spaniel, certain color marking patterns can be found being carried on to the cockapoo.
Parti color - any of above colors showing in patches on a white base - - ears are usually colored. Developing spots, freckles, etc on muzzle, body and legs is a strong possibility.
Tri - any parti with tan markings
Phantom - markings in white,silver, tan, red, or brown on a background of black or brown ; the markings are spots over eyes, on the sides of the cheeks, symmetrical spots on chest, under tail, inside ears and on lower legs
Roan - a white base coat with many freckles and spots (rather than patches) to the point where the white is barely seen
In general, color and marking intensity will vary depending on coat length and the age of the dog (and of course, cleanliness!). Color phases may exist - like starting with considerable black tipping but ending in a lighter mature coat with the tipping or darkness remaining on ears only - puppy coats will usually undergo minor to major variations depending on the color and markings. Some markings may be more noticeable when the dog is in longer coat, others more noticeable after a trim. Some colors such as chocolate and deep red will sun fade or bleach out in the sun and may fade with age. Chocolates have been known to take on a silver cast to buff tipping. Deep reds can fade to apricot with age.
North American Cockapoo Registry Cockapoo Breed Standard
Note – this standard is adapted as an ideal. The cockapoo is a hybrid and individual specimens will vary. While looks are important and physical build can to some extent affect health the most important aspect of the cockapoo is its temperament.
General Appearance, Carriage
The cockapoo has a sturdy, squarely built appearance. The length from the body measured from the breastbone to the rump is approximately the same to slightly longer than the height from the highest point of the shoulder to the ground. He stands up well at the shoulder on straight forelegs with a top line that is level to slightly sloping toward moderately bent hindquarters. He is a dog capable of great speed and endurance combined with agility. The body must be of sufficient length to permit a straight and free stride. The dog never appears low and long.
Size
Size can be determined by either parent's recent background. While the ideal cocker spaniel is 13 1/2 to 15 1/2 inches at the withers (the highest point of the shoulders from the ground) poodles may range from perhaps 6 inches to 30 inches. Note AKC standards of the poodle are 10 inches under = toy, 10+ to 15 = miniature and 15+ = standard. The terms tiny toy or teacup are not recognized but commonly used to describe the smallest of the poodles as is the term toy cocker for a very small cocker spaniel. Thus a cockapoo could be from perhaps 6 inches at the shoulder to 30 inches at the shoulder with a nice average of 10 to 16 inches reflecting the typical parents.
The NACR Administration, Owners Advisory Panel and Breeders Advisory Panel have collaborated to standardize sizes as follows:
- Teacup toy - the smallest of the toys - perhaps 4lb and under.
- Toy - less than 10 lbs to about 10" at shoulders.
- Mini -10lbs to less than 20lbs, 10" to 14".
- Standard 20 to less than 30lbs 14" to 17".
- Giant 30lbs and over, 17" and over.
** Be sure you and your breeder understand what size you have in mind as terminology is very subjective. A large dog to one person may be a medium to another.
Head, Expression
The eyes are dark. The darker the better on dogs with dark noses. Dogs with light colored noses may have lighter eyes. The occasional odd eyed (two different colors ) is seen and not to be faulted. The eyes may be oval to round in shape but never protruding while looking directly ahead. Set far enough apart to create an alert intelligent expression yet soft and appealing.
The ears hanging closely to the head, are set at or below eye level and are well feathered but never erect or carried up over the head.
The skull is moderately rounded but not exaggerated without any tendency towards flatness. To be in correct balance the length of the muzzle from stop to top of nose is never more than 1/2 the distance from the tip of the nose to the crown of the head.
Teeth should meet in a scissors bite.
Neck, Top line, Body
The neck rises strongly from the shoulders and arches slightly as it tapers to join the head. Carried high and with dignity the neck is never pendulous ( no throatiness - skin tight ). The top line is level to slightly sloping toward the hindquarters, never roached. The chest is deep and moderately wide with well sprung ribs, its lowest point no higher than the elbow. The Tail is set on line with the back and carried on line with the top line or higher when the dog is in motion the tail action is merry. Tail may be docked as the parent breeds or left long at personal preference. The tail should be well feathered and full coated when left long.
Forequarters
The shoulders are well laid back forming an angle with the upper arm of approximately 90 degrees permitting easy movement and forward reach. When viewed from the side with the forelegs vertical the elbow is directly below the highest point of the shoulder blade. Forelegs are parallel, straight, with strong pasterns. Legs set close to the body. Dewclaws are removed. Feet should be in balanced proportion with the dog. However, the feet should be compact, with arched toes and turn neither in nor out.
Hindquarters
When viewed from behind the legs are parallel when in motion and at rest. Moderately angled at the stifle and clear defined thighs. When standing the rear toes should be behind the point of the rump.
Coat
The entire coat of the cockapoo is slightly to heavily waved but never harsh, kinky or wiry. Moderately soft to silky the hair on the chest, abdomen and legs is well feathered to fully thickly wavy and may be longer than the body hair on most specimens.
Color and Markings
Any solid color, Parti color (two or more solid colors one of which must be white)
Tri color (parti color with tan markings over each eye, on the sides of the muzzle/cheeks, on the underside of the ears, on all feet and/or legs and optionally on the chest). The nose and rims of eyes should be one solid color. Brown colored dogs may have liver noses, eye rims, lips, dark toenails and dark amber eyes. Black, blue, gray, cream and white dogs have black noses, eye rims and lips, black or self colored toenails and very dark eyes. In apricots and reds the liver colored nose is acceptable. In parti colored dogs the primary color other than white is used to determine the accepted color of nose.
Temperament
The cockapoo is a very people oriented, outgoing, and happy dog. The clown like personality appeals to young and old alike. The cockapoo has a keen intelligence any adult can appreciate coupled with a forgiving nature that makes it unparalleled as a children's dog. They are as much at home in an apartment as they are on the biggest farm.
Note -as of February 2001, the standard as presented is considered adopted by the participating NACR breeders
North American Cockapoo Registy Information on Cockapoo Genetics
Cockapoos are considered 1st generation (F1) if the parents are pure cockers and pure poodle. Cockapoo to Cockapoo is 2nd generation (F2) and progressing F2 to F2 begets F3 - etc. For recording purposes we take the lowest F factor to 'label' the progeny. Thus and F6 to and F2 would be considered an F3. They are still cockapoos as long as the origin was 1/2 cocker and 1/2 poodle and nothing else has been mixed in along the way, and it stays cockapoo to cockapoo without adding back in any poodle or cocker.
A cockapoo bred back to a poodle while a nice dog is no longer a true cockapoo. Some term this cockapoo-poo. A few breeders may have this breeding as they do not have a pair of cockapoos. They are encouraged to get the proper dogs for breeding. Some breeders try to pass these off as 2nd generation - this is an out right falsehood. Some breeders try to con folks into thinking it is a better cross as more of the pups will be non shed - another falsehood. Cockapoos by their very nature are low to non shed and low to non doggy odor. The poodle coat has a great deal of dominance making it the ideal cross with the cocker.
If the breeder picking the dogs to be used for 2nd generation is careful to pick breeding stock that shows very much the characteristics of both then this look can be maintained. Let's say a breeder prefers a more poodle like look and keeps those for breeding. If this same breeder keeps more pups and continues the same practice after a few generations the cocker input could be eliminated to have reverted back to a poodle - thus negating the whole ideal of the
cockapoo. Conversely if a breeder stays on middle ground while eliminating any faults that evidence themselves ( i.e. an overbite ) then the cockapoo could be established and breeding true with very little throwback to the original breeds.
Simple medallion pea theory would have us think that ½ cocker and ½ poodles for F1 the cockapoo bred together would produce ¼ cockers ¼ poodles ¼ cockapoo and ¼ cockapoo in 2nd generation (F2). This is not the case given the prepotency of factors involved. A simplistic view would be to toss 120 black marbles in a pot and 120 white marbles. Then one draws 120 marbles out to create the new pup. Perfect statistics would have us at 50% from each - also unlikely. However 55% is reasonable - so cockapoos show the characteristics of each nicely. The likelihood of having 25% of the marbles being one color to create a ¾ cocker ¼ poodle and the looks with higher potential to shedding is very unlikely much less having a drawing of enough to create a pup that looks almost identical to a cocker or poodle. There are many others factors involved such as recessives where both parents contribute a rare gene and it has to be picked up from both parents, and things that are linked like certain eye colors to coat colors.
Cockapoos will almost always show strong characteristics of both parents. They could lean a little to poodle or a little to cocker. Some may be a little curlier and some may have blockier heads but they definitely show characteristics of both parents in a unique way that is what gives cockapoos such a special look. It is highly unlikely they would inherit a predominance of genes from either parent. Second generation has the highest incidence of pups that will lean more to
the looks of either parent breed. We contribute this to the grandfather effect. A man may have a full head of hair until he dies while his dad was bald by 40. The son very often inherits this tendency of the grandfather. Dogs have this tendency too. This does not make 2nd generation bad and by no means expect all the pups or even one in a litter to have the throwback - just something to be aware of. The breeder should have a good idea by coat type well before the pups leave for their new homes. By 3rd generation very few if any throwbacks are seen just as in 1st generation and 4th generation on this almost never happens.
NACR Information on genetic issues of Poodles and Cockers
Almost every known breed of dog has acquired genetic health problems over the years - responsible breeders will retire any dog that shows these problems from a breeding program to prevent continuation of same. NACR strongly encourages its breeders to maintain a clean gene pool by carefully choosing stock dogs, and eliminating from breeding any dog that does exhibit problems. However - nature is nature, and nothing is foolproof, just as in human reproduction. A dog may appear and test healthy for a number of years before showing any signs of less than perfect health. Cockapoos generally tend to display less chance of inheriting inbred problems due to the nature of expanding the gene pool, but these are possible issues that have a small chance of arising through the poodle and cocker lines:
Some breed problems of poodles and cockers
-- progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) is a group of degenerative retinopathies consisting of inherited photorecptor dysplasia and degeneration that have similar clinical appearance. Both poodles and cocker spaniels are subject to photoreceptor degeneration inherited as autosomal recessive traits in which clinical signs can appear at 3 to 5 years of age. There is a DNA test for Irish setters but not as yet for other breeds. Electroretinography is often used to investigate and diagnose the condition and the results can be reported to the Canine Eye Research Foundation - CERF. Cortical cataracts are common in the later stages of PRA. No effective therapy is available
---- patellar luxation. A hereditary disorder characterized by ectopic development of the patella medial or lateral to the trochlear groove of the femur. Patellar luxation is associated with multiple deformities of the hindlimb involving the femur, tibia and hip joint. Clinical signs vary with the severity of luxation. Any age animal may be affected. Palpation of the stifle joint reveals displacement of the patella. Patellar luxation may be graded from mild to severe with the mild causing little or no affect of the animals health. Surgical intervention provides a good prognosis.
-----hip dysplasia ( while primarily a large breed problem ) the pathophysiological basis for hip dysplasia is a disparity between hip joint muscle mass and rapid bone growth. Subsequently coxofemoral instability or joint laxity may develop and lead to degenerative joint changes. Clinical signs are variable and do not always correspond to radiograpihic findings. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals -- OFA is best qualified to grade to findings. Surgical intervention provides a good prognosis although in mild cases environmental changes may be the better course to follow.
---- aseptic necrosis of the femoral head ( legge-calves-perthes disease ) is more common is small breeds than hip dysplasia. This congenital deterioration of the femoral head occurs in young miniature and small breeds is associated with ischemia and avascular necrosis of the bone. Clinical signs include hindlimb lameness, pain during manipulation of the hip joint and thigh muscle atrophy, radiography reveals irregular bones density of the femoral head and neck. Treatment involves surgical excision of the affected femoral head and early postoperative physical therapy - prognosis for recovery is good.
How to Register and an explanation of registration levels
Please note... in all cases that require AKC verification, CKC - Canadian Kennel Club - information my be substituted
- If you are a cockapoo owner and you purchased a cockapoo from an NACR breeder, your breeder is required to register all litters and provide you with an individual pups registration application or take care of the registration process for. Some breeders collect that fee for us and some may build it into the pups price.The registration certificate will be sent directly to you within 4 weeks of us recieving the information from you or the breeder. Your breeder will need your help since you should provide a name for your pup. The NACR allows 35 spaces for naming your puppy. Your breeder may or may not ask you use their kennel name as part of your dog's registered name. If you do not provide your breeder with a name they may have to select a name for you and you can later have this name changed by contacting the NACR office to process a name change. Please note that the registered name does not have to have anything to do with you pet's "call" or "family" name. (For example, you (Mr. Smith) may elect to name your dog "Smiths King of All He Surveys", but you and your family call him "King"). If you have not received your certificate with in 6 weeks of purchase, please be sure to check with your breeder to be sure that they have completed the registration of your dog. If your breeder assures you that they have completed the registration process and you still have not received the certificate after 4weeks contact the office to check on the status of your certificate.
- If you are a cockapoo owner and did NOT obtain a cockapoo from an NACR Breeder you are still eligible and encouraged to register your cockapoo. Please contact the NACR office to initiate this process
- If you are a cockapoo breeder please see the registration information page and sign up page. If you have questions please contact us.
If you have any genetic health screenings done on your cockapoo (such as testing for eye or orthopedic problems) either before or after registering your cockapoo, please be sure to forward the results of these tests to the NACR office; adding the outcome of genetic health screenings to the cockapoo database will add a great deal to the future of the cockapoo.These dogs that are tested and prove clear of genetic-linked health problems will likely prove to be the healthiest to breed future generations of cockapoos and produce dogs that will live happier, healthier lives. The purpose of the NACR then, by keeping these records, will prove the genetic purity and health of the cockapoos of the future
WHY GENETIC TESTS? Dogs that have been checked for hereditary problems and cleared are the best to use for breeding stoc; even if your specific dog is not being bred, other dogs in its lineage may be. Would you want to get a dog knowing that it would eventually go blind or need painful surgery in order to walk with out excessive pain? Through testing breeders can provide that their puppies will have a better chance for a full and happy life. As consumers become more aware of these potential problems they will demand a dog that has a tested background. The demand for genetically tested dogs in combination with the NACR records will help to create a cockapoo breed that will be free of detectable genetic ailments.
Registration Categories/Levels
Cockapoos are the result of a pure cocker and a pure poodle or cockapoo to cockapoo originating from the pure cross. The best basis we have for determining pureness (although not 100% foolproof) is to base the original pureness on American Kennel Club - AKC - status of the parent stock. (The CKC - Canadian Kennel Club - is given equal consideration for this purpose - not to be confused with the American CKC (Continental Kennel Club).
Full (F) designation - Breeding dogs submitted with the above backgrounds, be it the actual dog is registered AKC - the dog has an application (blue slip) for the AKC, or the pedigree is submitted with all information tracing that dog to an AKC background with nothing omitted are given the best status of Full (F) for fully traceable and will have that designation within their NACR number. This is the 5th letter within an alphanumeric coding. These are the only dogs, which are fully traceable with the F designation, that are entered into the final database that establishes the cockapoo.
Grand-fathered (G) designation - Some breeding dogs may not have this status, yet be 'pure' due to many possible reasons. A few of these could be a dog was obtained after a person died and the paper trail was broken. Divorce, fire, theft - any number of reasons can result in a pure bred dog no longer having proper papers. Some dogs may have had papers revoked not through the fault of the dog but of the record keeping or actions of its owner. These dogs may find homes with new owners and become part of the bloodline for a cockapoo. The dog is pure but without a proper paperwork trail for proof. We do allow submission of dogs without proper proof with pictures for the committee to approve based on the dog appearing to be proper for the breed. Additionally, many cockapoo breeders that have been breeding cockapoos down through the generations for some time did not keep complete records, not realizing they would be important at some time. These dogs are 'grand fathered' in and as such given the G designation. Breeders have been asked to watch the progeny of these dogs and if there is ever a suspicion that all is not proper, to not use the dog as part of the breeding program. Statistical data compiled will be compared to the F dogs for interest and, with a percentage of error allowance we can learn more about colors, sizes, dominances, etc for the cockapoo as a breed using both bases. So, these registrations are extremely useful in tracing the development of the cockapoo (though not included in the final database to establish the breed).
(Limited (L) - A further designation of L for limited will be given to those placed as pets only, not for breeding purposes. Breeders may limit pups going to folks that have stated no interest in breeding or for pups that should not become breeding dogs due to some fault that will not affect their serving as a valuable family pet. An L status may be lifted with written permission from the breeder. Breeders may impose certain restrictions on this such as passing genetic testing - however - that is something to be worked out between you and the breeder.
Other designations could appear as part of record keeping, to date the three main codes of F, G and L are in use and being tracked.
NACR and Genetic Participation
The Cockapoo has been granted breed index designations by Penn Hip, OFA and CERF, so that tested NACR registered cockapoos will be recorded by these databases for genetic health in dogs. NACR registration numbers will be used by both of these organizations to trace cockapoo lineages in their databases. These associations between NACR and OFA & CERF became official in January of 2000 after acceptance of the NACR by both organizations. Participation in these databases (done by breeders voluntarily having vets test their dogs and providing the results to the NACR) will help to insure that cockapoo lines are kept as free as possible of inherited knee and eye disorders.
The NACR is continuing to seek cooperation with genetic database to help insure the future health of cockapoos.
Further information about testing your breeding stock for these genetic disorders can be obtained from your vet, the NACR, OFA, CERFand PennHip.
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