One of humans’ most outstanding traits is our ability to change our surroundings to our liking. That includes our dogs. In a recent fervor for customized breeds, people have been buying up cavapoos, labradoodles, and cockapoos. But a study published today in PLOS One shows that, if we’re looking for well-behaved dogs, these “designer crossbreeds” aren’t the best choice.
Cavapoos, labradoodles, and cockapoos are crosses of purebred poodles with cavalier King Charles spaniels, Labrador retrievers, and cocker spaniels, respectively. They’ve become popular because of the perception that they’re easier to train, nicer with kids, less allergy-causing, and healthier than their purebred progenitors, according to the study authors—researchers from the United Kingdom’s Royal Veterinary College and EviVet, an evidence-based veterinary consultancy.
The researchers analyzed data from a survey of U.K. dog owners who answered the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ), a standardized tool developed at the University of Pennsylvania. They compared the C-BARQ scores of each of the crossbreeds with their parent breeds to determine whether the perceptions about better designer-crossbreed behavior were true. Only dogs 5 years old or younger were included—to “reduce age confounding effects on health” that emerge in older dogs. The sample encompassed 9,402 usable survey responses, divided between the three designer crossbreeds and their parent breeds.
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The results showed designer crossbreeds behaving worse than their progenitor breeds in 44.4 percent of the comparisons and behaving better in only 9.8 percent (with no difference in the remaining 45.8 percent of comparisons). Cockapoos demonstrated the most undesirable behavior, scoring worse than both cocker spaniels and poodles across the board. Their bad behaviors included aggression toward their owners and strangers, excitability and fear, rivalry with other dogs, and separation anxiety. The only behaviors for which cockapoos scored the same as cocker spaniels and poodles were touch sensitivity and attention-seeking.
Cavapoos also scored poorly on behavior relative to their parent breeds, although not as abysmally as cockapoos. Labradoodles got the best marks, scoring better than purebred poodles in six behaviors related to aggression, and worse in five behaviors.
“Wider awareness by prospective owners of these potential issues around undesirable behavioral traits could avoid misbelief-driven acquisitions,” wrote the study authors, who pointed out that a mismatch between owner expectations and reality of dog ownership leads to stressful situations for the dog owners and dogs alike.
So before you rush off to buy a trendy designer breed, consider whether one of its parent breeds might just be the dog you’re looking for instead. 
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Lead image: Bartlomiej Rybacki / Shutterstock
