Tuesday 7 October 2014

“If you come at four in the afternoon,

I'll begin to be happy by three.” 

- Antoine de Saint-ExupéryThe Little Prince


About 72 miles southeast of here, here being Northwest London, lives a gorgeous black and grey English working type Cocker Spaniel named Rosie who is expecting a litter at the end of October (only a few short weeks!) Inside this beautiful animal is, if all goes well, the little creature who will be a bundle of joy,  companion and partner in crime for many years to come. HOW MANY you ask? Well...

William - quite handsome, wouldn't you say? 

Before I get ahead of myself, and if you can bear to take your eyes off stunning Rosie, 
meet the rugged beast by way of miniature poodle who is the papa to Rosie's litter! 



So what do you get when you cross a Cocker Spaniel with a miniature poodle? 
None other than a cockapoo! 
Never heard of one? 


Here's a little Cockapoo 101 for you:
  • Average Height: 10-15 inches (25-38 cm)
  • Average Weight: 12 to 24 pounds (5.4 to 10.9 kg)
  • Coat: Hypoallergenic or very low shedding/dander, nearly odourless  and needing moderate grooming.
  • Colour: A large range - including chocolate, champagne, apricot, red,  black, white, various mixed colour markings and on and on.
  • Unfortunately called a "Designer Dog"*, a name that originated in the late 20th century to refer to the crossing of purebred Poodles with other purebred breeds to bring about in the resulting litter puppies with the wavy or curly hypoallergenic poodle coat and distinguishing desirable characteristics of the other purebred dog. In this case, the Poodle is bred with a Cocker Spaniel, known for it's gentle, loving and playful manner. 
  • Although branded with the designer label, cockapoos have been bred as far back as the late 1950's or early 1960's in the United States.
  • Lifespan: be patient (it's coming in the next post)
The Cockapoo Club of Great Britain has a gallery for both cockapoo puppies and cockapoo adults if you'd like a peek. 

WARNING: IRRESISTABLE CUTENESS ALERT








red, apricot, blue merle & tan
If you can't be bothered to click on the links above, here are a few choice pups to drool over:

champagne


chocolate

black and white

Back to puppy. Well, all I know at this point is that there is still some time before puppy is born, and then the long 4 weeks before we can visit and choose him/her from her litter (which I'm sure will seem a LOT longer than the average four weeks), and then another 4 weeks after that to the point where puppy is all weaned and ready to leave Rosie and the companionship of the litter. So doing the maths, that brings us to...

 ... right around...  (yikes)



11 yr old muffin

CHRISTMAS


Okay before you go and get all up on your high horse and do the "A dog isn't just for Christmas" jig around your glass house, I will say that the timing of this was not in any way planned. And that puppy looking scared shitless** in the photo there to the left? That's Muffin, and Muffin isn't a 'puppy just for Christmas', she's an 11 year old full grown cockapoo that just so happens to be modelling some fairy lights, erm ... gleefully, for her owners during the festive season.

So what will this blog be about? The mere twinkle of a  puppy and then a real live, real life (virtual for you) puppy followed by a dog? Let's just wait and see, shall we?


* It seems to me the Designer Dog label in part perpetuates breeding by unethical, money driven amateur breeders who breed for the 'cuteness factor', often charging more for certain colours or appearance of coat, while disregarding or underplaying the health and temperament of the puppies. Boo hiss scowl.
** Fortunately for most, this blog won't be censored. The majority of material will, however,  be appropriate for all ages, particularly if one is open to any and all manner of referral to human and doggie bodily functions, of which none of us are immune.

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