Adopting a Cockapoo or Cavapoo in Nottingham: rescues, costs and health

The link under the short answer counts the Cockapoos the rescues we cover in and around Nottingham have listed today, and shows no number when there are none, which is common. Check it now and then, but put most effort into the doodle charities below.

Both are first crosses with a Poodle: Cocker Spaniel for the Cockapoo, according to Dogs Trust, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel for the Cavapoo, as its Cavalier page explains. The Royal Kennel Club's Breeds A to Z lists neither, and its advice on breeding crossbreds says it is often hard to predict how the puppies will look or behave, especially when the two parent breeds are very different.

Expectations are the usual problem. A Cockapoo needs daily exercise, ongoing training and regular grooming, and Battersea says people underestimating that time and training is why many are given up; the cross is, in its words, "not the low-maintenance family dog they're sometimes pictured as". Doodle Trust puts it more bluntly, tying many abandoned doodles to the same myths that made the crosses popular.

Allergies are the myth heard most. A doodle's coat can be anything from wiry to fleecy, and Doodle Trust points out that a puppy's coat can change in adulthood; its plain verdict is "No dog is allergy friendly". Anyone at home with an allergy should meet the grown dog, more than once, before you say yes.

A rescue fee mostly pays for work already done. Ashbourne Animal Welfare health checks, microchips, vaccinates and flea and worm treats each dog, and neuters male dogs before they go; it pays for a bitch to be spayed later, and that spay is a condition of adoption. Every Doodle Trust dog is neutered, microchipped and vaccinated before it moves, according to its enquiry page.

A bought puppy should already carry a microchip, because UK law requires every dog to be microchipped and registered by 8 weeks. Neutering and the rest of its vaccinations are then your bills, on top of a price that Blue Cross puts at £400 to £3,000.

Either parent breed can pass problems on, and few rescue doodles come with parents' test results, so the rescue's vet notes are your best guide.

• Cockapoos. Battersea notes itchy, sore ears and skin, often allergy related, and that ear infections are common. It adds a higher chance of long-term digestive trouble, and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), an inherited eye disease that slowly takes the sight.
• Cavapoos. The Cavalier half brings the heart. PDSA says heart disease, usually mitral valve disease, is "a big problem" in Cavaliers and is often first picked up as a murmur; it also lists syringomyelia, painful fluid-filled areas in the spinal cord. Find out whether the dog's heart has been checked.

By Battersea's reckoning a Cockapoo wants about an hour of exercise a day and some brain work besides, and many need training to cope on their own, since separation anxiety is common. DoodleAid's form asks how long, and how often, a dog would be left alone, so plan the middle of the day before you apply.

Children are handled dog by dog. Just For Dogs says it will rehome to families with young children when the dog suits, Jerry Green Dog Rescue says on a dog's profile when it can live with children, and Doggy Dens UK Rescue places only certain dogs with families.

A rescue doodle isn't for sale. Instead you apply, the rescue weighs up which home suits the dog, and the money that changes hands is an adoption fee. Puppies reach the doodle charities only now and then, so be open to an adult. Our Nottingham poodle and doodle page also takes in Labradoodles and Poodles if you are flexible on the cross.

If you decide to buy, Battersea links the cross's popularity to puppy farming and poor breeding, so look for a breeder with health tests on both parents. Dogs Trust's Poodle guide suggests a pre-purchase consultation with your vet, and The Royal Kennel Club runs a "Find a puppy" service. Scam adverts go to Report Fraud, the service that took over from Action Fraud.