Dogs be Dogs
Share
Behaviour, training & support for cockapoos, doodles, labradors, spaniels & vizslas in modern pet homes.
4 months old. Watch what she does with a crisp wrapper.
Elphaba is a Stabyhoun - a rare Dutch gun dog breed. But her brain works exactly like your Cockapoo, your Labradoodle, your Spaniel, your Lab.
Bred to hunt and retrieve alongside a human. That working partnership is in their DNA.
I haven't taught her to sit. Or stay. Or give a paw.
What I have done is make her name the best sound in the world. Every single time I've said it, something good has happened. So when she picked up that crisp wrapper, I called her name once.
She dropped it and came back to me.
A behaviour that gets rewarded gets repeated. The more your puppy learns that their name predicts good things, the less you ever need to worry about what's in their mouth.
This is what we build from day one in our puppy classes in Berkshire and Oxfordshire. Not tricks. A dog that actually wants to be with you.
Follow us for more on raising gun dogs and their crosses to actually fit real life.
If you're local - link to puppy classes in the comments.
03/05/2026
Most cockapoo owners don’t realise what their dog was bred to do.
They’re usually described as friendly, low-shedding, easy family dogs.
But when we start looking at what their puppy is actually doing — constantly picking things up, running off with things, always on the go, struggling to switch off — it starts to feel a bit less “easy”.
That’s because a cockapoo isn’t just a companion dog.
They’re a mix of two gundog breeds, both bred to retrieve and work closely with people.
So a lot of what gets labelled as “typical cockapoo behaviour” isn’t random at all. It’s instinct.
What catches people out is that this doesn’t just disappear on its own. If anything, it tends to become more obvious as the dog gets older and more confident.
That’s usually the point where things start to feel harder than they should.
This is exactly what we focus on in puppy classes — understanding what’s driving the behaviour, and what to do with it.
I’ve put this together in a bit more detail, including what to do about it — I’ll add the link in the comments if you want to have a read.
—
If you’ve got a cockapoo, cavapoo or labradoodle, what’s the one thing they always pick up or carry around?
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
Category
Contact the business
Website
Address
Reading
RG73DU
Opening Hours
| Tuesday | 10am - 6pm |
| Wednesday | 10am - 7:30pm |
| Thursday | 10am - 6pm |
| Friday | 10am - 7:30pm |
| Saturday | 9am - 2pm |
| Sunday | 9am - 2:30pm |
