Cavapoos are generally beloved dogs thanks to their teddy bear looks and their loving personality.
When looking at them, it’s difficult to believe that Cavapoos could ever be destructive or have bad habits at all! However, this is not always the case.
Cavapoos are highly intelligent and therefore get bored quickly. Boredom brings out bad habits such as biting, chewing, digging, destructive behavior and more.
It’s important to know that not all Cavapoos are destructive, and boredom can be rectified to stop these behaviors. Let’s look deeper into Cavapoos’ destructive behaviors and how you can stop them.
Cavapoo Destructive Streak
Don’t let the thought that Cavapoos can be destructive deter you from welcoming one into your home. All dogs have the potential to be destructive – not just Cavapoos!
Many puppies tend to show more destructive behaviors because they haven’t learned boundaries yet. Early socialization and training can prevent these from extending into adulthood.
Cavapoos are very clever dogs. This comes from their Poodle parentage, who are known for their intelligence and adaptability.
While this makes them easy to train and keep, it can also offer some unfavorable traits, too.
Clever dogs need constant mental and physical stimulation. They always need to be working on something so that they don’t get bored.
Bored dogs have a tendency to dig and chew, which can lead to total destruction of your house.
Obviously, you don’t want it to get to that point. Physical stimulation can be rectified with an hour of walks every day.
You can either go for one long walk or two shorter 30-minute walks to break up the day. Try to visit different places so that your dog doesn’t get bored of their surroundings.
Mental stimulation can be given with treat toys, puzzles, and lots of playing.
If you need to leave your Cavapoo home alone, leave lots of treat cages around the house for them to find and solve. This will keep them entertained until you get back.
Let’s take a look at other potential bad habits your Cavapoo might display.
Cavapoo Bad Habits to Know
Digging
Cavapoos do dig sometimes, and this is often a sign of anxiety or fear. It could also be due to boredom. Another potential reason they’re digging is that they want to cool down in a shallow hole.
No matter why your Cavapoo is digging, it can be very frustrating for owners – especially when it’s ruining the garden or flooring.
If you see your Cavapoo digging more often, you can nip it in the bud by increasing the amount of exercise you give them. The aim here is to tire them out, so consider playing more games with them, too.
Also always make sure that there is somewhere cool and shaded for them to relax during the warm weather.
Barking
Cavapoos are good watchdogs. This means that they like to keep an eye on their surroundings and alert you to anyone new approaching.
They believe that they are keeping you safe, so we can’t be too mad at them for it. Still, it doesn’t make the barking any less annoying.
Barking is a form of communication for dogs, so we cannot expect them to give it up completely – no matter how much training you complete.
However, you can minimize barking by not encouraging it. Ignore it as much as possible so that your Cavapoo doesn’t think that you’re joining in on their barking by shouting at them.
You can also use toys to distract them from barking, but try not to offer treats. This might give them the wrong impression that barking is rewarded.
To stop the excessive barking once and for all, try to find the reason behind it. It could be due to strangers, fear, or boredom. If you can fix the root cause, you might be able to prevent excessive barking.
If barking is becoming a problem, take a look at our blog posts on ‘Do Cavapoos bark‘ and ‘Why does my dog bark at night‘, to get some tips and tricks that might help.
Hyperactivity
All dogs can get hyperactive every now and then – especially when your dog is young. Puppies always get over-excited because everything is new and fun! This is often called the Zoomies.
This is especially true with Cavapoos which are naturally energetic and excitable.
You’ll often see that your Cavapoo stops acting so hyperactive once they reach adolescence, although they might hold onto this behavior until they’re two years old.
To prevent this behavior from being reinforced, you need to make sure that you’re not giving it any attention.
If you give them lots of attention, they’ll see their excitement as a good thing and therefore won’t make an effort to stop. This means that your Cavapoo could remain hyperactive until late into adulthood.
The good news is that Cavapoos love cuddles with their owners. This is an easy way to calm them down.
If you reward this behavior, your Cavapoo should start to exhibit a calmer demeanor rather than a hyperactive one.
Jumping
Cavapoos are agile dogs thanks to their Poodle parentage, who were once bred as retriever dogs. This means that your Cavapoo will be able to jump easily, and they will do it whenever they want attention.
This is bad behavior because not everyone wants to be jumped on by an excitable dog – particularly when they’re wet, muddy, or boisterous.
Jumping is often not done with malicious intent, but rather as a way to introduce themselves to new people. But it should still not be encouraged.
Don’t offer any attention to your jumping dog. Instead, turn away or leave the room altogether.
Reward them only when their paws are all on the ground. This reinforces the idea that keeping their feet on the ground is the best behavior.
You can either teach them a command, like ‘paws down’, or tell them to sit and stay. This will distract them from their excitement.
With first hand experience of Cavapoo that preferred to be on two paws than four around people, we know just how frustrating this jumping behavior can be. If you are struggling to stop your dog from clambering on visitors, then look at our handy guide on ‘How to stop your Cavapoo from jumping up‘.
Chewing
There are a few reasons why Cavapoos chew. Boredom is a big one, but pain could also be an issue.
If you know that your dog isn’t bored and they’re showing other symptoms of pain, such as irritability, slowness, and overtiredness, we recommend taking them to a vet.
They could have pain in their mouth or be chewing to distract themselves from pain somewhere else on their body.
If you don’t think your dog is in pain and is just chewing for the sake of it, you should make sure that they have enough chew toys all around the house.
Take away anything they’re chewing on and praise them when they chew their own toys.
You could also offer them chewy treats that will last them for a while to keep them entertained and satisfy their need to chew.
Summary
Thanks for reading! We hope that this article has given you a better insight into Cavapoos and their potentially destructive bad habits.
All dogs are partial to a bad habit or two, but you can often train them away with persistence and lots of treats.
The most common bad habits are chewing, barking, and jumping. There’s often a reason for the bad behavior, so look out for triggers to see if you can rectify them.
Positive reinforcement and ignoring negative behaviors is often the best way to train destructive traits away.
Make sure that you’re always making a fuss over your dog’s good behavior so that they have a clear image of what you want from them. Good luck!
We hope you’re not put off by getting a Cavapoo! Learn more about them here: