Cavapoos are happy little dogs that are full of life and love for their owners. They’ve recently grown exponentially in popularity thanks to their teddy bear faces and amazing-looking coats.
Everyone wants a Cavapoo with their signature curly coat – it just looks so snuggly! But one thing that many owners don’t know is that it’s not guaranteed that a Cavapoo will have a curly coat. They could grow up to have wavy or even straight hair.
Let’s look more into the world of Cavapoo coats and how to tell what kind of coat your dog will have.
Cavapoo Coat Options
Being a cross between a Poodle and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, they could take after the former and have a curly coat, the latter for a straight coat, or somewhere in the middle with a wavy coat.
However, the coat of a Cavapoo is more complex than just the wave pattern. There are three types of coats your Cavapoo might have depending on the genes it inherited from its parents.
Hair
Cavapoos are low-shedding dogs anyway, but hair coats tend to shed the least. Hair has a wiry texture and feels coarse to the touch, meaning all shed hair gets trapped in the top layer and needs to be brushed out.
Hair coats are the easiest to maintain, so grooming should be rather straightforward. This type of coat is often considered straight, although in some cases it can still be wavy.
Wool
When you think of wool, you’ll think of sheep. However, Cavapoos can also have wool coats if it inherits more of their Poodle parentage genes.
When you see a super tight and curly coat on a Cavapoo, it will be a wool coat.
These are barely shedding coats because the curls are so compact that they hold the hair in. Wool coats are considered hypoallergenic.
Cavapoos have a reputation for looking like teddy bears, and this is down to the wool coat. It will need lots of grooming, though, so make sure you have a good professional grooming studio around your area.
Fleece
Fleece coats are one of the most commonly seen coat types in Cavapoos. They’re often wavy or have very loose curls. When you think of a Cavapoo, you’ll most likely think of the fleece coat.
Fleece coats aren’t made up of tight curls. They’re loose and free, so the hair sheds more quickly than other coat types.
Fleece coats need more frequent grooming sessions than hair coats as they are easier to tangle.
Will Your Cavapoos Coat Change?
Yes, Cavapoo’s coats are always changing. They’re adaptable, and this is one of the reasons why Cavapoos are so great for first-time owners.
Many puppies have very curly coats, making them look super appealing to buyers.
However, as they grow up and mature, the coat pattern could change to be loosely wavy or even straight. They’ll have the same facial features, but their coats could be completely different.
You’ll often see the change start to happen around the six-month mark. However, don’t expect a quick change overnight.
The process can be long and slow, and some Cavapoos won’t develop their adult coat until they’re three years old!
Poodles have specific genes that make their coats adaptable. If your Cavapoo has inherited this same gene, they’re more likely to experience coat changes throughout its young life.
It’s not all bad news, though. Cavapoos are known for being hypoallergenic or low-shedding dogs, so owners are often confused when their puppies shed lots of hair.
As they mature and their coat changes, you’ll see a significant decrease in the amount of hair shed.
So, don’t be confused when your once-curly-haired puppy grows into a looser coat. This is a common issue in Cavapoos.
How To Know What Coat Your Cavapoo Will Have
As with any crossbreed, Cavapoos are unpredictable when it comes to their coats. There are many factors to play into whether they’ll have curly coats or not, such as their parents and generation.
However, since Cavapoos usually have fleece or wool coats, they’ll most likely still have curly hair. It’s just the hair type that you need to look out for.
The best way to estimate what type of coat your Cavapoo will have is to look at the parents.
If the parents both have either wool or fleece coats, the puppy is likely to grow into a curly coat. If one or more of the parents have hair coats, though, the chance of a straight-haired Cavapoo is higher.
Bear in mind that you can only look at the parents if your Cavapoo is not a first-generation dog.
How Does Generation Affect The Curliness Of A Cavapoos Coat?
The curls on a Cavapoo come from its Poodle parentage. This means that an F1 Cavapoo (first generation) will have 50% Poodle and 50% Cavalier genes.
Let’s take a look at the generations and see how they affect the Cavapoo’s coat.
F1 Cavapoos
These Cavapoos are the first in their lineage and therefore are bred using a Poodle and Cavalier. They have 50% of each parent’s genes, so there is roughly a 50/50 chance they will inherit the Poodle’s curly coat.
F1B Cavapoos
An F1B Cavapoo is bred using an F1 Cavapoo and a Poodle. This means that they’ll have around 75% Poodle genes and 25% Cavalier genes.
Many people seek out F1B Cavapoos as they are the most likely to maintain their curly coats from infancy to adulthood. There is still a chance that they’ll grow into a straight coat, but it’s much smaller.
F1BB Cavapoos
This is the name for Cavapoos bred from F1B Cavapoos and a Poodle. They have 87.5% Poodle genes and only 12.5% Cavalier genes.
Again, they’re more likely to have curly coats because of their higher percentage of Poodle genes.
For a full breakdown on the differences between an F1, F1b and F1bb Cavapoo, click here.
F2 and F3 Cavapoos
These Cavapoos are the results of breeding between two F1 Cavapoos (F2) and two F2 Cavapoos (F3).
Because they are both bred with dogs that have 50/50 split genes, they will also have 50% Poodle and 50% Cavalier genes.
This means that they’ll have a 50% chance of having a curly coat.
F2B Cavapoos
These are similar to F1B Cavapoos and are bred with an F2 Cavapoo and a Poodle. They’ll have 62.5% Poodle genes, making it more likely for them to have curly coats rather than straight hair.
F2BB Cavapoos
These Cavapoos are the result of breeding between an F2B Cavapoo and a Poodle. They’ll have 81.25% Poodle genes and only 18.75% Cavalier genes.
This means that it’s unlikely to see an F2BB Cavapoo with straight hair (although it can happen).
Summary
Thanks for reading! Cavapoos don’t all have curly hair, despite this being one of their most notable features. If your Cavapoo has a hair coat, it is more likely to be straight or loosely wavy.
The generation of the Cavapoo can affect their coat type, as well as their parents. F1B and F1BB Cavapoos have the most Poodle genes and therefore are most likely to have a curly coat.
Don’t let your puppy’s coat fool you, as their curls are likely to change with age.
Check out the ways you look after their curly coats here:
