# Changing coats



## Hannah77

We're due to collect our puppy this weekend, she is nearly 8 weeks and she is gorgeous,but her coat is the straightest in the litter? She is the smallest also, and has the shortest hair. Her hair on her back and around her bum is quite short and fine. The back of her neck, legs and ears are wavy. Will her coat get longer and waiver? Her mum is red roan cocker and her dad is a cream poodle. The breeder owns both parents which we have seen and has had one previous litter. She has tried to assure me that she will get longer and waiver but she can't guarantee.she has said we could change puppy to a waiver coated one as she has two left. But we choose this one as she seems to have a lovely temperament and very calm also she came to us first. We love dogs and have a chocolate Labrador called Ted already but he was the only chocolate in his litter so had no problem in choosing him. I really don't no what to do.


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## Marzi

Sweet little thing with huge Dumbo ears 
For me the most important thing is temperament (after health testing), that said most cockapoos seem to be gorgeous happy characters... 
There are some beautiful smoothie cockapoos on this site (including my favourite RuthMill+'s Lola) but I think that you need to be really honest about what you want. If the scruffy, fluffy needs an awful lot of grooming type of cockapoo is what you want, they perhaps you should swap to a pup that appears to have more coat... this little one may well develop more fluff, but there is no guarentee. 
It is a dilema for you - but I'm sure that once you bring which ever puppy you choose home it will quickly work its way into your heart.


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## dmgalley

She is a keeper. What a lovely picture that is!!! You should search the board. There are lots of threads on smoothies and smooth coat. It is really hard to tell some times. You could always get a second one down the line 
She actually looks like Nina did. I sure Ruth will come in and share pictures of her babies.


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## Hannah77

*Straight or Curly*

Thanks guys for your honest comments, she will be gorgeous no matter what. I just want to post another photo for you all to see. Let me know with your expertise about her coat. She is the one sat down and you can compare coats with her siblings. We're wanting a shaggy/messy look as we have ted (lab) and we like the different contrasts of coats.


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## dmgalley

If you really want the shaggy coat you may not want to go with her. She may not be a smoothie but she looks like she will be straight with maybe some wave. It. Again it's hard to tell at this she however if they are already curly it is a safer bet. My baby was pretty straight. He had developed a beard but he is not curly. I'll post some pictures.


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## dmgalley

I can't figure out how to link it but here is Ruth's Nina. I'm sure she won't mind.








And here is Ozzy then and now


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## Lottierachel

Yes, she definitely has a bit of Nina about her. If you search 'Nina' in the search bar on the left hand side plenty of threads will pop up with lovely pics of what she looks like today.

Always beware of wanting a shaggy cockapoo coat too. While they are under a year old, it's quite easy to keep that scruffy puppy look. But once they hit 10 - 12 months, the long coat is very high maintenance, with lots of matted fur, daily combing required and regular trips to the groomers. A straighter haired one may well be less maintenance! Even the smooth coated dogs like Lola and Nina have nice long coats - they're just lower maintenance than the curlier/woolier ones. 

My 19 month old girl started with a bit of a wave, and got a lot wavier!







I also agree with Marzi that health and temperament are definitely the most important factors!!


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## DB1

She looks similar to my boy as a young pup, his coat got wavier and thicker as he got older, 















my smiling boy now


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## Lottierachel

haha I love Dudley smiling in the mud Dawn!! "Look at me mum! I'm having a great time!"


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## dmgalley

Be still my heart. Baby Dudley!! Xoxo


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## RuthMill

First off she is gorgeous and temperament is the most important thing. Coat is difficult as you just don't know what you're going to end up with they can change so much. My two have very different coats to each other's and to other poos I've seen but I do like a less curly coat, just my preference. 

Lola is my choccie girl who has a thick soft fleecy coat which has defined curls on the legs, chest, base of tail, ears and bum. Nina has a slightly coarser coat than Lola and straighter but actually it requires a lot more work with grooming and matt prevention. 

Lola has open face and Nina has a real fuzzy face which requires two weekly trims. 

They are both gorgeous and have beautiful coats.


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## lady amanda

Coats can change loads! our cockapoos sure keep you guessing. When we brought Lady hope at 13 weeks she looked like she might be smooth but quickly developed curls, and kept getting curlier. 

Cricket came with some waves, but she has a real straight coat, her muzzle only is open faced but she has a bit of a beard and she has fluffy long cheeks. 
her coat is thick, and wow easy to care for unlike Lady.


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## Hannah77

*Straight or curly*

Thank you to everyone who has posted there advice and guidance. We went and saw the breeder last night and after a long chat with her and the children we have decided to swap the little girl to a little boy. The little boy became available again only on Monday due to a time waster. He is a little stockier then the little girl which will suit our Ted as he's a big lab!!! And his coat is waiver but not too wavy compared to some of the others. The breeder has also said he has a similar temperament to the little girl. So a heart wrenching decision was made. But we think it's the right one for us. I'll post a new picture of our new addition to our family. 

Just need a name??


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