Shepadoodle

Feed a Shepadoodle for the size it is going to be rather than the size it is, and use a large-breed formula while it is growing. A dog whose adult weight might be anywhere from 40 to 90 pounds needs a plan from your vet rather than a guess from the bag.

Two meals a day for an adult, more frequent ones for a puppy.

Bloat is the emergency to build the routine around. Gastric dilatation-volvulus is more common in large and deep-chested breeds, and both parents qualify. Split the day's food, keep exercise away from mealtimes, and know the signs: retching or dry heaving without producing anything, a swollen abdomen, sudden anxiety or pacing, panting and drooling, or collapse all mean immediate veterinary care.

Keep your dog lean. Hip and elbow dysplasia both run in this cross, and weight is the one factor you control most directly.

There is no single Shepadoodle grooming routine, because the two parent coats are opposites and a given dog inherits one, the other, or something in between.

A German Shepherd coat is straight and harsh, sheds a great deal, and needs little daily attention. A Poodle coat is long and curly, sheds very little, and needs regular attention to stop it matting. Work out which you have and set the schedule from that rather than from the breed name.

Watch the skin for sebaceous adenitis, which comes from the Poodle side and hides under a long coat: hair loss, an odour along the hairline, small clumps of matted hair, dull or brittle hair and scratching are the signs.

Mention any planned surgery to your vet in advance. Von Willebrand disease is more common in Poodles and affects clotting, so testing before a spay, a neuter or any other procedure is the standard recommendation for a dog with that ancestry.

On average German Shepherds and Standard Poodles need at least an hour and a half to two hours of exercise every day, and a Shepadoodle inherits that requirement in full. That is about as high an exercise demand as any crossbreed carries.

Both parents were bred for work, and that is still in the dog. A sharp brain and an athletic body crave activity, so the exercise has to include thinking as well as distance: training, problem-solving and games that ask something of the dog.

Under-supply it and the dog tells you. Barking is the named consequence of unmet exercise or companionship needs in this cross, and it is the reason an otherwise adaptable dog fails in an apartment.

Keep hard exercise clear of meals, given the bloat risk that comes with the size and the chest.

Lifelong training is a must for this cross, and the good news is that Shepadoodles both excel at it and enjoy it. Chart-topping intelligence and trainability is a fair description of a dog with these two parents.

Treat training as exercise. A dog needing up to two hours of activity a day is a dog whose day is easier to fill if some of it happens indoors with your attention on it.

Socialise early and thoroughly. Shepadoodles form close bonds with people of all ages and with other animals, and early work is what makes those bonds safe: size and energy together can cause accidental harm around very young children and very small pets.

Address barking as a symptom rather than a habit. If a Shepadoodle is being vocal, the question to ask is what it has not had enough of, not how to make it stop.