What we test, and why it matters for this breed

Plenty of breeders say "health tested." It's worth knowing what that actually covers, because it isn't the same everywhere — and for a Cavapoo in particular, two of these matter more than most people realise.

Cardiac. This is the one that matters most for anything with Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in it. The breed has a well-documented history of heart problems, and it's the single biggest reason to care who bred your puppy. Both parents are screened, and the results go on their pages.

Eyes. Hereditary eye conditions run in both sides of a Cavapoo's ancestry — Cavalier and Poodle. Eye screening is done by examination, and it's one of the tests most commonly skipped, because it's the one that takes a specialist.

Hips and patellas. Hips for the orthopaedic side, patellas because loose kneecaps are a genuine issue in small dogs and poodle crosses. Both parents, both tests.

Genetic disease panels. These are DNA tests rather than physical exams, and they work differently. A dog can be clear, a carrier, or affected. A carrier is perfectly healthy it simply carries one copy of something. The point of testing both parents is that you can pair them so no puppy in the litter is affected, even when one parent is a carrier. That's the whole reason to test before breeding rather than after.

What testing does and doesn't do. It stacks the odds properly. It doesn't guarantee a healthy dog, and anyone who tells you otherwise is overselling. What it does mean is that the known, testable risks have been looked at rather than hoped about — and that you can check our work rather than take our word for it. Every adult's results are on their own page, linked from each litter.

Getting your puppy to Texas

Texas is one of the states we place in most, and the main thing we've learned is that it isn't one trip, it's four. What suits a family in Plano isn't what suits a family in Odessa.

North Texas - Dallas, Fort Worth, Lewisville, Wichita Falls. Roughly 1,100 miles, the shortest run in the state, and the one where ground transport makes the most sense.

Central Texas -  Austin, Waco, Killeen. Around 1,200 to 1,300 miles. Ground still works well, and Austin is straightforward to fly into if you want a fixed date.

The Gulf Coast - Houston, Sugar Land, Corpus Christi, Brownsville. About 1,250 miles at Houston, out to roughly 1,600 at Brownsville. Summer heat matters more here than anywhere else we send puppies — we've written that up properly on our Houston page.

West Texas - Odessa, Midland, El Paso. The long one. El Paso is roughly 1,800 miles and connecting flights out that way get awkward. We'd rather talk this one through with you than quote a number off a page.

The spread inside Texas is bigger than the whole distance from us to Chicago. Tell us your city, not just your state, and we'll give you a real answer.

Ground or flight nanny

We use both for Texas, and which is right genuinely depends.

Ground transport is $500 to $600. A professional pet transport service in a climate-controlled vehicle. No airport, no terminal. Your puppy is checked on, walked, watered, and brought to your dorrstep. Timing depends on the route, since the service runs planned routes rather than one-off trips.

Personal flight nanny is $850 to $1,650. Your puppy in the cabin, in a carrier under the seat, with someone whose only job that day is your puppy. What you're buying at Texas distance is a fixed date booked to a specific day, and it doesn't move. Worth it if you've taken time off work, if you're in West Texas, or if your go-home window lands in high summer.

Neither uses a cargo hold.

You're also welcome to come to us. Some Texas families fly into Cleveland or Akron-Canton, meet the parents, and carry their puppy home in the cabin as their own carry-on. Once you count the ticket and the in-cabin pet fee it can land near what a nanny costs, and you get to see the dogs whose test results you've been reading. Talk to us early airlines can cap in-cabin pets per flight.