Poodle Colors & Patterns
Poodles historically come in all kinds of colors and patterns! Want to learn more about the genetics behind poodle colors? Visit thePoodle Genetics page. Have a photo to contribute? Email us! We are currently looking to add more photo examples. Credit to you and / or your website or social media will be given. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find what we are looking for.
Solid Colors
Black
Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Black poodles are deepest black with black noses, eye rims, and lips. They remain black as they age.
Brown
Brown - Photo by Ayri K. Photography
A faded brown. Note that this is genetically different from cafe au lait, though can look very similar in appearance.
Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Brown poodles are a deep chocolate brown with brown noses, lips, and eye rims. They often fade with age to have more of a silverish tone to their brown.
Red
Red - Photo by Bohemian Poodles
Red Abstract - Photo by Alana Marina McHugh
Red poodles are caused by a recessive gene that modifies black or brown poodles to red. This same gene is responsible for all red-based colors such as red, apricot, cream, and white. Various intensity genes are responsible for how dark or light the red is. Recessive red also masks any K-locus based patterns such as sable and phantom. Red poodles are often born dark red and fade to a darker apricot color as they age. Red poodles have black noses, lips, and eye rims. Red poodles that occur from brown-based dogs will have brown noses, lips, and eye rims, however red poodles should be black based according to the breed standard.
Apricot
Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Apricot poodles are caused by a the same recessive gene that modifies black or brown poodles to red, but other modifying genes lighten that red to an apricot color. Apricot poodles are often born a warm orange and fade to a lighter apricot color as they age. Apricot poodles should have black noses, lips, and eye rims but it is possible for them to be brown-based and have brown pigment instead.
Cream
Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Cream poodles are caused by the same recessive gene that modifies black or brown poodles to red, apricot, or white. Cream poodles are often born a light tan with darker ears and fade to a light cream or almost white as they age. Cream poodles should have black noses, lips, and eye rims but it is possible for them to be brown-based and have brown pigment instead.
White
Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
White poodles are also a form of the recessive red gene. They are often born with cream ears and their cream coloration fades within the first year. They should have black noses, eye rims, and lips but it is possible for them to be brown-based and have brown pigment instead.
Dilute
Photo by Lisa Martin of Laahtoy Toy Poodles
Photo by Lisa Martin of Laahtoy Toy Poodles
Dilute poodles can resemble a silver poodle as an adult, but instead of progressive greying causing a black poodle to fade to silver, it is two copies of the dilute gene which causes them to be born silver, with blue noses and eye rims. Dilute poodles, as with other breeds where dilute is less common, can be at risk for color dilution alopecia which causes weakening of the hair to complete hair loss in any dilute areas.
Progressive Greying
Blue
Blue - Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Blue Tuxedo
Photo by Continental Meadows Standard Poodles
Blue poodles are born black and clear to a dark gunmetal color that can almost look black. Blue poodles can take several years to clear and it can be difficult to tell them apart from black poodles at a young age. Blue poodles can vary greatly in shade with some staying quite dark and some looking more like a dark silver.
Silver
Silver as pup and adult - Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Silver poodles are born black and begin to fade quickly. Their silver roots are apparent around 4 weeks of age but it takes up to 1-2 years to fully clear to their adult coloring. Like all progressive greying colors, the final color result ends up on a spectrum, with some lighter and some darker.
Cafe au Lait
Photo by Ayri K. Photography
Cafe au lait is a brown poodle with one copy of the progressive greying gene (what makes black turn blue or silver). They are born darker brown and will fade to a milky coffee color with age. Noses, eye rims, and lips are brown. Like all progressive greying colors, the final color result ends up on a spectrum, with some lighter and some darker.
Silver Beige
Silver beige on the left and cafe on the right, 4 month old littermates. You can see how the silver beige is already quite a bit lighter than his littermate who has only slightly faded from dark brown.
Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Silver Beige - Photo by Silvabirch Poodles
Silver beige is a brown poodle with two copies of the progressive greying gene. They are born darker brown and will fade to a very light tan color with age. Like all progressive greying colors, the final color result ends up on a spectrum, with some lighter and some darker. Noses, eye rims, and lips are brown.
Patterns
Sable
Black-Based Sable
Photo by Karen Walker
Brown-Based Clear Sable
Photo by Karen Walker
Black-Based Shaded Sable
Photo by Jordan Burns
Brown-Based Clear Sable Progression
Photo by Jordan Fisher
Black-Based Yellow Shaded Sable
Photo by Sandi-Lynn Chen
Black-Based Clear Sable
Photo by Jordan Burns
Sable poodles can vary greatly in color, usually starting out fairly dark and fading very quickly. Some look like they have phantom points at birth but they can be easily distinguished from phantoms as their bodies start to fade. Some sable poodles stay darker, some end up almost white with dark ears and tail known as clear sable.
Brindle
Blue Brindle - Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Cafe au Lait Brindle - Photo by Top Hat Parti Poodles
Silver Brindle - Photo by Sarah Faye
Black Based Brindle
Photo by Mount Mazama Kennels and Rhapsody Poodles & Cresteds
Brindle poodles often look like sable poodles at birth but once their faces and feet are shaved their stripes become more visible. Brindle poodles have stripes of light and dark (color and intensity varying from dog to dog) all over their body. Sometimes they have a darker face and ears.
Agouti
Black-Based Agouti
Photo by Hosha Phantom Poodles
Blue Agouti
Photo by Karen Walker
Black-Based Agouti
Photo by Karen Walker
Black-Based Agouti
Photo by Karen Walker
Black-Based Agouti
Photo by Devin's Purple Poodles
Brown Agouti
Photo by Karen Walker
Agouti gives the hair different bands of color and often looks quite close to sable. Agouti is fairly rare in poodles.
Phantom
Black Phantom
Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Blue Phantom
Photo by Alexandra Gav
Brown Phantom
Photo by Bohemian Poodles
Silver Phantom showing the progression of the silver and tan points.
Photos by Jenna Burton
Cafe au Lait Phantom
Photo by Tracy Taylor
Also known as tan point, phantom poodles have a black or brown-based body that has lighter areas on the legs, chest, muzzle, bum, and eyebrows. These tan points can range from a dark red to almost white. Phantom poodles are often born with minimal markings and the markings appear more striking within the first 8 weeks.
Brindlepoint Phantom
Black Brindlepoint Phantom
Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Black Brindlepoint Phantom
Photo by Ayri K. Photography
Silver Brindlepoint Phantom
Photo by Jaiden Lydick
Brindlepoint phantom is a phantom with brindle stripes on their phantom points. These tan points can range from a dark red to almost white. Brindlepoint phantom poodles are often born with minimal markings and the markings appear more striking within the first 8 weeks. Brindlepoint phantoms may have darker or more minimal markings due to the brindle stripes. The shorter the hair, the more visible the brindle is.
Creeping Tan
Black-Based Creeping Tan Progression
Photo by Jaiden Lydick
Brown-Based Creeping Tan
Photo by Lisa L Love
Creeping tan (also known as saddle tan) is a gene that modifies phantom points so they get larger and "creep" into the rest of the solid body. The dog is born looking like a normal phantom but as the puppy ages their tan points start to get larger and in some cases blend together.
Parti
Apricot Parti - Photo by Kat Bromley
Blue Parti - Photo by Ashley Shepherd Vaughn
Brown Parti
Photo by Ayri K. Photography
Red Parti - Photo by Marjorie Taylor
Sable Parti - Photo by Karen Walker
Parti (short for particularly colored) adds white to a poodle's normally solid color. Parti poodles can come in any color or pattern. Some parti have small areas of color and some are more heavily colored. Some parti have ticking where they have little flecks of color within the white areas.
Tuxedo
Phantom Tuxedo
Photo by Karen Walker
Blue Brindle Tuxedo
Photo by Valerie Schutz Fisher
Blue Tuxedo
Photo by Continental Meadows Standard Poodles
Cafe au Lait Tuxedo
Photo by Sandi-Lynn Chen
Tuxedo is a form of white spotting similar to parti but instead of being 50% white, the white is mostly on the legs and belly and chest, making the dog look like they are wearing a tuxedo. What causes these exact markings is not testable, and even when two tuxedos are bred together it doesn't always result in tuxedo puppies.
Ticking
Brown Parti with Ticking
Photo by Mostly Mischief Miniature Poodles
Black Tuxedo with Ticking
Photo by Alana Marina McHugh
Ticking is small spots of color on otherwise white areas of a parti or abstract dog. The ticking usually develops when the dog is a few months old and can grow in intensity as the dog ages.
Help us add to this page!
We are looking for more photo examples to add to this page! If you would like to contribute a photo, please email us and let us know how to credit you. We can just use your name or provide a link to your website or social media. Please make sure you are the photographer or you have permission from the photographer to share the image. Dogs should ideally be fully grown and well-groomed and posed to see most of the body and the photos taken in natural lighting. We are looking for examples of the following colors / patterns:
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Black Brown-based Red Brown-based Apricot Brown-based Cream Brown-based White Roan Other Sable Shades
Various Examples of Agouti Cafe au Lait Phantom Silver Beige Phantom Brown with Creeping Tan Blue with Creeping Tan Cafe au Lait with Creeping Tan Silver Beige with Creeping Tan Black-based Brindle (diverse expressions) Brown Brindle Brown Dilute (bbdd) Tuxedo (any color) Every possible color of parti Ticking
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