Poodles can come in a wide variety of colors, sizes, and shapes. The many options can feel confusing for the Poodle’s curly coat colors. There are black puppies who turn blue, multi-colored Poodles known as parti Poodles but don’t party or ticked Poodles that have spots rather than look ticked off!
There are too many terminologies and coat colors to choose! Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered as we shed more light on the plethora of the Poodle’s beautiful colors.
Black Poodle
Black is a prevalent color in Poodles, one of the 11 colors the American Kennel Club recognizes. Based on the American Kennel Club’s breed standard, the black Poodle shouldn’t only have a solid black coat and a black nose, eye-rims, lips, dark-colored eyes, and black toenails.
Actual black Poodles should have an inky black coat color without noticeable tinting. There should also be an absence of white or silver guard hairs. Black Poodle coats shouldn’t clear or fade to lighter colors over time, but they should stay pure black.
Some Poodles are born in a black coat, but that begins to fade, and within 1-2 years, they have a blue or silver-colored coat.
Note that black Poodles aren’t any less intelligent or more aggressive than other colored Poodles. Poodle coats don’t define the dog’s character!
However, studies show that black and other dark-colored Poodles are more at risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the digit than lighter-colored Poodles.
These Poodles have poorer visibility at night given their dark shade, so they need to wear an LED harness when walking them in the dark.
Blue Poodle
Blue Poodles are usually registered as colored black since that is the color they appear in when born. It can take 1-2 years until the blue tinge shows on their coats.
Experienced breeders can distinguish between a blue and black puppy in a litter based on the coat’s brown tint. The blue puppy’s paws would also show white or silver hair between their pads.
The blue color begins to clear the older your Poodle gets, turning into a gun-metal gray. While kennel clubs accept some shading of blue Poodles, they still need to follow the breed standard. Meaning they must have black noses, black toenails, and dark eyes.
Silver Poodle
Silver Poodles are a diluted shade of black Poodles. Like the blue poodle, silver Poodles were born black but started to clear earlier. By the time the Poodle is 6 weeks old, you’ll see silver hues around its paws and face. The coat follows suit in approximately one year.
Silver puppies will show white hues on the feet as with the blue poodle. Miniature Poodles were the first to show silver hues, which the Toy Poodle later inherited.
Silver Poodles are one of the most challenging to breed, particularly if breeders want an almost-platinum shade.
Gray Poodle
Like us humans, a poodle’s coat can turn gray as they grow older. It comes from the Progressive Graying gene that some black, brown, and blue Poodles carry. It’s a dominant gene, so if a Poodle parent shows the chance of graying as he gets older, then there’s a 50% chance its puppies will, too.
You can also find some Poodles born gray, remaining that way for a lifetime. However, other Poodles change color once they hit 2-3 months old.
Regardless of the gray shade, the American Kennel Club recognizes this color, as long as the Poodle has black noses, nails, and dark eyes.
Cream Poodle
The cream is an off-white coloration found in all Poodle sizes. Cream Poodles are easy to identify as these light-colored Poodles have a black nose rather than liver-colored noses.
However, it might be difficult to distinguish between a white or cream Poodle. Experts can easily dismiss the confusion, though, with cream looking like diluted brown color, similar to apricot.
Cream-colored Poodles are usually born light to medium brown, which clears as they get older.
White Poodle
White is the most popular color on Poodles. It’s not the same as an albino, which would have pink skin.
Even if Poodles are white, they belong to the black hair type, having black noses, eye rims, nails, and dark eyes. It’s what gives white Poodles the striking appearance!
Back then, white Poodles with pink skin or pink-coloured toenails would have joined show rings. However, the American Kennel Club now insists on only white Poodles with black extremities.
Unfortunately, there has been evidence that white dogs are at risk of congenital deafness than other colored dogs. The Toy and Miniature Poodle carry this trait, while Standard Poodles do not.
Brown Poodle
Brown Poodles will usually have a rich walnut brown or dark mahogany coat rather than chestnut. Like white Poodles, there are a lot of color variations and a range of hues than other colors.
Usually, these Poodles start out dark brown, with their coat fading as they grow older. That has Poodles produce unique shades of coffee or cinnamon brown!
One issue a brown Poodle face is its tendency to have pale yellow to almost green eyes. It’s not a desirable trait when in the show ring and, unfortunately, tough to eliminate during the breeding process.
Environmental factors like the sun and chlorine can bleach your brown Poodle’s coat, so it’ll be hard to find a dark chocolate brown Poodle that’s over 7 years old.
One of the most popular brown Poodles would have a dark liver nose, dark toenails, and amber-colored eyes, the breed standard.
Red Poodles
People considered red Poodles as brown until the 1980s. From there, red Poodles have become their own class, standing out among the auburn, copper, and chestnut hues.
People believe that the red Poodle carries a unique gene, known as the Rufus gene. The gene would darken the apricot color on Poodles. Since it’s a recessive gene, that makes red Poodles rare.
Like other colored Poodles, red Poodles are prone to color change, either fading or darkening with age.
Apricot Poodle
Like red Poodles, apricot Poodles are a relatively new class. The breed standard only included this apricot coat color recently!
The first-ever apricot Standard Poodle existed in 1898, but people categorized it as the liver color. But after that, apricot Poodles have continued winning various prestigious awards, with their popularity rising.
Cafe Au Lait Poodle
Don’t confuse Cafe au Lait with the cream Poodle. Cafe au Lait Poodles would have a light tan tinge to the coat, a liver point, and amber eyes.
These Poodles look similar to red ones, but Cafe Au Lait looks more like silver than red. While considered an official color, these Poodles aren’t the most popular breed. Poodle owners criticize this color and say these Poodles are a sub-standard brown.
Silver Beige Poodle
Silver beige is considered a diluted brown, with most Poodles born brown. Within the first six weeks, the colored puppies will clear around the paws and face.
Silver beige is a more popular color than cafe au lait, though many people confuse the two colors. You should know the puppy’s original birth color to differentiate the two. Cafe au lait puppies are born that color, while a silver beige puppy is born brown, fading to a silver beige within weeks to months.
Parti Poodle
Parti Poodles would have a large amount of white color on their body, mixed with other regular colors like black, brown, red, and the like.
Many people look for these types of Poodles, so you’ll need to search a bit harder to find one!
Tick Poodle
You might find some Poodles with flecks, white markings, or darker spots, which we call ticking. Such “ticks” are produced by a particular gene that even purebred Poodles carry. As a result, the Poodle may appear “dirty.”
We see these flecks and spots as body markings than a color. It’s challenging to find such spots on Poodle puppies, and you can find them on parti Poodles more than solid-colored ones. While you may not see the flecks on spots on puppies, they become more apparent as your Poodles become adults.
The United Kennel Club recognizes ticking as acceptable color patterns in Poodles. However, the American Kennel Club disqualified such dogs from conformation classes, as they did with parti Poodles. The color patterns do not meet the breed standard, wherein the Poodle coat must be an even and solid color.
What’s the Rarest Poodle Color?
Some people argue that blue is the rarest Poodle coat color. However, others say that red Poodles are far less common, while another set of people claim that apricot Poodles are the rarest worldwide.
As for the most popular poodle color, white Poodles are more common and admired for their regal looks. However, black Poodles are famous for their ease of cleaning, making black or white popular among poodle owners.
Also, did you know that specific poodle colors are more expensive than others? Parti Poodles with distinctive or rare patterns are pricier than solid-colored ones by about $100!