The Poodle, also known as Pudel in German and Caniche in French, is a breed of water dogs, that is found in four sizes, i.e.; the Standard Poodle, Medium Poodle, Miniature Poodle, and Toy Poodle.
After originating in Germany in the Middle Ages, Poodles gained a good reputation among dog lovers due to their beauty and temperament. Currently, Poodles are one of the most popular pets around the world and many pet lovers question which colour variety of Poodles you should buy and what is the price.
In this article, we will discuss 15 colour varieties of Poodles and the pros, cons, and prices of each colour variety to help you decide which one you should buy.
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15 Color Variety of Poodles And Their Price:
The Poodles are known for their distinct colour varieties and patterns. There are lots of authorized and non-authorized color varieties that exist in Poodles but here we talk about the 15 most popular color varieties of Poodles and their price ranges.
The Poodles are found in four different sizes; their colour may vary according to size. Hence, their lifespan, behaviour, and health issues directly or indirectly depend on their colour varieties.
White:
White Poodles are one of the most beautiful Poodles around the world. These Poodles may born white, cream, or apricot and after 2 years they fade the color and become completely white.
However, a true white Poodle is born white with black points and a non-true white Poodle must be registered under its original colour (cream or apricot).
Despite being white, a white Poodle has a black nose, eyes, nails, and also hair type. Previously, white Poodles with pink patches of skin, nails, and dark-coloured eyes were in use but AKC recently accepts only white Poodles with black extremities.
Most white Poodle owners prefer white cotton softer coats to rough ones. However, white poodles demand extra care when cleaning and bathing. They require special shampoo to keep them bright and clean.
White Poodles often suffer from deafness. There is much evidence recorded that the white colour variety is more susceptible to congenital deafness than other colour varieties.
It is worth mentioning that toy and miniature poodles show this trait more than standard-size poodles. The lifespan of white Poodles is between 12-14 years.
Price:
White Poodles are a quite common variety of Poodles around the world. You may find them at a cheaper price compared to other colour varieties of Poodles. In the USA, you may get it as cheap as $600-900. Depending on location, demand, and supply the price may vary.
Black:
Black is another common and standard colour of Poodles recognized by AKC. In addition to black coats, a black Poodle must have a black nose, eye rims, lips, toenails, and eyes.
A true black Poodle must be dark black with no noticeable tinting and the absence of silver or grey marks. True black Poodles never fade or get clear as they grow but remain pure black into their dotage.
Sometimes Poodle puppies are born black but later with age, they clear into silver or blue (a year or two). According to our experience, black poodles are one of the most intelligent and less aggressive than other colour varieties.
Black or any dark colour poodles are often more susceptible to squamous cell carcinoma of the digit (SCDD) than light colour poodles. It is a type of skin cancer, that develops on fingers or toes and affects the nailbed and sometimes underlying bones.
Additionally, black poodles may have poor visibility at night. Hence, it is advised them to wear an LED collar and harness while walking in the dark. The life expectancy of black poodles is usually between 10-13 years.
Price:
Black varieties of Poodles are cheaper compared to other varieties of Poodles due to their availabilities. In the USA, a black poodle may cost around $500-$700 depending on the location and availability.
Blue:
Most times black puppies turn into blue poodles after a year or two. Thus blue poodles are often registered under black varieties. Some of the black puppies may have a blue tinge to their coats.
Experienced breeders can identify a potential blue poodle among a litter of black puppies due to the blue or brown tint. However, when a blue poodle grows the coat color clears and turns into gun-metal grey.
Sometimes their paws may have silver or grey hairs between their pads. Similar to black poodles, blue poodles also have black noses, eyes, toenails, and lips.
Blue colour varieties of poodles are rare. It has health problems similar to black poodles. The expected life expectancy for blue poodles is 11-14 years.
Price:
Blue poodles are rare and their price is also high. In the USA, you may buy a blue poodle for $1500-$2000; however, it depends on their availability and health conditions.
Grey:
Some poodles turn grey due to old age, similar to humans. In many black, blue, and brown poodles, we have found progressive grey genes that turn them grey with age.
However, in parents the progressive grey genes are dominant, turning them grey at a young age, and the chances of grey puppies rise to 80%.
A true grey poodle is born grey and remains the same throughout its life. Additionally, puppies born in different colours may fade their colour after 6 months and turn grey as they become mature.
The grey colour is recognized by AKC as one of the most popular colour varieties of poodles. Like the black variety, grey poodles also have black noses, nails, and dark eyes.
There are no known health issues related to grey poodles but in some cases, they suffer from alopecia or hair loss (more than other varieties). The lifespan of grey poodles is between 12-16 years.
Price:
The price of grey poodles may vary between $800 and $1200. However, if you search you may get it at a lower price.
Silver:
Silver is another diluted and cleared version of black poodles, similar to blues and grey. Black poodle puppies start to turn silver when they are usually six to eight weeks old. In the beginning, silver hues are spotted around their faces and paws; after a year, the coats and other parts start to turn grey.
Sometimes blue puppies may have a frosting of white marks on the underpads of their feet. Sometimes black poodle puppies may show similar traits but rarely.
Silver is a very rare colour to breed for and silver colour is only guaranteed only if both the parents are silver poodles. Miniature and toy poodles mostly show silver colouration.
There are no significant health issues related to the colour variety of poodles. However, silver poodles have a lifespan of 15-17 years.
Price:
The price of a silver poodle is higher than other colour varieties due to its rare occurrence. If you find a breeder who breeds silver poodles, it may cost above $5000 in the USA.
Cream:
Cream is a subvariety of brown poodles and is found in all sizes around the world. Sometimes cream colour is mistaken for other light colours of poodles. However, a cream poodle is distinguished from other light-coloured poodles by its black or dark-coloured nose.
Cream colour poodles can appear as white poodles in certain lights. However, their noses differentiate them from white-coloured poodles. Any colour except white is completely absent in white colour poodles but cream poodles are diluted versions of brown or apricot-coloured poodles.
Cream-coloured poodles are often born and registered as brown poodles and with maturity, they clear into cream-coloured poodles. In some cream poodles, we have noticed deafness but we are not sure if the problem is associated with the color variety. The lifespan of a cream-coloured poodle is 12-14 years.
Price:
The cream poodles are one of the cheapest among poodles. It may cost around $700-$900 in the USA; however, availability and demand may inflate the price.
Brown/Chocolate:
Brown poodles are also known as Mahogany or Rich walnut-colored poodles. It is worth mentioning, that brown poodles show the maximum number of colour variations among poodles.
Brown poodles are often characterized by their brown colour, dark toenails, and liver-coloured noses. But the main problem with brown poodles is they are born dark brown but fade with age.
It is mainly due to these poodles are not produced with strong brown colour genes. The dark brown poodles may fade into lighter cinnamon brown, or coffee colour depending on the strength of the parental genes.
Another concern about brown poodles is that with maturity their eyes turn pale yellow or green. It is very undesirable and cannot be eliminated while breeding. Sun, chloride items, and other factors often bleach their coats and it is hard to find a dark brown poodle after 6-7 years of age.
Vision problems are closely related to brown poodles and their coat color is not sustainable most of the time. The life expectancy of a brown poodle is around 13 years.
Price:
You may find brown poodles as cheap as $400 but if you want to buy a brown poodle with strong brown genes from a reputed breeder, it may cost around $1500.
Red:
Until the 1980’s red poodles were registered under brown colours. After that red poodle owners demanded for the colour to be recognized and chestnut, auburn, and copper hues of red were acknowledged by AKC.
In the beginning, it was considered that red poodles have similar genes to brown poodles but later the myth has been changed. Red poodles own a unique gene, known as the Rufus gene, that darkens the apricot colour. Red poodles are quite rare because the Rufus genes are recessive alleles and it is very difficult to breed them.
The main problem with red poodles is they change colour with maturity. Some change to different colors whereas some darken their existing red color. No known health issues are detected in red poodles. The life expectancy of a red poodle is 14-16 years.
Price:
As red poodles are rare, their price is also high. Depending on location, you may buy them for $2500-$4000.
Apricot:
Apricot is a comparatively new colour of poodles and has already won various awards in dog shows. The apricot color was first discovered in the 1890s but during that time it was registered under the liver’s color.
Many people confuse apricot colour with cream as they often look similar but some differences exist. Apricot poodles have slightly more vibrant and darker coats than cream poodles. The colour of their ears is darker than their bodies and nose colour can vary. However, with maturity, apricot poodles cleared into cream poodles.
Recently, Lionel Messi has adopted an apricot poodle as his pet. His name is Abu and Messi loves to play with his apricot poodle.
There are no known health problems and lifespan is known about Apricot poodles.
Price:
The colour of Apricot poodles may vary between $1200 and $1800. However, location, demand, and supply may change the price range.
Cafe Au Lait:
Cafe Au lait is often considered a substandard colour for brown poodles among dog lovers but in reality, it is an original colour. Due to a lack of knowledge, many people confuse cafe au lait with cream or silver colour poodles.
Cafe Au Lait has a light tan tinge to his coat, pale yellow eyes (similar to brown poodles), and a liver-coloured nose. Despite being an original colour, Cafe Au Lait is considered a substandard of brown colour poodles because of the similarities, such as colour, eyes, and nose.
Cafe Au Lait poodles are born in their true colours and with maturity their coat colour gets darker. No known health issues are known about Cafe Au Lait. However, their lifespan is around 12 years.
Price:
Cafe Au Lait is not among the most popular colour varieties of poodles. However, they may cost around $800-$1000 depending on location.
Silver Beige:
Silver beige poodles are actually the diluted version of brown poodles. Brown poodles usually after six to eight weeks dilute colour and become silver beige. It may look similar to Cafe Au Lait but these two possess different genes.
Despite having similarities with cafe au lait, silver beige poodles are more popular. You can only differentiate a silver beige poodle from cafe au lait by knowing their true colour.
A cafe au lait is born in its true colour whereas a silver beige is born brown. Another difference is silver beige may have a black or liver nose whereas the other has only a liver nose.
Alopecia is closely related to the colour variety. Silver beige poodles are often seen losing lots of hair. However, the life expectancy of silver beige poodle is unknown.
Price:
The price of a silver-beige poodle is around $400-$800. However, their health condition, demand, and location, their cost may vary.
Parti:
Parti poodles are one of the most popular multicolour poodles available in the market. Most of their body consists of white and other colors such as brown, red, and black accompany it.
Parti poodles come under different colour combinations such as Sable Parti, Brindle Partis, etc. However, in many cases, Parti poodles lose their colour after maturity.
Price:
Parti poodles are very difficult to find. It may cost above $3000 based on the location and health condition.
Phantom:
Phantom is another sub-variety of Parti poodles. Parti poodles with specific colour combinations are called Phantom poodles. Phantom poodles often have similar colour patterns as Rottweilers, Dachshunds, or Dobermans.
Price:
The price of Phantom Poodles is similar to Parti Poodles.
Sable:
Sable is another common and popular colour among multicoloured poodles. The colour of Sable poodles is similar to dogs belonging to the Shepherd family and more specifically, ‘burnt toast colour’ (brown colour with black dots).
Sable is known for changing its colour. After 6 months of its birth, a Sable poodle completely looks different than what it was in its birth. The only part of Sable that doesn’t change its colour is the ears.
Price:
Sable is one of the common colors and it costs around $1500 in the market.
Brindle:
Brindle is a common color among dogs and any color with unique arrangements can make it brindle like tiger stripes. Generatically, brindle is produced when at least two recessive genes meet and it is very rare.
When the two genes show their own colour or create a new colour within their pedigree, only then brindle poodles are born.
Price:
The price of a brindle poodle is around $1500-$2500.
Also Read: Top 13 Colours of French Bulldogs and Their Price
