Cockapoo Colours

If you have decided that a cockapoo is the best choice for a new dog to bring into your home, you will find that aside from the four different sizes available; there are a multitude of different colours to choose from. To give you a helping hand, here at Cockapoo HQ, we will walk you through some of the most common cockapoo colours.

Bit of Background Information on the Breed

For anyone reading this and new to the breed, the lovable and energetic cockapoo is created by crossbreeding an English cocker spaniel with a poodle. Both breeds, in their own right, are incredibly beautiful, so it is not surprising that the cockapoo is one of the most popular dog breeds, never mind crossbreeds, in the country.

The parent dogs responsible for this crossbreed are also essential to why they are available in such a rich variety of coat colours.

Now, without further ado, let’s look at some of these lovely colours.

Cockapoo Coat Colours

Apricot Cockapoos

By far, one of the most popular cockapoo colours is undoubtedly apricot. This beautiful colouring is remarkably similar to the cocker spaniel parents in this crossbreed. The interesting thing is that this aesthetically-pleasing colour does not just come in one tone.

You can get light apricot cockapoos and dark apricot cockapoos.

Black Cockapoos

Cockapoos with black colouring resemble their poodle parents. As they also inherit the fading gene, their colour could change to silver or grey over time.

Black is a very classic and sophisticated colour that is very well suited to the cockapoo’s body shape and different coat styles. The black coat can either have a dark matte finish or a shinier finish depending on their parents’ fur texture.

Beige Cockapoos

When they are born, beige cockapoos are generally brown. That rich colour starts to fade over time to make way for an incredibly beautiful beige with a silvery tint.

The process of changing brown to beige colour does not take much more than six weeks to happen. Often beige cockapoos will have a very subtle platinum shade as they age.

Champagne Cockapoos

Champagne cockapoos are as illustrious and stunning as you might imagine with such an exquisite colour. This colour also shows off a lot of contrast in their fur. Whereas their heads have a creamy and lighter colour, the characteristic drooping ears have a darker brown shade, making their eyes stand out.

Even the lighter champagne cockapoos have a striking look with dreamy blue eyes that complement the darker brown of their muzzles. These are much rarer than the more common brown, apricot and black cockapoos.

Chocolate Cockapoos/Brown Cockapoos

Rather than just covering one colour, the chocolate or brown cockapoo colour is large and diverse. Various tones of colours range from lighter shades of brown to darker, almost chocolate-like colours.

In a similar way to black cockapoos, the chocolate or brown-colour cockapoos inherit the same fading gene, which means their colouring could fade away to silvery beige or light coffee tones as they age.

Cream Cockapoos

Cream cockapoos are one of the most popular of all cockapoo colours because they are very smart and cute. The cream colour shows off the fine qualities of their coats.

You will find that many cream cockapoos have dark-coloured hairs over their muzzles and ears, which frame their faces perfectly.

Merle Cockapoos

Merle cockapoos get that exciting name from the “merle gene” in their heritage. The gene is also known as the “dilution gene”, and this is why these cockapoo pups have a unique fur pattern. The merle does not have any effect on red cockapoos, incidentally.

With liver, black, and blue cockapoos, this gene can result in very adorable patches across the otherwise even fur of the dog.

Strikingly pink noses and blue eyes are other effects caused by the colour dilution gene or merle gene. Merle cockapoos, unfortunately, are at risk of suffering from serious health issues.

Cockapoo puppies carrying this gene are often born blind, deaf, or with no eyes. Breeders need to exercise caution when choosing the dogs they mate to avoid these health issues, as they can sadly lead to premature death or abandoned dogs.

Golden Cockapoos

Golden cockapoos are another incredibly popular and common type of this wonderful crossbreed. With the golden colour, they can have either straight or wavy fur depending on the genes they inherited from their parents.

Phantom Cockapoos

Phantom cockapoos are dogs with an attractive blend of cream or beige and dark brown or black fur. They stand out among many of their counterparts as they have a spellbinding blend of these contrasting fur tones.

Roan Cockapoos

Roan cockapoos have incredibly unique coats that consist of dark hair that mixes with whiter hair to make a striking look. The darker base shades cockapoos have can be lemon, orange, silver, blue, brown, or black, depending on their breeding and parents.

Red Cockapoos

Red cockapoos are beautiful versions of this crossbreed. Depending on their specific melanin pigment, they can have warmer tones like chocolate brown or reddish auburn tones like gold or tan.

Red cockapoos often have a similar temperament as the colour red is related to a feisty and even aggressive nature.

Sable Cockapoos

Sable cockapoos have a colour, as the name indicates, that is very much like sables. This is a rich blend of darker and lighter shades, giving them a vivacious look. You will find their hairs are often red in tone with darker tips to give a very ombre-like effect. As this gives their coat a very feathery appearance, it helps to frame their face perfectly.

Tan Cockapoos

The coat colour of tan cockapoos is very similar to golden cockapoos. However, this form of the crossbreed has black button noses and dreamy blue eyes that complement their soft tan-coloured curls very well.

White Cockapoos

White-coloured cockapoos have an incredible beauty that is elegant and ethereal. These have light-coloured furs with darker muzzles and ears that are darker than other parts of their body.

Tuxedo Cockapoos

Can you imagine anything better than a dog with a smart suit? That’s what you get when you get a tuxedo cockapoo without the problem of trying to make them wear one.

They often have well-defined white patches of fur in their chest in the middle with a more solid colour like red or black around it, which gives the cockapoo its name. This is such a unique cockapoo colour that will always be in high demand. Make sure you choose a reputable breeder with good connections, as you could find yourself on a long waiting list if this is the colour of cockapoo you are interested in.

Tri-Coloured Cockapoos

Tri-coloured cockapoos, as their name suggests, have fur that is three different colours white, tan and brown or black.

The darker colour of the fur is the strongest part, while the lighter shades of white and tan are smaller patches. Tri-colour cockapoos are different to phantom cockapoos. Although they share similarities, they have three tones rather than just two shades.

Numerous Cockapoo Coat Colours Explained

Mixing two distinct breeds requires an understanding of their different coat colours. A puppy’s coat colour can be challenging to predict because of the numerous colours of both the Poodle and Cocker Spaniel parents.

It’s essential to remember that some of these will emerge as the dominant colouring in your Cockapoo, resulting in distinctive coat colours. On the other hand, a dog’s recessive genes include a wide range of cockapoo colours, so multi-coloured Cockapoo litters are often the case.

It is also important to understand that breeding two different types of dogs, like Cocker Spaniels and Poodles, is a lottery. There is no guarantee regarding the resulting colours for cockapoo puppies.

Summary

There are such a rich variety of cockapoo colours to choose from, which makes it hard to pick out one. Particularly as the colours that a cockapoo is born with can change over time. We hope that our guide to cockapoo colour descriptions can help you find the best choice of a new dog for your home and family.

The best thing, as always, when choosing any crossbreed dog is to ensure you get one from a reputable breeder with a good reputation. If you are concerned that you may not get the cockapoo colour you are interested in, it is also a good idea to ask whether you can visit the parent dogs or not. Most cockapoo breeders are happy to do this.

Most importantly, if it is your first cockapoo that you will welcome into your home, regardless of colour, make sure you research as much as possible about what life is like with the breed.