Cavoodle Coat Colours Guide (Black, White, Ruby, Apricot etc.)
As a mixed breed dog, Cavoodles can come in many different coat colours ranging from solid colours to multi-coloured markings. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels come in 4 standard coat colors including: blenheim, tri-color, black & tan as well as ruby. Poodles come in 11 colors including black, black & white, brown, white, sable, silver, apricot, grey, red, cream and blue. Cavoodles can inherit quite a few of these coat colours from their parents.
What Colours Do Cavoodles Come In?
Cavoodles can come in a range of coat colours including:
- Black
- White
- Brown
- Black & White
- Ruby
- Apricot
- Chocolate
- Caramel
- Merle
Black Cavoodle
Black Cavoodles can either have a solid black or bi-colored black coat. Solid black Cavoodles are fully black with no other colours in their coat while bi-colored black Cavoodles feature a mainly black coat with a secondary colour. In most cases the second colour is white or tan. Bi-colored black coats are generally much more common than solid black coats.
Cavoodles get a black coat from a recessive gene so not too many Cavoodles have this colouring. While solid black is quite a common Poodle coat colour, it is only very occasionally seen in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Usually Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have a black bi-colored coat.
When breeding Black Cavapoos, breeders cross a black Poodle with a black & tan or solid black Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. This increases the chances of Black Cavapoos being in the litter however there are never too many as it is a recessive gene.
Some Black Cavoodles fade to a dark grey or silver as they get older. This is due to the “fading gene’ which they may inherit from the Poodle. Not all Cavoodles go through coat lightening but if it happens, all colour changes will occur before the age of two.
White Cavoodle
White Cavoodles feature a solid white coat however many feature small patches of another colour such as red, apricot, gold or black. These patches usually occur around their eyes and on their ears. If a Cavoodle is mainly white (at least 50% of their coat is white), they are classified as a “parti” Cavapoo. “Parti” is just a special term for a dog that has a mainly white bi-colored coat.
Solid White Cavoodles are very rare. They can only be bred by crossing a White Poodle with a Blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Even when these two dogs are mixed together, the Cavoodle is likely to have red or apricot patches that they inherit from the Blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
Black and White Cavoodle
Most Black and White Cavoodles are mainly white and feature black patches however you can also find ones that are mainly black with white patches. Black and White Cavoodles that feature a coat that is at least 50% white are Parti Cavoodles. If they do not feature mainly white, then they are just called bi-color Cavoodles. Black and White Cavoodles are quite rare but they are not as rare as solid white or solid black coats.
Brown Cavoodle
Brown Cavoodles feature a solid brown coat that can range from a light brown to a dark chocolate. They sometimes have small white patches on their chest, neck or chin. Brown Cavoodles usually have light brown noses and light brown or hazel eyes. Cavoodles can only inherit the brown coat from the Poodle so this coat colour is usually seen in later generations or back-cross generations (e.g. F1b, F1bb, F2b etc.) as they have a higher percentage of Poodle genes.
Ruby Cavoodle
Ruby Cavoodles are also called Red Cavoodles and they feature a medium to dark red coat. They usually have black noses and dark brown eyes. Ruby Cavoodles are produced by breeding a red Poodle with a ruby Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. They are a pretty common Cavoodle coat colour as Ruby Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are very common and it is a dominant gene.
While your Ruby Cavoodle may have a deep red coat as a puppy, they often change colour as they mature. Ruby Cavoodles are known to fade to a lighter colour within the first two years of life. This may happen if your Ruby Cavoodle has inherited the “fading gene’ from their Poodle parent.
Ruby Cavoodles are also sometimes called Fox Red Cavoodles, Deep Red Cavoodles or Dark Red Cavoodles.
Apricot Cavoodle
Apricot Cavoodles have very light red coats which have peachy undertones. They are produced by breeding an Apricot Poodle with a Ruby Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Some of the puppies in the litter will be Apricot while others will be Red.
Apricot Cavoodles can fade if they inherit the “fading gene” from their Poodle parent. This is likely to happen as Apricot colouring comes from the Poodle side. Apricot Cavoodles usually fade to a cream or lighter Apricot shade and these changes occur within the first two years of life. This means that Apricot Cavoodles can end up looking like off-white Cavoodles as an adult.
Sometimes Apricot Cavoodles are confused with Ruby or Red Cavoodles as they are quite similar. The main difference is that Apricot Cavoodles are very light in colour while Ruby or Red Cavoodles feature a much darker, richer coat color.
Chocolate Cavoodle
Chocolate Cavoodles are a sub-category of Brown Cavoodles that solely feature dark brown coats. Chocolate Cavoodles are much rarer than lighter brown Cavoodles. They are usually found in second or third generation litters or back-cross litters (F1b, F1bb, F2b etc.) as the coat colour can only be inherited from the Poodle side.
Caramel Cavoodle
Caramel Cavoodles feature a reddish light brown coat. Their coat colour is somewhere between an Apricot, Ruby and Brown Cavoodle. Caramel Cavoodles can inherit this coat colour from a Cream, Red or Brown Poodle or a Ruby or Blenheim Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Most breeders don’t label their Cavoodles as ‘caramel’ but rather stick to the typical coat colour names such as apricot, ruby or light brown.
Merle Cavoodle
Merle Cavoodles carry the “merle” gene which dilutes sections of their coat into mottled patches. There are two main types of Merle Cavoodles: Blue Merle and Red Merle Cavoodles. Blue Merle Cavoodles are more common than Red Merle Cavoodles but the two coat colours are still very rare.
Blue Merle Cavoodles have random sections of their black coat diluted to lighter colours in mottled patches. They feature blue, grey, white and tan colours in their coat. They also usually have blue eyes and lack skin pigmentation on their paws and nose. It is the result of carrying the “M” merle allele and a negative “m” copy of the merle allele.
Despite their captivating looks, people who are thinking about getting a Blue Merle Cavoodles need to be aware that they are the result of poor breeding practices. They are likely to suffer from deafness and ocular defects (partial or total blindness). This is especially the case for Double Merles.