Dog Breeders Guide

Colour Variations of Cockapoo Coats

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Cockapoo coats are one of the main attractions to this fabulous breed and coat appearance is certainly the reason why I get stopped by so many people when I am walking my dogs, their coats are beautiful and the coat variations make them quite a fun topic to talk about. Cockapoo owners and breeders love to discuss colours and textures, plus there is nothing more exciting than hearing about or seeing a usual colour. Types of coats can favour the Cocker Spaniel (America or English) or the Poodle in the mix but basically there are different coats types which occur in this breed which include a tight curl, a wavy medium curl, loose wave or a straighter and flatter coat. The defined tight curl coat obviously favours the Poodle side and the nearly straight appearance is favouring the Cocker side of the breeding. Texture can vary slightly but generally the texture is soft and dense, some coats have a silky texture whereas some may have a more harsh texture which is usually seen in the straighter variations. All these differing coats are beautiful and personally I love to watch and see how a puppies coat can mature and grow to appear completely different with age.

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Some owners will choose to let their dogs coat grow to full length with only the necessary trimming around the eyes, ears, tail, paws and possibly undercarriage for hygiene reasons, which gives this breed the striking appearance it deserves but it does take much commitment to keep the coat in good condition as regular bathing and brushing is required. A shorter more manageable coat can be obtained by clipping your Cockapoo or taking them to professional groomers for a cut. A popular style for this breed is known as a puppy cut or teddy bear cut which is a having the dog clipped or cut to between 1 to 2.5 Inches in length and this cut still gives a cute coat appearance with a full leg appearance, but is much more manageable for owners who love to take their dogs swimming and running through muddy woodland on a regular basis. The lamb cut is popular with both Poodles and Cockapoos where the body coat is cut shorter and the face and feet are clipped a little shorter, the overall length of this style depends on the owner’s preference. A classic Cocker Spaniel cut can also be seen on Cockapoos where the top of the body is clipped short but the hair under the stomach and down the side is left long giving a skirt appearance, the full crest of hair is left on top of the head although the fringe and around the eyes is trimmed, ear are neatly trimmed and left with an even edge plus the leg area may be left quite long and full giving a Cocker Spaniel show cut look.

Cockapoo with a solid black coat

Coat colours is always a fun topic with any breed but the Cockapoo brings two set of pure breed colouring to the equation which creates some surprising and outstanding looking coat colours. This breed can come in solid colours, a mix of colour, with markings and coat patterns which are seen in either Cocker Spaniels of Poodles.

Cocker Spaniel Solid Colours

Cocker Spaniel Coat Markings

Poodle Solid Colours

Poodle Coat Markings

As you can see by mixing up all these colour variations it really becomes interesting. Also colour names can become confusing as a cream coloured Cockapoo may be known as cream, buff, blonde or golden in colour, but all naming is acceptable and equates to a similar stunning coat colour.

Here is a list of all the possible colour combinations I can think of, but please feel free to add some new colours to the list:

Cockapoo Solid Colours (with White Marking)

Cockapoo Coat Markings

Some of these coat colours and marking are considered usual or rare but by mixing the genes of both pure breeds these are all possible.

Sable coats have a mixed colour hair shaft which has a dark coloured tip on any solid colour coat, but the tips are always darker in colour than the base coat, usually black, dark brown or even blue, plus this coat has no particular pattern. Although if a puppy has a sable coat this beautiful marking could eventually disappear from clipping and cutting the coat, so caution should be taken not to over trim this coat.

Brindle coats have a tiger striped appearance as this coats had black coloured hairs mingled with lighter coloured hair to give a black striped look. Each hair shaft is a solid colour all the way down the entire length of the hair shaft therefore it is the placement of these hairs that gives the overall pattern of brindle. This coat can be cut or clipped as short as the owner likes and the pattern will still remain clear.

Merle has a solid base colour which is usually brown, black or red with lighter patches in the coat giving a speckled or mottled appearance. The light patches are usually grey, blue or red in colour and are scattered over the body in an uneven pattern.

Phantom coats are mainly dark in colour such as black and the markings can be dark brown, tan, rust, silver or cream, and usually appear on the eyebrows, beard, inside of ears, legs and under the areas. Phantom colouring can be seen in Doberman Pinschers coats.

Parti colour coats are mainly white coloured coats with patches of colour with no particular placement for the patches. The majority of the coat must be white and patches can be black, orange/red, liver/brown, lemon, blonde or apricot etc.

Tricolour coats consist of three colours usually black, white and tan or black white and chocolate. The base of the coat is white in colour, patches on the coat are in the second colour and the third colour is placed around the trim.

Roan coats can be light roan or dark roan depending on the proportion of white hairs in the roan area. Basically roan is a pattern of intermingled white colouring with the base colour being lightened by the mixture of white hairs presence.