Puppy Colors
Cockapoos can come in just about every color you can imagine! Our puppies have come in a wonderful variety of colors and patterns. Puppies are all adorable, no matter what color or pattern they are called. Puppies grow and change and do not always look exactly as they did as a puppy. Their colors and patterns develop and some can change very very dramatically! In order to help you choose the puppy that will grow into the adult you desire, we have developed this page of puppy-progression pictures to help you see what some of our previous puppies grew up to look like as adults.
Black Puppies
We've had jet black pups and black pups with soft tan or white markings. These guys are cute! Click on images to enlarge them and read the captions. See Max and Josie grow up below!
Black or Chocolate/Liver and Tan Phantom Puppies
Black and tan phantom puppies are black with tan markings on their paws, legs, and face and other locations like under their tails. The amount of tan depends on the individual dog. Phantom markings are very faint on puppies and develop as the puppy ages, as you can see in our puppy photo progression below. If you decide on a phantom pup/pup with tan points, do expect the color to develop over time and try and be patient! My favorite markings on many phantom puppies are the tan eyebrows. Very cute! Click on images of lovely Zoey and sweet Mr. Darcy to enlarge them and read the captions.
Blue Merle Puppies
Merle is a pattern and not a color (regardless of what ignorant breeders say). Merle is a dilution gene, it dilutes the coat color into very interesting swirls and patterns. When the merle gene exists in a black coated dog the "blue merle" is the resulting color. When the merle gene is present in a chocolate coated dog the "chocolate merle" is the resulting color. Tan points, sable and white spots may also appear on a merle pup.
There is no such thing as a red merle Cockapoo. Many breeders don't know even the very basics of genetics (and they have no business breeding and are irresponsible breeders). The "red merle" is named in a few breeds of dogs, such as the Australian Shepherd, but is actually a chocolate/brown colored dog. Perhaps this liver color was called red because it has a reddish hue in these particular breeds. Not so in the Cockapoo. Chocolate Cockapoos look brown, not liver.
It is very unwise to breed reds and merles in the same litter. That is another sign of an ignorant mill breeder. These mating can produce dogs called "cryptic merles". Breeding two merles together can have a very serious affect on puppies born double merle, which has a 25% probability in a merle-to-merle breeding. Cryptic merles don't appear merle and can be accidentally bred to a merle, causing these "lethal white" double merles. If a red blend merle litter is produced by a responsible breeder it is for a specific purpose, and appropriate caution is practiced.
Merle is not "rare" and is, in fact, a dominant gene. Calling them "rare" is just an excuse for BAD breeders to jack up the price on their pups. Gimmicks have no place in the dog-breeding world!
Merle is really very lovely and each merle puppy is completely unique! The amount of merling on a puppy varies and many merle puppies are born with one or two blue eyes as well! Look at the blue merles below, Franco, Cujo, Jack and Waffles. Click on images to enlarge them and read the captions.
There is no such thing as a red merle Cockapoo. Many breeders don't know even the very basics of genetics (and they have no business breeding and are irresponsible breeders). The "red merle" is named in a few breeds of dogs, such as the Australian Shepherd, but is actually a chocolate/brown colored dog. Perhaps this liver color was called red because it has a reddish hue in these particular breeds. Not so in the Cockapoo. Chocolate Cockapoos look brown, not liver.
It is very unwise to breed reds and merles in the same litter. That is another sign of an ignorant mill breeder. These mating can produce dogs called "cryptic merles". Breeding two merles together can have a very serious affect on puppies born double merle, which has a 25% probability in a merle-to-merle breeding. Cryptic merles don't appear merle and can be accidentally bred to a merle, causing these "lethal white" double merles. If a red blend merle litter is produced by a responsible breeder it is for a specific purpose, and appropriate caution is practiced.
Merle is not "rare" and is, in fact, a dominant gene. Calling them "rare" is just an excuse for BAD breeders to jack up the price on their pups. Gimmicks have no place in the dog-breeding world!
Merle is really very lovely and each merle puppy is completely unique! The amount of merling on a puppy varies and many merle puppies are born with one or two blue eyes as well! Look at the blue merles below, Franco, Cujo, Jack and Waffles. Click on images to enlarge them and read the captions.
Sable Puppies
Sable is interesting. This coat variation can be on a black or chocolate coated dog, but not a red coated dog. There are three different forms of sable: clear sable, shaded sable and tipped sable. The sable most often seen in Cockapoos is the tipped sable, so we will focus on that. In a tipped sable each hair is a golden color (lacking the dark pigment) and the tips of each hair is whatever base color the dog is (black or chocolate). A sable can have a black mask, as you can see that T-Bear has below. Sable puppies are born looking completely black or chocolate and as their coat grows in, the copper color begins to show. Depending on the individual dog, hair cut chosen, and other factors this coat color can essentially be "ever-changing". The amount of sabling each dog has varies. If you're interested in the incredible morphing dog coat, a sable can be right for you! See handsome T. Bear and Norman grow up below. Click on images to enlarge them and read the captions.
Sable Merle Puppies
Here's for an interesting, ever changing dog! The sable merle puppy is a sable dog with the merle dilution gene in the mix, creating gorgeous swirls and patterns throughout the coat. Here are examples of sable merle Eden dogs. You can see how each dog is a completely unique individual! This is a very interesting combination of color and pattern and we can't wait to see how our other sable merle puppies grow and change! Click on images of Augie, Milo, Zoey and Pumpkin to enlarge them and read the captions.
There are other puppy colors to be had in future litters, to include buff, apricot, red, chocolates and merles of all the above! We're looking forward to posting those puppies as they are born and raised
These have all been perfect Cockapoo pooches we've produced!
All puppies pictured are living in wonderful and loving permanent homes.
