Fluff alert! Meet the Goldendoodle an all-American good boy that has over 20 beautiful coat colors.
Affectionately named Goldenpoos these dogs are considered the total package.
Since the 1990s they have skyrocketed in popularity because of their loving nature, playfulness and good looks.
There are now over 20 Goldendoodle colors and coat patterns. Keep reading to learn about the different types of Goldendoodles and how to spot the rare ones…
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How Many Goldendoodle Colors Are There?
Goldendoodles come in over 20 different colors and color combinations. There are 12 solid goldendoodle colors and 8 different coat patterns. They can range in color from champagne to black and even apricot, red, cream and white.
Some of the most popular colors are cream, tan and apricot. These colors give them a teddy bear like appearance that people around the world love.
Colors such as gray, blue and black are some of the rarer colors. These colors are not as popular because they don’t give off the typical teddy bear appearance that fans love about this breed.
Some of the rare colors are a result from multiple generations of Goldendoodles being bred together. This has resulted in recessive colors like blue, gray and silver.
When it comes to the known colors of Goldendoodles these include:
- Abstract
- Apricot
- Black
- Black and White Parti
- Blue (gray)
- Brindle
- Champagne
- Chocolate (brown)
- Cream
- Merle
- Parti
- Phantom
- Red
- Sable
- Silver
- Silver Beige
- Tan
- Tuxedo
- Tricolor
- White
Many different color combinations are also possible because of coat patterns. Patterns like brindle, abstract, merle, sable, phantom, parti, tricolor and tuxedo are common.
Simple things such as the amount of white present in the coat can determine what pattern a Goldendoodle is. For example Goldendoodles with more than 50% of white in their coat have a parti coat. Doodles with less than 50% of white are considered Abstract.
Below is a list of 20 Goldendoodle colors and patterns with their descriptions and rarity.
Goldendoodle Color Chart
| Color | Description | Rarity |
|---|---|---|
| Abstract | Any base color with less than 30% of white on the coat | Rare |
| Apricot | A variation of red that appears as a goldish-brown color | Common |
| Black | Completely black coat color | Rare |
| Black and White Parti | At least 50% white, with the rest of the coat being black | Rare |
| Blue (gray) | A dark-gray color that can have darker and lighter patches | Rare |
| Brindle | Red base color with uniform black stripes on top | Rare |
| Champagne | A pale yellow or dark cream color | Common |
| Chocolate (brown) | A rich dark brown color | Rare |
| Cream | A very light yellow color | Common |
| Merle | Base color of blue or chocolate with blotches of lighter shades of those colors throughout the coat | Rare |
| Parti | More than 50% white with a secondary color of tan, apricot, or chocolate | Rare |
| Phantom | Two colors, usually black or tan, appear in specific places | Rare |
| Red | An intense, fiery reddish-brown color | Common |
| Sable | Any base color with black tips present throughout the coat. | Rare |
| Silver | A very light blue or gray color | Rare |
| Silver Beige | A very light blue or gray color with brown tones in it | Rare |
| Tan | A light or mid-toned brown color | Common |
| Tuxedo | Red, black, tan, or apricot with white patches on the chest and legs that resemble a tuxedo | Rare |
| Tricolor | Has the colors white, black, and tan | Rare |
| White | A pure white color that may have some cream in it | Rare |
Common Goldendoodle Colors
1. Apricot
Apricot is accepted as an official Poodle color which means it is a common color bred in Goldendoodles.
The apricot Goldendoodle is described as being a variation of red. Most people tend to confuse apricot Goldendoodles with red ones. However an easy way to tell the difference between the two colors is by looking at their intensities. Apricot is a golden brown color, while red is an intense rusty reddish-brown.
Apricot is the most popular Goldendoodle color because they look like teddy bears.
All apricots will have black or dark brown points, including eye rims, noses, and paw pads. This coat color tends to lighten over time as a part of their natural aging process and can end up a pale orange yellow.
2. Black
Black is considered one of the rarer types of Goldendoodles. They are bred from a Golden Retriever and Poodle who both have the recessive black gene.
To be considered true black Goldendoodles they should be black all over and have black eyes, paw pads, lips and noses.
The black coat color is not as popular compared to apricots and creams as it does not provide the teddy bear look that Goldendoodles are famous for. However, this color is becoming increasingly popular as more people find out about it. This means the cost of a black Goldendoodle is starting to top the cost of apricots, tans, and creams, pushing into the $1,500 to $3,000 range.
3. Blue
Blue Goldendoodles are described as being a steely, dark slate gray color. They are not actually blue! Blue is just a common description for many breeds like pitbulls and blue French Bulldogs.
Sometimes blue Goldendoodles can lighten as they age to the point they are considered silver, but this typically doesn’t happen until five years old as white hairs start to appear as they shed.
Blues Goldendoodle puppies are generally darker and steelier than silvers. They also have dark and light patches of color in their coat, while silvers keep a solid light gray color all over.
This goldendoodle color is the result of multi-generational breeding from Poodles and Golden Retrievers who both have the black and dilute gene.
4. Champagne
Champagne is an extremely rare color, but it does exist and is very beautiful.
Champagne Goldendoodles are the result of breeding a Poodle and Golden Retriever who have the red dilute gene. This red gene is diluted to create a pale yellow or dark cream color in the same way red labradors become yellow.
These puppies are born a dark golden color like a Golden Retriever puppy, but their color lightens as they age after ten weeks.
It is sometimes difficult to spot the difference between a champagne Goldendoodle and a cream. Normally champagne dogs have a deeper, more yellow color than creams.
5. Chocolate (Brown)
Chocolate Goldendoodles are a rich dark brown with brown eyes, paw pads and noses to match. They are typically solid in color and will have no other markings.
Chocolate puppies are born extremely dark which means it is very easy for people to confuse them with black Goldendoodles. However they lighten as soon as six weeks so you will know before you bring one home.
Just like black Goldendoodles this goldendoodle color is relatively uncommon and is not popular.
6. Cream
Cream Goldendoodles are described as being a very light, creamy yellow color. They are usually a lighter yellow than champagne Goldendoodles making them easy to spot.
Interestingly this Goldendoodle is the only color to have pinkish skin. Most types of Goldendoodles have black or white skin.
Some cream Goldendoodles are called English creams. This just means that they are the result of breeding a Golden Retriever who has British cream lineage with a cream poodle. Their British roots are the only thing that makes them different. Typically English cream Goldendoodles cost more than regular creams with a price tag of over $3,500.
7. Red
Red Goldendoodles are known for their intense, fiery reddish-brown rusty coats.
This color is extremely popular amongst buyers because they look like tiny teddy bears.
Reds are sometimes confused with apricot Goldendoodles, but they have more rusty red tones than apricots. All apricots have golden brown-ish shades.
8. Silver
Silver Goldendoodles are a lighter version of the blue with silverish white coats.
These puppies are born black and will begin to shift to silver as they get older.
A Goldendoodle will show signs of being silver within ten weeks when they start to show lighter white-ish roots in their coats. This leads to them being confused with gray Goldendoodles in their youth. It is also common to see silver hairs between their toes as they pass the six-week mark. This is common for silver dogs and is normal in silver labs too.
9. Silver Beige
Silver beige Goldendoodles are a light gray and brown-ish color with white roots.
This coat color is often confused with sable because of the combination of silver and beige in the coat. An easy way to tell them apart is by looking at the tips of their hairs. Sable Goldendoodles will have black-tipped hairs while silver beige Goldendoodles won’t.
These puppies are dark brown instead of black at birth, but like silver Goldendoodles they will lighten as they get older.
10. Tan
Tan Goldendoodles are described as being light or mid-toned brown in color. Even though they look like one solid color from a distance tan Goldendoodles will often have shades of apricot, cream, or white mixed in their coat. They predominantly get their color from their Golden Retriever parent.
This color is described as a more subtle shade than apricot, which explains why it isn’t as popular. However, they still have an adorable teddy bear look which people love.
11. White
Pure white Goldendoodles with no other colors in their coat are very rare. Normally they will have some shades of cream throughout that give their coat some depth. However they are not as dark as cream Goldendoodles and will usually look solid white from a distance.
White Goldendoodles are the result of a white Poodle and Golden Retriever being bred together. They will always have black eyes, noses, paw pads, and lips.
Goldendoodle puppies are born white and stay white throughout their lives. This color does not fade due to age.
Rare Goldendoodle Colors
12. Brindle
Brindle Goldendoodles have a striped coat pattern that looks like a tiger. They will usually have a red base color with black stripes on top. Because of their coat pattern no two brindle Goldendoodles will look the same. Their stripes may be thick black or sometimes no more than a flecking pattern through the coat.
They are an incredibly rare type of Goldendoodle that is caused by a partially dominant gene. Since this coat color is so rare you should expect to pay from $2,000 to $3,000 for one of these uniquely beautiful pups.
13. Parti
Parti Goldendoodles are described as having a coat color that is at least 50% white. The rest of the coat is a secondary color that is usually tan, chocolate, or apricot. These secondary colors normally appear as patches around the eyes and ears on top of the white coat.
Some partis will have predominantly white bodies with completely tan, chocolate or apricot ears. Other pups will have big patches of tan, chocolate, or apricot appear in the middle of their bodies.
For a puppy to have this pattern one parent must have the S locus (Parti) gene.
Golden Retrievers do not have the Parti gene so Parti Goldendoodles are typically F1b or later generations. This means they have a Goldendoodle and Poodle parent or two Goldendoodle Parents.
14. Black and White parti
Black and white Parti Goldendoodles have a coat color that is at least 50% white and the rest of their coat is black. The black color appears in random patches that are usually around the eyes and ears, backs, chest and legs.
This coat pattern is often confused with tuxedos. But these Goldendoodles will have predominantly white bodies instead of having predominantly black bodies like tuxedos.
Tuxedo Goldendoodles have their own unique markings which are uniform and include a white bib, white belly, white hind legs, and black color that extends down the entirety of their backs.
A black and white parti does not have these unique markings. Their black patches can be almost anywhere on their bodies.
15. Tuxedo
Tuxedo Goldendoodles will usually be apricot, red, tan, or black with patches of white. These makings give them the appearance of wearing a tuxedo and include a white bib, belly, hind legs. They are considered to be even rarer than parti Goldendoodles.
16. Phantom
Phantom Goldendoodles usually have black coats with tan or red colors on the eyebrows, muzzle and lower portions of the legs. These tan or red colors can sometimes appear on the chest too, but this is only occasionally.
Their coloring is very similar to Yorkies and other terriers.
Even though Phantoms are usually black and tan or red, they can also have silver, red, and black.
Phantom Goldendoodles are sometimes mistaken as partis. However parti Goldendoodles have a coat color that is over 50% white. Phantoms have a coat color that is more than 50% black. Also a phantom’s secondary color is always uniform on the eyebrows, muzzle, lower legs and chest.
17. Merle
Merle Goldendoodles have a coat with a base color of blue or chocolate with lighter shades of those colors and white appearing in random blotches all over their body. This pattern creates a uniquely beautiful effect that you won’t see in any other Goldendoodle colors.
Their merle pattern is completely random and is caused by a dominant gene that overrides the solid blue or chocolate color.
To get a merle Goldendoodle at least one of the parents has to have the merle gene. This is the same for merle pitbulls. Merle is not common in Poodles or Golden Retrievers so most breeders mix Goldendoodles with Australian Shepherds to breed a merle, especially Mini Goldendoodle breeders.
Technically this makes them Aussiedoodles instead of Goldendoodles.
18. Tri color
Tri colored Goldendoodles have three colors in their coats which are normally black, white and tan.
Black usually makes up most of the body and ears, white makes up the chest, stomach, and legs and tan makes up the areas around the eyes, mouth and chest.
Tri color Goldendoodles are not very common because this color does not typically appear in Golden Retrievers or Poodles.
19. Abstract
Abstract Goldendoodles are also called mismarks or chromes. They have a base coat of almost any color with small touches of white. Unlike parti Goldendoodles who must have more than 50% white in their coats, abstract Goldendoodles should have less than 30% white in their coats.
They will usually be apricot or red all over with small, uneven, and non-uniform white patches on their chest, paws, and face.
These Goldendoodles are sometimes confused with Tuxedos. But tuxedos will have completely white bellies, which abstracts do not have.
20. Sable
Sable Goldendoodles are described as having a coat of any base color with black tips on the hairs. These black-tipped hairs are usually on the muzzle, ears and chest. Even though Sables can be any base color they are typically red or brownish.
Their red or brown coats give a lighter color underneath a black overlay caused by the black tips on their hairs.
Another breed that has the sable pattern is the German Shepherd. There are some differences in how sable appears in German Shepherd compared to how it appears in Goldendoodles.
Goldendoodles will usually only have sable in specific parts of their bodies. German Shepherds usually have black tips all over their bodies.
What Color Will My Goldendoodle Puppy Be?
There are over 20 beautiful goldendoodle colors which can range from black to blue, red to cream and merle to tuxedo.
A Goldendoodle’s color is determined by its parents, especially the Poodle parent since most of their colors come from the Poodle. Golden Retrievers only come in three different colors and do not have markings. Poodles have 27 official colors and color combinations.
Normally Goldendoodle litters bred from a black poodle will have black puppies. The same is true for white, cream and red goldendoodles too. Puppies from a red parent will typically be red or apricot.
Exceptions to this rule exist such as patterns like sable, brindle and merle.
It is important to know that a Goldendoodle’s coat color will change as they age. Typically they will lighten after they reach ten weeks. A good example of this is the rare Champagne Goldendoodle. These puppies are born a dark golden color which lightens to a pale yellow.
The most popular colors are cream, tan and apricot. Colors such as gray, blue, silver and black are some of the rarer colors. Patterns like merle, sable and abstract are rare too!
Let us know which goldendoodle color was your favorite below.
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Thank you so much, I have learned so much about goldendoodles!
My golden doodle has brown ears and large brown areas on her back, part of the forelegs, and the side and back of her hind legs. Front of hind legs are white. All through the white are tiny bits of brown. Almost like freckles. Tail is brown with a white tip. Rear feet are white. Front legs are the white speckled with brown. Her face has an area of a lighter brown.