25+ Pomeranian Colors, Patterns & Coats

Pomeranians are known to look like miniature lions with their long, fluffy coat and famous apricot color.

Apricot is the most famous Pomeranian color, but they were originally solid white or cream.

Queen Victoria is credited with the rise in popularity of the orange Pomeranian. She was a known breeder and at one point had over 35! As Pomeranians have been bred over the years, more and more colors began to make an appearance.

Now Pomeranians can come in over 25 different colors and patterns.

Read on to learn more about all the different colors and how to spot the rare ones…

Types of Pomeranian Colors

Pomeranians can come in over 25 different colors. There are 9 solid coat colors and 16 different patterns and combinations.

They can range in color from a pale brown or beaver to jet black. Some can even come in white, cream, and orange (apricot). Queen Victoria was a huge fan of orange.

Even Michelangelo couldn’t resist the sweet colors of Pomeranians! While he painted the Sistine Chapel a Pomeranian was said to be his companion.

As well as eight solid Pomeranian colors there are also parti and tri-colored coats.

Dogs that have parti-coats come in a combination of colors. They have a white base coat with patches of black, red, brown, orange, lavender, beaver, and even sable and brindle patterns.

Some can also be tri-color. This happens when they have a parti-coat with tan markings around their eyes, ears, chest and paws. These dogs are known for their cute tan eyebrows!

Sable, merle, and brindle patterns are also possible.

Almost all of the solid coated Pomeranian colors and their sable and brindle patterns are recognized, including tan, parti and tri-color.

The only solid color not recognized is lavender. Lavender is not included because it’s an extremely uncommon and rare color that is hard to produce and correctly identify.

Below is a complete list of colors ranked by popularity. All of the colors listed below are approved by the Pomeranian Club of America, except for Lavender.

Some Pomeranians can also surprise their owners by changing their coat color as they age.

Occasionally puppies are born black, but by the time they are one year old their coat can be gray. This can also be true for a white puppy’s coat changing to an apricot-orange.

Do not be surprised if your puppy ages into a different color or coat pattern.

Pomeranian Colors (A-Z)

Beaver Pomeranian (Beige)

The beaver coat color is also called beige or biscuit because of its light brown hue. It is a diluted chocolate color that ranges from orange-brown to beige cream. This color is usually seen with a silvery blue color to the coat tips.

Beaver is caused by a dilution gene to the standard chocolate brown coat. This dilution gene often causes color dilution alopecia which results in hair loss and itchy skin.

Dogs with beaver coats are easily mistaken for cream or chocolate colors. However the difference in skin pigmentation around their pads, lips, nose, and eye rims easily reveal the difference.

Beaver Pomeranians will have a light-colored nose, lips, eyelids, and paw pads. Their light-colored features are what makes them different. If their nose it black, then they probably are not beaver.

Black Pomeranian

A black Pomeranian is a solid black dog. They are easy to spot because they are pure jet-black and will not have any markings. This includes their eye rims, lips, paw pads and claws.

This color has been around since Polish breeders from the Pomerania region of Poland and Germany first bred this breed.

In the 17th century black Pomeranians were common and easy to breed. But after years of breeding and the emergence of new colors, it is now very rare to get a pure jet-black pup. Sun exposure often bleaches the black hair and turns it to a red or brown color.

This coat color is the opposite of the dilute beaver. The black color is produced by a gene that signals to the body to produce proteins to create a jet black pigment.

Black Pomeranians will not have any light points or markings.

Black and Brindle

Black and Brindle Pomeranians have a unique and beautiful coat that makes them stand out.

A black and brindle Pomeranian has a dark red, gold, or orange base color with black stripes. Many people call this coat a tiger-striping pattern. This striping can appear on only parts of the body and can be very thin or thick.

Brindle patterns can often be hard to see because their coats are so long and fluffy. You will have to look closely at their back, paws or face to see this beautiful brindle striping.

Some black brindles can also have a black face mask. This marking is dark hair on the muzzle which makes it look like they are wearing a mask. They usually have dark brown eyes and black points (eye rims, lips, nose, and paw pads).

Black and Tan

Black and Tan Pomeranians are black Pomeranians with tan or rust-colored markings on their coat. Their coat, nose, lips, and pads should be black, while the undercoat should be lighter. Their tan markings are traditionally on the chest, paws, face, and neck.

Judges prefer black and tan pups to have darker rust-colored markings rather than lighter tan markings.

A black and tan puppy can only come from parents that carry the black and tan gene.

Puppies with white markings are not black and tan. The black and tan will not have any other colors besides a black body with tan markings.

Black and White

The black and white Pomeranian is typically solid white with black markings. These black markings can be patches of black hair or a black face mask like the black brindle.

Black and whites are categorized as parti-color and are not recognized as their own color.

A parti-color is a white dog with patches of any color on their coat. In this case it is black.

Some breeders may also sell these pups as Piebald. The difference between piebald and parti is that the piebald’s black patches are limited to the head, body and base of the tail. Parti-colors patches can occur anywhere on the dog including the belly and legs.

Blue Pomeranian

The color blue is a diluted version of the black coat. They are a solid coat color and do not have any markings or other colors.

Blue Pomeranians often look more gray than blue. They can be silver, dark gray or any blue-gray shade in between! Puppies are born with silvery-gray coats, dark gray guard hairs and blue undercoats. Their slate blue color typically appears after they reach six months of age.

It is easy to confuse blue shades for black, but one easy difference is their nose color.

Blue Pomeranians always have blue noses, instead of black. Their nose is the same color as a blue nose pitbull’s. They also have blue eyelids, lips and paw pads.

Blue and Tan

The blue and tan is a blue Pomeranian with rust or tan markings in the coat. These tan markings can range in color from light cream to dark rust and are typically found on the face, neck, chest and paws.

Their blue coat color may vary from an ashy gray to a very strong blue. It is the same diluted black coat found in the pure blue.

Blue and tans are easily spotted because they will have a lighter blue base coat. They share the same tan markings on the face, neck, chest, and paws as black and tan Pomeranians.

Blue Brindle

A blue brindle is very similar to a black brindle. The only difference is a blue brindle will have blue stripes, not black. The base coat is the same gold, red or orange.

Blue Brindle Pomeranians have red, orange or gold brindled coats with strong blue stripes. This gives them an almost tiger-like look.

Brindling is especially hard to spot because it can range from gray to silver. You will need to look closely for striping patterns that are blue-gray, not black. The stripes can be thin or thick and normally only on certain parts of the body.

The undercoat and points (eyelids, nose, lips, and paw pads) should match the color of their base coat.

Blue Merle

Blue merles are one of the more expensive Pomeranian colors.

Merle patterns create a distinct speckled look on large patches of their coat. It almost looks like they had paint brushes shaken over their coat.

There usually isn’t any specific patterning that the speckles take on and they look like they have been randomly splashed with various colors

Blue merles have a blue base color with merle patterns. They are a normally a black Pomeranian with the dilution gene acting upon the black areas of the coat, giving it a speckled look. These blotches will be blue against a black base coat.

Some blue merles also have beautiful eye colors. They can either be brown, blue, or even one of each color!

The blue merle Pomeranian is not recognized by the breed standard. A double merle is prone to many health issues and will likely be deaf and blind.

Blue Sable

Blue sables have a blue undercoat with dark blue guard hairs and black tips. The sable pattern creates a sooty or shadow-like appearance on their coat. The area surrounding their eyes, noses, and mouths is usually black and their tails, legs, and chest are usually silver.

These puppies typically look like normal blue Pomeranians, at first but their sable markings appear usually around five months.

Blue sable Pomeranians have dark, almost black bands that stretch across their coats in a sable pattern. Similar to the sable in German Shepherds the marking must be uniform with no self-coloring.

Chocolate Pomeranian (Brown)

Chocolate Pomeranians are a rich brown color that can range from a light to dark chocolate color. A light brown chocolate can easily be confused for a beaver, but the beaver coat is caused by a dilution gene and the chocolate coat has no dilution.

These Pomeranians normally have a solid coat color that is a rich chocolate brown. They should be a solid color and their lips, eyelids, pads and nose should also be a deep brown. Their eyes tend to be more of a hazel color as opposed to brown.

Most chocolates are born brown and keep the rich chocolate appearance for life. Exposure to the sun can sometimes cause their brown color to fade or appear more reddish than brown.

Chocolate and Tan

All Pomeranians who have a combination of darker and lighter browns are considered chocolate and tan. They do not have any white markings, unlike a tri-color.

Most people call this color brown and tan in order to include beaver and light brown variations too.

They usually have a rich chocolate coat with solid tan markings on the legs, paws, chest, area around the nose and mouth, eyebrows, and tail.

Chocolate and tan Pomeranians tend to have huge manes that fan out around the head and over the ears.

Chocolate and White

Chocolate and white Pomeranians are normally considered parti.

Just like the black and white, it is not recognized as an independent color. Instead it is a subcategory of the parti.

The chocolate and white Pomeranian has a solid white coat with brown patches on the body. The pads, lips, nose, and eye rims will also be brown and match the brown patches.

Chocolate Merle

Chocolate merles are known for their chocolate coat with merle patterning. Merle itself isn’t a color. It is a pattern that makes their coat look speckled.

Merle patterns add either red, black or light brown colors to a Pomeranian’s coat.

Chocolate merles have blotchy patterns of brown on their solid chocolate bodies. These blotches appear at random and are unique from one chocolate merle to the other.

They look very similar to chocolate and tan, but their light brown or red speckles make them easy to spot. Their long hair makes the merle pattern especially beautiful.

Chocolate Sable

Chocolate sable Pomeranians have a chocolate base coat with darker chocolate tips on the end. Their guard hairs also should be tipped with this dark chocolate brown. They are very similar to most sable Pomeranians as all of them have regions of dark hair that creates a shadowing effect on their coat.

The chocolate sable will have a light brown coat with dark brown hairs mixed throughout. Their paw pads, eye rims, lips, nose and eyes should all be brown.

Cream Pomeranian

Cream is one of the most common Pomeranian colors. Creams are a pale orange-brown color and should have no white markings on them. It is a very light brown coat that almost appears white. They have black eye rims, lips, paw pads, and noses with white whiskers.

They are usually white at birth and gain color over time, making it easy to mix them up with white Pomeranians when they are puppies. The easiest way to tell a cream apart from a white is by this light brown color. The cream coat is darker than a white coat, but lighter than an orange pom.

Cream Sable

Cream sables look like orange Pomeranians with black-tipped hairs. Unlike regular cream, the cream sable will have black whiskers, eyelids, paw pads, nose and lips.

Lavender Pomeranian

Lavender is the rarest of all the Pomeranian colors! It is a unique coat that’s a result of breeding blue and beaver Pomeranians. The result is a pinkish gray coat that almost appears purple. They also have a lavender nose, lips, eye rims and paw pads.

They are easily confused for being blue or gray. But the easiest way to spot a lavender is to look at its coat. Lavenders have a pinkish tint to their fur, as opposed to blue.

A solid lavender will not have any other markings, but sometimes they can be parti-colored and have white markings.

This beautiful coat is one of the rarest Pomeranian colors and is one of the few that isn’t approved by the breed standard.

Merle and Tan

A merle and tan Pomeranian is a blue merle or a chocolate merle with tan markings. They are known for their pattern which gives them a speckled or blotched coat full of red, black or light brown patches.

The merle and tan is different from tri-colored Pomeranians because it will have a speckled merle pattern. It is not just a combination of two or three solid colors.

They are easily identified by their merle coat, long hair and tan markings. The tan markings will be on the chest, paws, ears or above the eyes.

Merle and tan Pomeranians’ noses and paw pads will be the same color as their base coat. If it is a chocolate merle the points will be chocolate and if it is a blue merle the points will be slate blue.

Orange Pomeranian

Orange Pomeranians can range in color from light orange to a rich deep shade. Sometimes people call faint orange Pomeranians tan, but they are actually classified as orange. All of them must have black eyelids, noses, paw pads and lips.

Interestingly orange Pomeranians can be one of two genetic types. They can either be born with sable markings that turn orange as they grow older, or are born clear without any black hairs.

The orange will not have any markings as it is another solid coat variation.

Orange is the most popular color as people love the richness of their coats. They are darker than a cream, but not as dark as a red

Orange Sable

Orange sable Pomeranians have a deep orange coat with sable markings on their guard hairs. These markings are black and give them the appearance of having black bands going across their coats.

They are different from cream sable because their undercoat is light orange instead of white.

The easiest way to tell the difference between a cream sable and an orange sable is that the cream sable will be a pale orange. An orange sable will be a deeper orange.

Just like regular orange Pomeranians, orange sables have black eye rims, lips, paw pads and noses. They also have dark brown eyes.

Parti Pomeranian

Partis are any type of Pomeranian that have a white coat with patches of any other solid color (e.g. black, chocolate or blue) or pattern such as sable, merle or brindle. Most of these patches will be on their face, back and sometimes paws.

There are three recognized Partis:

1. Chocolate Parti
2. Blue Parti
3. Black Parti

An ideal parti has over 50 percent of its body white, but this is not required by the breed standard.

Partis only have two colors, while tri-colored have three.

There is also an Irish Parti where a Pomeranian has a solid color such as blue, black, white, cream, chocolate, red, orange, or lavender on its head. The rest of the body is white.

Red Pomeranian

Red Pomeranians tend to be a very dark orange color that almost looks red. They are described as rusty and are a dark red color similar to a fox red labrador.

A red Pomeranian is darker than an orange. The main difference is a red will be much darker, especially after they go through their coat color change at around six months. Puppies who appear pale orange at first could change to a darker red as they get older.

Reds are not as common as oranges. If you are not sure then you likely have an orange pom. This unpredictable color makes their coat rare and hard to spot.

Red Sable

Red sables have a red coat that has black-tipped sable markings. These sable markings are easy to see as black tips on their fur which add a nice dusting effect to their coat.

A red sable Pomeranian has a rusty appearance and a very red coat. They will usually have dark brown eyes and the fur around their nose, chest, and eyebrows tends to be a lighter red.

Tri Color Pomeranian

Tri colors are also called multi-color Pomeranians. They are a parti Pomeranian with tan markings. This means they have the most variety in terms of color, but are the easiest to spot as they have three colors in their coat.

They are a mixture of a white base coat, with splotches of any solid color or pattern, and tan markings.

Normally the base color of their coat will be white with big black or chocolate patches and smaller tan markings. Tan markings are common for tri color dogs and can also be seen on the cute tri-color pitbull.

White Pomeranian

A white Pomeranian is easy to spot because it will have a pure white coat that looks like snow.

True whites are pure white with no other colors or hues in their coat. They will not have a chocolate, orange, blue, red or lavender tint, nor will they have cream spots. If you can see any color other than white, it is likely a cream instead.

Similar to black Pomeranians, whites have been around since the start of the breed. But due to constant breeding finding a true white is getting harder.

Wolf Sable Pomeranian

The wolf sable is a gray Pomeranian with dark gray guard hairs that are black-tipped. Sometimes their hair tips are silver giving them a wolf-like appearance. They also have black rims around their eyes that make them easy to spot when compared to other sables.

To be considered a wolf sable they should have no orange. Often orange sable puppies are sold as wolf sable before their coat changes color. Wolf sables do not fade to orange and will stay gray with black or silver-tipped hairs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are The Most Common Colors?

When breeders first bred Pomeranians the most common colors were white, black and chocolate. However, after years of selective breeding the most common Pomeranian colors are now orange, cream and chocolate.

Orange Pomeranians are the most popular color and are also the most common to see.

Colors such as black, white, brown, and gray are also common.

Solid coated colors are normally easier to find than patterned, parti or tri colors. Patterns like sable, merle and brindle are much harder to breed.

What Is The Rarest Color Of Pomeranian?

The rarest Pomeranian color is lavender. Lavender can only be bred from dilute brown and dilute blue genes. This means you have to breed a dilute chocolate with a dilute blue or beaver.

Beaver and blue Pomeranians are already rare because the dilution gene is not commonly found. Therefore to have a lavender you must be able to breed two other rare colors together.

Lavender is a color that isn’t officially recognized because of how uncommon it is.

How Many Pomeranian Colors Are There?

From black to white and merle to brindle there are over 25 beautiful types of Pomeranian colors. Pomeranians are a breeds that comes with one of the most color variations and patterns. They even have more colors than Labradors!

The nine solid colors are brown, black, white, cream, orange, red, beaver, lavender and blue. Eight of these nine colors are recognized in the breed standard, only lavender is not.

Pomeranians can also come in 16 coat patterns including sable, brindle and merle. Sable creates a shadowed look to their coat. Brindle creates a tiger striping on the coat and merle creates a speckled pattern.

All brindle and sable variations are recognized and most of them come in a variety of different shades and markings.

They also come in two (i.e. parti) and three (tri) color variations. Partis are solid white with one other color creating patches on their coat. Tri-colors are partis with tan markings.

Any type of Pomeranian with tan markings on a solid coat color is referred to as the solid coat color and tan.

Pomeranians are an amazingly cute teacup-sized lion-like breed that come in a variety of different colors and patterns.

Let us know your favorite color in the comments.