Chocolate Poodle Color Coat Explained

The poodle comes second in the smartest dogs’ ranking, ahead of the German Shepherd and second only to the Border Collie. The breed’s popularity is due to its cheerful character, devotion, high intelligence, mobility, and kindness.

Poodle puppies are quick-witted and easy to train, which allows them to perform in the circus and participate in dog competitions. Moreover, due to their friendly nature, these mischievous fidgets are friends with children and other pets. However, chocolate poodles are distinguished by their extraordinary splendor and beauty that worthily represent their ancient breed.

What does a chocolate poodle look like?

The brown color should be clean, dark enough, even, and warm in tone. The intensity of the coat should not diminish to a beige or even lighter shade. The brown color can range and be seen in very light to a dark brown, so dark that it appears almost black. However, the coat should not be as dark brown as faded black.

Chocolate poodles should have dark amber eyes, and the nails are black or brown. The nose, lips, and edges of the eyelids are brown. It is important to note that in these poodles, the pigmentation must match the coat color. However, chocolate poodles should not have black pigment.

Remember that sun, chlorine, and seawater have strong bleaching properties, so brown dogs are best kept indoors.

At six weeks of age, the puppy should be noticeably lighter on the face, legs, and tail after trimming. If the face is the same color as the main coat, it will remain darker longer. However, if the muzzle becomes noticeably lighter, it will quickly lighten and turn light brown after six weeks as the dog matures.

Until about two years old, the brown puppy coat remains approximately the same color without noticeable lightening. If a chocolate poodle develops a lot of gray hair, it will eventually take on a Cafe au lait color. These poodles are born brown and from the age of three, do not retain their dark color for a very long time. Over time, they begin to fade – some lines earlier, others later.

The process of color change in chocolate poodles is rather unusual. Their tails start to fade and become much lighter than the hairs on their ears, even close to the skin color. After that, other areas are brightened from their light tails.

How are they bread?

These poodles are genetically close to black ones. Unfortunately, however, most of these poodles carry genes that cause color variation and brighten with age.

Nowadays, all breeders try to breed bleached versions with dark ones. This tendency is unlikely to improve the light color. On the contrary, it causes irreparable damage to a good color due to its clogging with lightning alleles. From the perspective of genetics, the breeding of dark and light poodles should be carried out completely separately, and this is the only way to keep good brown dogs clean.

Often these poodles are bred with black ones to improve coat quality and stabilize brown coloration. Of course, this method can help improve the brown color. However, it should be remembered that it requires a careful calculation of the options for further crosses at least three to four generations ahead. Many foreign authors recommend breeding black poodles with brown ones only in one generation.

Are brown poodles rare?

Brown is one of the common colors of poodles. For a long time, until the beginning of the 20th century, this color was considered undesirable for a poodle. However, now it is quite widespread, trendy, and is included, along with black and brown, in the group of so-called “classic” colors of poodles. Moreover, it is worth noting that all solid color poodles are considered standard.

Grooming a Brown Poodle

The adorable brown poodle is not easy to care for. Their coat requires special attention. If the dog is not adequately cared for, thick strands become tangled and bunched together. In this case, you just have to cut the dog’s hair. Therefore, it is better not to allow such problems to arise. Care includes the following procedures:

• Haircut: The poodle’s coat should be trimmed periodically. This procedure is performed every six to eight weeks. Before trimming the poodle, you need to bathe it with shampoo, dry it well with a hairdryer and comb it out. It is better to entrust the procedure to an experienced hairdresser for the first time. In the future, you can maintain the beauty of the pet independently.
• Haircare: The poodle does not shed at all, so you will never see your pet’s hair on the carpet or sofa. Loose hairs remain near the skin. Later they serve as the basis for the appearance of tangles. Therefore, you need to brush your pet once a week. Use a special slicker for the procedure. Finish with a comb.
• Bathing: Despite the complete absence of a doggy smell, the poodle needs water treatments. The dog is bathed every three weeks. Special shampoos and conditioners are recommended to cleanse your pet’s coat of dust and dirt. Also, it is allowed to use a hairdryer.
• Ear and eye care: Once a week, you need to clean your poodle’s ears from accumulations of sulfur and dust with gauze swabs. Monitor your dog’s eyes closely and rub them if necessary.
• Teeth cleaning: Train your dog to get used to having its teeth brushed once a week. This will save your poodle from the appearance of many diseases of the oral cavity.

It is unnecessary to dress a poodle because it has its own hair coat that perfectly retains heat. However, if the dog underwent an extravagant haircut, as a result of which it turned out to be bald in places, then it is better to take care of it and put on a warm jumpsuit.

Temperament

Many Poodle owners believe that some colors of the dog breed are smarter than others. This theory posits that black and white Poodles were the original breed standard poodle colors, meaning they were bred for temperament and intelligence instead of color. Poodles come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, just like humans. Some are extremely intelligent, while others have very pleasant dispositions.

Are they expensive?

No matter how rare and unusual a poodle’s color is, a breeder should never charge more for a puppy. The price should only depend on the size of the poodle. Therefore, like all poodles, a standard-sized brown poodle costs $700-1,500. In comparison, the toy and miniature brown poodle are slightly more expensive – around $1,000-2,000.

Why does a brown poodle turn gray and fade?

Brown poodles have a gene called G locus – “progressive graying”. If brown dogs have a mutation in this gene, they will gradually fade in color as they grow.

Of course, not all brown poodles have this mutation, but still, it is best to be informed. Given that this is a dominant mutation, if either parent was “progressively graying”, there is a 50% chance that the puppies also have the mutation. At 2–3 months of age, you will notice a color change, which usually ends by the time the dog is fully mature. However, some brown poodles may have only a few small changes during their life.