Merle Poodle Guide: Blue, Chocolate, Red & Phantom Merle!

Merle Poodles have beautifully patterned coats that can come in many different colors including blue merle, chocolate merle, red merle and phantom merle. In addition to their beautiful coats, they often feature striking green eyes. It’s no surprise that these dogs are super popular because of their appearance! Nevertheless, prospective owners need to be aware of the health dangers of the merle gene, especially ‘merle-to-merle’ breeding and Double Merle Poodles.

If you are interested in Merle Poodles keep reading this article to find out the all the answers to your questions about the different coat colors!

Table of Contents

What Is A Merle Poodle?

Merle Poodles have a rare coat pattern that features mottled patches of various colors depending on whether they are a blue merle, chocolate merle, red merle or phantom merle. The merle gene dilutes random sections of the coat to a lighter color whilst leaving patches of their original coat color remaining. It may also affect eye color and skin pigmentation on the nose and paws. The coat occurs when a Poodle carries the “M” Merle allele and a negative “m” copy of the Merle allele.

Despite the captivating look of a Merle Poodle, prospective owners should be aware that they are often a result of poor breeding practices and because of this may suffer from ocular and auditory defects. That is not to say that all Merle Poodles are the result of poor breeding practices or that they will have these health issues but there is a higher risk than an ordinary Poodle.

Are Merle Poodles Real Poodles?

Some people may consider Merle Poodles to be real Poodles however the reality is that their genetics are not 100% Poodle. The merle gene does not occur naturally in Poodles so another breed would have had to have been introduced to the lineage at some point to produce this coat pattern. This was likely introduced from a large dog breed that naturally carries the merle gene such as Australian Shepherds, Collies or Great Danes.

Can Merle Poodles Be AKC Registered?

Merle Poodles cannot be AKC registered as they do not recognize the merle pattern or merle poodle as a coat color in their guidelines. The main reason why you can’t register a Poodle is because there is no way that they could be 100% Poodle i.e. a purebred Poodle. There are also concerns surrounding how ethical it is to breed Merle Poodles.

The standard or recognized coat colors for Poodles include:

Apricot
Black
Blue
Brown
Cafe au Lait
Gray
Gray & White
Red
Silver
Silver Beige
White

Are Merle Poodles Rare?

Merle Poodles are quite rare as it is not an official coat color. Breeders have to introduce another breed that naturally carries merle into their lineage to produce a Merle Poodle. This process is very time consuming and also risky as breeders have to be careful to not produce Double Merles as they suffer from many health issues. Also as they are not AKC recognized, many breeders do not want to produce Merle Poodles.

Merle Poodle Breeders

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Merle Poodle Colors

Merle Poodles can come in many color variations including:

Blue Merle
Chocolate Merle
Red Merle
Phantom Merle

Blue Merle Poodle

What Is A Blue Merle Poodle?

A Blue Merle Poodle features blue (black), grey, white and tan colors in their coat in a distinct mottled pattern. Usually most of their coat is grey and blue with smaller white and tan patches throughout it. Blue Merle Poodles usually have black noses and can either have brown or blue eyes. They would have originally had a solid black coat but the merle gene diluted sections of it into lighter colors.

Chocolate Merle Poodle

What Is A Chocolate Merle Poodle?

Chocolate Merle Poodles feature a chocolate, copper, beige and white coat in a mottled pattern. Most of their coat is a beige-grey and they feature chocolate, white and copper patches throughout it. Chocolate Merle Poodles have light or dark brown noses. In most cases they have light brown or hazel eyes however they can sometimes have green eyes. Chocolate Merle Poodles would have originally had a solid liver (chocolate) coat but the merle gene diluted sections of it into lighter colors.

Chocolate Merle Poodles are sometimes called Red Merle Poodles. Chocolate and Red describe the same liver or brown base coat the Poodle would’ve had if the merle gene did not dilute certain sections of it.

Red Merle Poodle

What Is A Red Merle Poodle?

Red Merle Poodles have a red (brown), copper, beige and white coat in a mottled pattern. Most of their coat is a beige-grey and they feature red (brown), white and copper patches throughout it. Red Merle Poodles have light or dark brown noses. In most cases they have light brown eyes however they can sometimes have blue eyes. They are also called Chocolate Merle Poodles.

Tweed Merle Poodle

What Is A Tweed Merle Poodle?

Tweed Merle Poodles carry the Tweed merle modifier that turns the majority of their coat into a variety of brown and tan shades. Tweed Merle Poodles have extensive brown patching compared to a regular Merle Poodle. They are an extremely rare Poodle coat pattern.

Phantom Merle Poodle

What Is A Phantom Merle Poodle?

Merle Phantom Poodles have a coat with a merle background with patches of tan on their chin, throat, chest, legs, beneath their tail, above their eyes and on the sides of their muzzle. They are extremely rare.

They have the typical phantom pattern but instead of having a solid background color, their coat is mainly merle.

Cryptic Merle Poodle

What Is A Cryptic Merle Poodle?

A Cryptic Merle Poodle is a Poodle that has very small patches of merle or none at all. These Poodles appear to be non-merle however they carry the merle genotype and produce merle offspring. They are dangerous when it comes to breeding as people can accidentally create Double Merles as they don’t realise both parents are carriers of the merle gene.

Double Merle Poodle

What Is A Double Merle Poodle?

A Double Merle (M/M) Poodle has little to no color in their coat as they have inherited two copies of the dominant “M” allele. Unfortunately, Double Merle Poodles are affected by severe ocular defeats and deafness. They may be deaf in one or both ears and may be blind or have totally lost an eye. Double Merle Poodles are also called ‘lethal whites’ due to their coloring and health issues.

Double Merle Poodles are the product of ‘merle-to-merle’ breeding and are very controversial if they have been purposefully bred. This is because Double Merle Poodles will always pass on a copy of Merle to their puppies and should not be bred together. Most official bodies refuse to register dogs that are a product of merle-to-merle breeding.

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Are Merle Poodles Healthy?

Merle Poodles are likely to have health issues, especially Double Merle Poodles. It is problematic when two Merle Poodles are bred together as there is a 25% chance for each puppy born to be homozygous (M/M) for the merle trait. M/M carriers are called double merle and are very likely to have ocular and auditory defects.

Common Merle Health Problems

Hearing Impairment – up to complete deafness
Vision Impairment – up to complete blindness
Skin Cancer – an increased risk due to the lack of pigmentation on skin
Micropthalmia – rare condition causing small and often non-functional eyeballs (high risk for Double Merles)

Responsible Breeding Practices

Breeders who want to produce merle puppies should mate a Merle Poodle with a non-Merle (m/m) Poodle as the incidence of health risks is reduced. Roughly 50% of the litter will be Merles and most likely none will be Double Merles. That being said, there is still a risk of producing Double Merles as a cryptic merle mutation exists.

Cryptic Merle Poodles carry the merle gene however they do not have a merle coat. That means there is a risk that breeders will cross a Cryptic Merle Poodle with a Merle Poodle and accidentally create Double Merle Poodles. Breeders should perform DNA tests for the cryptic merle mutation before breeding.

Merle Poodle Sizes

Merle Poodles can come in many different sizes such as Toy, Mini, Moyen and Standard. The most common sizes for Merle are Mini and Standard Poodles however you can find Toy and Moyen Poodles with merle coats.

Toy Merle Poodle

Toy Merle Poodles are the smallest size. They get to a height of up to 10 inches (25.4cm) and weigh between 4 and 6 pounds (1.8kg to 2.7kg).

Mini Merle Poodle

Mini Merle Poodles are 10 to 15 inches (25.4cm to 38.1cm) tall and weigh between 10 and 15 pounds (4.5kg to 6.8kg). They are one of the middle Merle Poodle sizes.

Moyen Merle Poodle

Moyen Merle Poodles are 15 to 20 inches (38.1cm to 50.8cm) tall and weigh between 20 and 35 pounds (9.1kg to 15.9kg). They are one of the middle Merle Poodle sizes.

Standard Merle Poodle

Standard Merle Poodles are 18 to 24 inches (45.7cm to 61.0cm) tall and weigh between 45 and 70 pounds (20.4kg to 31.8kg). They are the largest Merle Poodle size.

mini merle poodle — Merle Poodle via @jestem.orion

Merle Poodle vs Brindle Poodle

Both Merle and Brindle Poodles feature a multi-colored coat however Brindle Poodle coats feature two colors in stripes while Merle Poodle coats have three or more colors in random patches. The brindle coat is the result of two recessive genes while the merle coat is one dominant gene.

Brindle Poodle’s have a tiger striped coat that usually features tan and black. Usually the base of their coat is tan and there are faint black stripes over it. The stripes are quite subtle and blend into each other so they sometimes look like a dark brown dog. They may also feature white patches on their belly.

Merle Poodle Names

Stormi
Marble
Dusty
Storm
Merle
Brandy
Luna
Bambi
Amber
Galaxy
Earl
Spot
Crumbs
Comet
Bijou