Guides · Choosing a Cavapoo
Cavapoo Colours & Coat Types Explained
Cavapoos come in a gorgeous range of colours, and the coat you see on an eight-week-old puppy often isn't the one you'll have at two years old. Here's what the colours are, and why they change.
The common Cavapoo colours
Because the Poodle brings a huge colour palette to the cross, Cavapoos appear in many shades. The ones you'll see most often:
- Apricot & gold — the classic, most popular look, from pale cream to rich gold.
- Red / ruby — a deeper, richer version of apricot.
- Black — solid black, sometimes with a little white.
- Chocolate / brown — warm brown, often with matching liver-coloured noses.
- White & cream — pale coats, sometimes with apricot patches.
- Tri-colour, black-and-white ("tuxedo"), and phantom/sable — striking multi-tone patterns from the parent lines.
Why your Cavapoo's colour may change
This surprises a lot of new owners: Cavapoos frequently "fade" or "clear" as they grow. A rich red puppy can mature into a soft apricot; a black puppy can lighten to silver or grey. It comes from the Poodle's fading gene, and it usually happens gradually over the first year or two. If a consistent adult colour matters to you, ask the breeder about how previous puppies from the line have changed — and fall in love with the dog, not the shade.
Coat types: straight, wavy and curly
Colour and coat type are two different things. Cavapoo coats range from loosely wavy (more Cavalier) to tightly curled (more Poodle), and that's driven by generation, not colour — an F1b tends curlier than an F1, for example. Curlier coats shed less but mat faster. Our generations guide explains the link, and whatever coat you end up with, the grooming routine is the same principle: brush little and often.
Does colour affect anything?
For temperament and health, no — a black Cavapoo is no calmer or healthier than an apricot one. Choose on the dog, not the colour. The one exception worth knowing is merle: the merle pattern is linked to health risks (including hearing and sight problems) when two merle dogs are bred together, so approach merle Cavapoos with extra care and only from breeders who understand the genetics and test appropriately.