The short answer is YES! All Toy Poodles carry a “fading gene”; in some cases, this causes their coat to fade quite quickly as they mature. For example, red will become an apricot over time, and black will generally become a dark smoky gunmetal grey colour.
The two dogs above belong to Laila, an absolutely delightful client. On the left is Mia, 5y, and on the right is Daisy, 4yo. This is the colour they will stay. They are a dark apricot now
There are some ways you can slow down the fading. Here are some tips to help this process.
# We suggest you don’t clip short just before summer, or the sun bleaches the coat much faster.
# We suggest you don’t clip short just before summer, or the sun bleaches the coat much faster.
# Keep your dog inside during the heat of the day. This stops the bleaching of the coat.
# If you would like to have a dark apricot dog at two years old, don’t start with an apricot pup, as they will fade to white or cream!
FADING – What will they look like at 2 years?
Black will fade in time to a salt and pepper – but not always
Red will fade to dark apricot usually by the time the dog is 2 years
Apricot will fade to white with apricot ears
Black and tan generally keep their colour
Cavoodles SBT 