[Amora3]

Hi everyone!
I recently got a mini poodle puppy, he is about 9 weeks old and is helping me fill the void of my recently deceased 15 year-old poodle.

I’ve been reading up on poodle colors, and I’m not sure whether he’s a bad black or will be turning blue or silver in the future.

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of his parents or siblings. But, I did see his sisters and they were black and had a bit of white/grey fur around their mouths, paws, eyes, or chest.

He has grey fur between the pads of his feet and the roots of his hair appear to be lighter than black.

Does anyone have any tips to tell what color he is/will be? I think he’s still too young to get a proper haircut and he’s also very bad at staying still when it comes to his face 😪

 

[Raindrops]

It is difficult to confirm without a shaved muzzle, but he looks to be a silver. He will lighten up considerably over time.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Welcome! By this time, puppy should ideally have had a couple of haircuts already, so best not to delay. You want him to get very comfortable with the process while he's still at such a formative age, especially face, feet, and sanitary.

Peggy's groomer scheduled her every four weeks to start, worked up slowly to a full groom, always keeping the experience positive. She was a little frustrated that Peggy's breeder had only groomed her once (at about 5 weeks) before I brought her home at 9 weeks.

So no. Your little guy is definitely not too young.

He looks like a cute little silver to me.

 

[Vita]

I agree he'll lighten up over time. He could end up a silver or might turn out to be what they call "a blue".

 

[Dechi]

I would bet on silver. Do get him a proper puppy groom and get his face shaved, it will confirm his color.

 

[cowpony]

I agree. He's that muzzle looks light enough that he could be silver. And yes, no time like the present to start working on grooming. They don't get better with age.

 

[Vita]

@Amora3, hey, if you haven't already, PF has this ongoing thread:

On the Main forum page, go to Poodle Pictures > along the top of the page click on the Poodle Rainbow subforum > then scroll down a bit to the The Silver Poodle Thread.

Also about the face grooming. In her case it's probably worth the money to take him to a groomer the next time before her habit of resistance becomes set in stone. A lot of puppies are like kids, where they act bratty, complaining and resisting with 'Mom'.

If you switch up the environment and have a skilled stranger do something unpleasant, it throws them off their game. I failed to do this with my first and it became a horrible habit her, and she's an otherwise a dream poodle of behavior. I think she was terrified of the clippers near her eyes and toes, then I'd get nervous b/c she wouldn't sit still and our fears reinforced each other. It was a hot mess.

It was a year before I found a groomer in my area, and she was still bratty b/c it had become a habit - but she was caught off guard by having a stranger do it so was able to be controlled. I wised up for my 2nd poodle, and in his very first grooming session he was 100% cooperative with the groom. She's still difficult with me but not quite as bad, but never plays that game at the grooming shop.

 

[SilverSylvio]

Best of luck with him, what a cutie! I agree with him looking like a silver. I’m looking for a silver puppy now after losing my boy to cancer. It’s such a terrible void...would you mind me asking where you got him??

 

[Amora3]

Welcome! By this time, puppy should ideally have had a couple of haircuts already, so best not to delay. You want him to get very comfortable with the process while he's still at such a formative age, especially face, feet, and sanitary.

Peggy's groomer scheduled her every four weeks to start, worked up slowly to a full groom, always keeping the experience positive. She was a little frustrated that Peggy's breeder had only groomed her once (at about 5 weeks) before I brought her home at 9 weeks.

So no. Your little guy is definitely not too young.

He looks like a cute little silver to me.

Hi! I’m holding off on sending him to a groomer because he doesn’t have all of his shots yet, and I’d do a horrible job of grooming him myself. I’m thinking maybe a mobile groomer?

 

[Amora3]

Best of luck with him, what a cutie! I agree with him looking like a silver. I’m looking for a silver puppy now after losing my boy to cancer. It’s such a terrible void...would you mind me asking where you got him??

So sorry for your loss. I’m also still going through the grieving process of losing a dog, so it’s definitely a struggle to move on and get a new pup to fill that void. I live in Florida and it’s my understanding that there’s a good amount of poodle breeders in the state. So if you’re willing to make the trip or pay for a nanny/shipping then you should look for puppies here. With that being said, I found my puppy on puppy find. I’m not sure on how reputable the site and their breeders are but I wasn’t too picky about that.

 

[Amora3]

@Amora3, hey, if you haven't already, PF has this ongoing thread:

On the Main forum page, go to Poodle Pictures > along the top of the page click on the Poodle Rainbow subforum > then scroll down a bit to the The Silver Poodle Thread.

Also about the face grooming. In her case it's probably worth the money to take him to a groomer the next time before her habit of resistance becomes set in stone. A lot of puppies are like kids, where they act bratty, complaining and resisting with 'Mom'.

If you switch up the environment and have a skilled stranger do something unpleasant, it throws them off their game. I failed to do this with my first and it became a horrible habit her, and she's an otherwise a dream poodle of behavior. I think she was terrified of the clippers near her eyes and toes, then I'd get nervous b/c she wouldn't sit still and our fears reinforced each other. It was a hot mess.

It was a year before I found a groomer in my area, and she was still bratty b/c it had become a habit - but she was caught off guard by having a stranger do it so was able to be controlled. I wised up for my 2nd poodle, and in his very first grooming session he was 100% cooperative with the groom. She's still difficult with me but not quite as bad, but never plays that game at the grooming shop.

These are some great tips, thank you so much! My last poodle was a bit stubborn when we’d try to groom him ourselves, he absolutely hated us touching his feet for any reason. I could send my new pup to the groomer my last dog used to go to, but he doesn’t have all of his shots yet so I’m probably gonna hold off until he gets his next round of shots. I may look into a mobile groomer though.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Hi! I’m holding off on sending him to a groomer because he doesn’t have all of his shots yet, and I’d do a horrible job of grooming him myself. I’m thinking maybe a mobile groomer?

Speak to your groomer. Ours took Peggy around 12 weeks, and she books well in advance,

Until then, you can do what our groomer recommended before Peggy's first appointment: Put your clippers on the lowest setting and gently touch them to your pup while giving treats. Do this just a few seconds at a time, every day.

(Not the blade, of course. It's just a way to get them used to the vibrations, while always keeping the experience positive.)

 

[Johanna]

The puppy appears to be changing to silver. I do think you would be wise to have him groomed ASAP and regularly thereafter. Puppies who are not groomed regularly become a groomer's nightmare.

 

[Mfmst]

OMG, he’s cute! I hate that term, “bad black”. As someone wise once said on PF, the only poodle color that doesn’t fade is white. He might be blue, he might be silver or an early achiever black grizzlier. Blues seem to have a brownish cast in certain lights. Silvers, from a shaved muzzle. What does the breeder say?

 

[Amora3]

OMG, he’s cute! I hate that term, “bad black”. As someone wise once said on PF, the only poodle color that doesn’t fade is white. He might be blue, he might be silver or an early achiever black grizzlier. Blues seem to have a brownish cast in certain lights. Silvers, from a shaved muzzle. What does the breeder say?

I hate “bad black” too! I don’t think dogs should be labeled as “bad”, they’re all such good boys and girls 😭 I’ve been looking at the roots of his fur and it seems like he might be a silver. Should be fun seeing him change colors!

 

[Carolinek]

He’s adorable! It will be fun to see what color he becomes. I will add To the chorus to get him groomed ASAP. If you call a good groomer and explain this is a poodle pup, they will understand the importance of early grooming and will hopefully work with you.

 

[Johanna]

I hate “bad black” too! I don’t think dogs should be labeled as “bad”, they’re all such good boys and girls 😭 I’ve been looking at the roots of his fur and it seems like he might be a silver. Should be fun seeing him change colors!

Maybe we should call it "mostly black"?