# predicting the final shade of a blue poodle?



## Coldbrew (Jun 17, 2015)

i'm curious what Jasper might end up being. I know that blues can range from nearly black to as light as some silvers. 

His lighter-than-black muzzle was my first hint that he might be blue, and every time i shave him down the black on his coat is a little bit lighter. His ears are where it is most obvious - the hair lining the edges of his ear leather is so light a grey as to appear white, and when i brush his topknot and ears the resulting pile of collected hair is mostly very pale grey (about this color) with a sprinkling of black.

Is his under the ear color indicative of what color he might finally clear? Or are ears typically lighter than the rest of the body? Or is it just something unpredictable that i'll need to "wait and see"?


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## Siskojan (Mar 13, 2011)

From my experience I believe it's a wait and see situation that will keep you fascinated and wondering along the way. I'm not comparing Jasper to Sisko in any way at all - just adding the following to say sit back and enjoy the ride - whichever way it takes you!

Sisko is nearly 8. I have to admit that his ancestry is not the most conventional by Forum standards - (lots of parti and fading genes - and not a BYB) but his color evolution has been wild and wacky. He is a blue brindle who was born silver with a black (blue) mask and darker blue stripes.He has got steadily darker and more consistently blue all over as time goes by. Up until a year or so again you could easily see his darker stripes when he got shaved down but now not so much. In between then and now he has gone through all shades of silvery grey with red brown undertones. People in our old neighborhood thought we were frequently dyeing his hair and would comment on it.


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## StormeeK (Aug 3, 2015)

Coldbrew, That is exactly what I am seeing with Dewey also; he is 2 1/2. Just like you said I am seeing the light grey ear fringe, muzzle and even some of the spots on his legs. When I brush his topknot what comes out is mainly lighter grey but parts of his body still look really black. I had no idea when I got him that he could turn blue. When I started seeing all this I looked at his pedigree and found his mother was stated as blue/white parti. She had looked black/white to me. When I registered him I put black/white so I guess that is now wrong? Not that it really matters on his registration but I would have liked to have been accurate!

Sisko looks very handsome. How interesting about all the color changes!

Here are pictures but it is hard to show this.


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## Siskojan (Mar 13, 2011)

I've posted these before so apologies if I'm boring anyone......


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Although not blue my cafe tpoo Beatrice didn't start clearing in earnest until she was 18 months old, she was quite dark as a pup. I do love blue poodles, Flower is a blue and red phantom, both colors have lightened over the years since I brought her home at age six.


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## Dina (Jan 24, 2016)

*I too am curious on how our blue boy will fade*

He has a fairly light muzzle its like a silver/dark grey/brown mix, and has light undertones in his fur. he is only 11 1/2 weeks though so I guess blues are just a guessing game


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

My blue never finished getting lighter. She started black, then after a year began clearing from the tail forward, taking about a year to get to her head. After that she got gradually lighter her entire life, eventually winding up maybe one shade darker than my silver. I think the fading gene is unprefictable, perhaps works in unison with some other genes, and you just never know how it will play out.


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