Merle, Phantom, Tri, Furnished… What do these coats look like?

When you mix a Bernese Mountain Dog with a Poodle, there are many color possibilities! This brief explainer will help you to know the differences, and what it means for a dog to be “fully furnished.” Hint: it has nothing to do with a living room set!

Tri-color

The traditional Bernese Mountain Dog coloring is called "Tri-color,” because they are black, brown and white. Their base color is black, and they have white on their face, chest, paws and tail. The white is set off by brown “points,” on its face, chest and lower legs. Classic beauty! There are variations of the brown, sometimes it more red and sometimes more tan. Sometimes most of the face is white, sometimes it’s just a stripe between the eyes. They usually have expressive brown eyebrows. And sometimes they have what’s called a Swiss Kiss, which is a single white spot between their shoulders!

Blue Merle

Merle coloring is a kind of dappled, spotted pattern. This can give a really interesting look, we really love our merles! A blue merle is when the base color is a bluish grey. Often our merles will have white feet, snouts and chests, giving them almost a tri-color look.

Red Merle

A red merle has the dappled look of a merle coat, but the base color is a reddish brown. Like our blue merles, they will often have white feet, snouts and chests.

Phantom

A phantom Poodle has a base coat of black with tan-to-white feet, chest and muzzle. Similar to a tri-color, but without the distinct brown.

Parti

“Parti” means part white and part some other Poodle color, such as black, red, blue or brown. They often appear to have large spots.

What does furnished mean?

Poodles are smart, wonderful dogs but the main reason we breed with them is because of their unique coats. They don't have a double coat like most dogs, instead, they have one single layer that barely sheds if at all. This quality is what furnished refers to. A furnished dog has a Poodle’s single, non-shedding, curly coat.