Merle, Phantom, Black Tri, Red… 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. Our Merles also often have brown eyebrows and cheeks similar to a Black Tri pup.

Red Tuxedo

A red merle tuxedo is red and white. The base color is a red and can vary from light to dark.. They will often have a Irish spotting like a Bernese(white stripe on their faces, white feet, tail tip and chests).

Black Phantom/Black Phantom Abstract

A phantom Bernedoodle has a base coat of black with tan eyebrows, cheeks, and legs. Some even have a white chest, we call those Black Phantom Abstract. Similar to a tri-color, but they often have less white on face and don’t have the Irish spotting (white feet and tail tip)

Parti

“Parti” means 50% white and part some other color, such as black, red, blue or brown. They often appear to have large spots. This pup pictured is a Blue Merle Parti color.

What does furnished mean?

Bernedoodles are smart, wonderful dogs but the main reason we breed 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 that fluffy doodle look.