Jun 62 min read

This is how my Bernedoodle litter became so colorful

Updated: Nov 30

A Bernedoodle family tree if parents and six puppies

I was amazed when my Bernedoodle litter ended up having one dog of every color. We had white, cream, red, medium brown, dark brown, and black. The two brown ones resembled their dad but no one had their mom's gray coloring. The answer here is that there were a lot of recessive genes that came through.

The Parents

Dad

The dad is Hollow and he presents as a dark brown tri-color with curly hair. He has a brown nose and green eyes. He can have brown dogs, red dogs (recessive), and heavy white dogs (recessive).

Mom

The mom is Coco and presents as a blue Merle with wavy hair. She has a black nose, brown eyes, patches of black on a gray coat, and wavy hair. The Merle gene adds some complexity to why her coat is gray. Without that extra gene, she would have black fur on her body, tan eyebrows, and tan on parts of her chest and legs. She can have black dogs (dominant), brown dogs (recessive), red dogs (recessive), and heavy white dogs (recessive). The reason there are so many recessive qualities is that there are several locations in her genes where different choices can happen. It's like a choose-your-own-adventure quest.

Together

What Coco and Hollow have in common is a white muzzle, furnished (thick eyebrows and mustache/beard), brown coat outcomes, recessive red, and recessive heavy white genes.

The Colorful Bernedoodle Puppies

A white Bernedoodle puppy on a porch — Mostly White

Rocky (formerly Strawberry) has a white body with tan ears, tan around the eyes, and spots on his body. He received the heavily white and red recessive genes from both parents. He inherited his dad's brown nose and green eyes. He inherited his mom's wavy hair.

A curly Bernedoodle puppy with a red bandana — Curly Cream

Milo (formerly Vanilla) has a cream body with a white nose and forehead that is hard to see in this picture. He received the red recessive gene from both parents. He inherited his dad's curly hair, brown nose, and green eyes.

A red and white Bernedoodle puppy on stairs — Red

Judy (formerly Cream Soda) has a red body, white nose, white forehead, wavy hair, brown nose, and green eyes. She received the red recessive gene from both parents. She inherited her dad's brown nose and green eyes. She inherited her mom's wavy hair and one copy of the Merle gene. She isn't spotted because the red hair overrides the Merle gene.

A brown Bernedoodle puppy looking through a window — Curly Brown

Penny (formerly Tippy) really took after her dad more than any other dog. She has curly hair, brown fur, a white muzzle, a white forehead, tan spots, a brown nose, and green eyes. I don't think she got any of her mom's traits.

A brown Bernedoodle puppy staring into the camera lens — Wavy Brown

Root Beer also took after his dad heavily. He only inherited his mom's wavy hair.

A black Bernedoodle puppy being held — Wavy Black

Ellie (formerly Oreo) is a black phantom. She inherited a recessive saddle gene from her dad which turns the white on her muzzle and cheeks a light brown that isn't quite a mask. Ellie inherited Coco's (potentially) black coat, brown eyes, brown nose, and wavy hair.

I loved how this litter turned out. I want to breed Coco and Hollow again for another amazing colorful litter. I bet we get even more color combinations like the Merle spots on black and brown coats.