Have you ever wondered about the different colorings in French Bulldogs and what they mean? If you’ve got a thing for French Bulldogs, you’ll find perhaps nothing cuter than a whole little of them wiggling around and showing off their distinct colors and markings.
Get acquainted with all of them up close and personal with this exclusive list of all French Bulldog colors.
Breaking Down All the Different Colors of a French Bulldog
Despite popular belief when talking to some french bulldog breeders that keep things old fashioned, there are many colors to choose from for Frenchies. The options for French Bulldog colors that you’ll find are:
- Fawn (light, red or blue)
- Brindle and White
- Cream
- Pied
- White
- Blue
- Chocolate
- Black
- Black and White
- Lilac
- Isabelle
- Merle
- Sable
The French Bulldog Colors explained
French Bulldogs come in a variety of colors. French bulldog breeders have been breeding these dogs over the years to create new colors as well as to maintain some of the traditional ones.
The standard colors, according to the American Kennel Club, are Brindle, Brindle & White, Cream, Fawn, Fawn & White, Fawn Brindle, White, White & Brindle, White & Fawn.
I’ve listed different possibilities down into their categories, so it gets simpler to know each particular color and all the different kinds of Frenchies.
The following colors are sometimes seen in Frenchies but some are not accepted by the American Kennel Club. Check out their cuteness factors for yourself within the breed’s most standard colors to the most rare French Bulldog colors.
Fawn (light, red or blue)
More than likely, the fawn french bulldog is the most common that you’re used to seeing out and about. While their head is a darker tone than their body, fawn French Bulldog often has a lighter tan base with different shades in it.
While it was initially named “fawn” because the classic color was a beige or reddish beige, the commonly known red fawn French Bulldogs, you can now get Frenchies with classic fawn colorings as a reddish-brown and even a beautiful blue fawn, a really light fawn coat color.
With this particular dog, the fawn french bulldog coat is a uniform color with no distinctive markings. It is one of the officially approved French Bulldog colors.
Brindle and White French Bulldog
Tied for first place as one of the most common French Bulldog colors, also an approved French Bulldog color, brindled fur can exist on its own — this is a coat color pattern with a few shades mixed together such as browns and blacks — but it often occurs with white on a Frenchie.
The white markings vary from one dog to another. Some have white markings on their throat and belly, while others have a white crown and paws. One of the neatest details with brindle and white frenchies is that no two combinations are precisely the same!
Cream French Bulldog
This is pretty much exactly like a white Frenchie, though this little guy often is a shade or two darker to give it that cream or eggshell coloring. The darkening is prevalent on his tummy or along his face and expression.
The creme color will be the primary coloring on the body, of course, and often dark a bit with age. Another of the approved French Bulldog colors.
Pied French Bulldog
This is a fancy term used by a lot of breeders. This means that your French Bulldog has mostly white coat with touches of brindle colorings or fawn colorings.
Sometimes these distinctions can be hard to see unless you are experienced in the world of french bulldogs because those brindle or fawn colorings could be as simple as a patch underneath his jaw, for example, where he is otherwise white or cream-colored.
Technically the colorings are supposed to be “prominent”, but this word does not always mean the same thing to everyone!
White French Bulldog
White is one of the approved French Bulldog colors and just as you’d expect, Frenchies with this coloring have short, wiry white fur from paws to muzzle. This is one of the most popular French Bulldog colors, and it’s a great choice for those who want their dog to stand out. In this kind of Frenchie, the white is pretty bright, though sometimes there can be a darker face around the nose and mouth, or there can be fawn coloring on his feet.
French Bulldogs with this color tend to have black noses (or occasionally pink) and dark pigment around their eyes. Their coats are short, sleek and glossy like white velvet. This depends a lot on the breeder and the genes of the parent dogs.
Some breeders feel white French Bulldogs should be considered pied because most do have a touch of another shade elsewhere on them. Most breeders will classify them as white unless there is excessive cream shading or other detailing.
Blue French Bulldog
One of the more unpopular breed colors, the blue french bulldog has a grey/brown tone coat that often comes across as deep blue coat color — hence the name. These bulldogs are especially well-loved because of their unique coloring.
As far as choosing between all of the frenchie coat colors, it’s thought that blue is the most sought-after color out there, and it means that you’ll have to be extra careful when checking out the breeders that you’re considering (more on that later) to buy blue frenchies from.
Chocolate French Bulldog
You’ve probably heard of chocolate labrador dogs, and these are similar as far as their coat tone. A rich dark brown that is often accompanied by light eyes, these make for great alternatives when you don’t want fawn or white.
The color is favored by those that like the single shade idea, and these are very popular. A dark colored coat in the Frenchies breed, perfect as partners for warm brown color lovers. If you prefer your dogs to be more visible at night time then this might not be what you want though!
Black French Bulldog
Like white, cream, and blue, these French Bulldogs are mainly black and often have a silky sheen in their fur due to its deep shade. These are often popular because they are different from brindle frenchies or sable frenchies (further explained ahead.)
They are pure black in all details, and they are certainly a sight to see when compared with other Frenchies. The trick is to get them all black, which can be challenging. White patches on the chest , belly, and around the eyes are common on this color of French bulldog.
Black frenchies typically have either brown or blue eyes which can be difficult to tell apart from a distance but is evident up close as well as when looking into their beautiful faces with dark features.
Black and White French Bulldog
If some white patches on a black based coat is your thing, and you love black and white and can’t choose which you want, enjoy a sweet mix of both. This coloring suits you.
This kind of Frenchie comes in all combinations and intensities. Often they do come in patches or even in whole chunks at a time. For those that like the idea of having two tones, black and white go well with the French Bulldog breed, and the eyes are most often dark-colored.
Lilac French Bulldog
Similar to a blue dog, a lilac Frenchie has a grey coat with a slightly light purple tinge to it, a light blue if you will. This is almost as popular as a blue dog, and it is often quite as rare. Done through careful gene picking, it can be really challenging to find the right kind of bulldogs to create the lilac Frenchie, making it among the more popular searches.
These ones often have light-colored eyes too. Being a rare color, they often cost more and you will need to be careful when it comes to the breeder you pick, but with a lilac Frenchie you’ll always have something unique and rare.
Isabelle French Bulldog
Just like the blue and the lilac, the Isabelle French Bulldog (or Isabella French Bulldog) is a striking color within the breed. It has an especially light-colored coat, often appearing as brown, and they have bright eyes such as yellow.
They are soft coats and usually have a gentle light brown with white. These particular dogs are beautiful but often have skin problems due to their fur’s exceptional bright color!
Merle French Bulldog
Very eye-catching, a merle French Bulldog has fun dotted and streaked markings of black, white, and some brown and white in varying shades. They often are accompanied by having two different colored eyes, which can be a further distinction in the merle French Bulldogs.
These sweet dogs are great for those that really like something different. Within the merles, the blue merle Frenchie is the rarest color. They are known for having a blue base coat with white and black overlay hairs that create more of an even look.
There will always be variations among breeds that we may not know about until more research gets done! But there is no denying that multi-colored French Bulldogs are beautiful creatures indeed!
Sable French Bulldog
Sable coloring is similar to fawn colorings. The base color is brown, and they often have dark muzzles and faces. However, this coloring also has hairs that vary from brown to a black tip. It’s a unique trait that makes this popular amongst those who love the idea of a fawn Frenchie but want a bit more of a distinctive feature.
It’s not uncommon to mix up sable and fawn bulldogs. Sable French Bulldogs are also known as Red Sables and Silver Fawns, as the colors are very similar.
They tend to have a very rich coloring, with the black tipping on their fur being shinier than other colors of Frenchies.
It’s often hard to find sable breeds because they require more work from the breeder in order for them to maintain this prestigious coloration.
Breaking down different terms for colors:
- The term “tan french bulldogs” is often used interchangeably with cream Frenchies;
- Tan blue is used to describe Frenchies that are a light grey color; opposed to dark blue, which is used to describe them being dark grey in color;
- Dark reddish tan is the dark brown that sometimes referred to as “fawn”;
- The references to blue pied have to do with Frenchies that have a black, or slightly grayish coat, and white coat.
Which of all the French Bulldog colors is best?
If you’ve done any amount of research on the different colors to figure out which one you want, you may have stumbled across a few articles that claim that specific colors are better than others due to legitimacy and health concerns. Let’s put those to rest!
As far as legitimacy with some breeders, the only reasons that options such as merle and blue Frenchies aren’t recognized as official colors is because they weren’t around when those rules were made. That doesn’t mean that your lilac French Bulldog isn’t as legitimate as your fawn one.
When it comes to health issues, this is the main thing to focus on: A French Bulldog health is not, by any means, connected to his coloring. While some Frenchies are more at risk for health conditions throughout their life (white and lilac Frenchies commonly have skin health issues, for instance), these details are not connected to the actual coloring of the dog himself.
A lot of blue French Bulldogs often get the reputation of having health issues. This color falls right into the group of rare French Bulldog colors; they rarely occur in litters of French Bulldog puppies. Thus they must be carefully bred. This leaves some of the money-grabbing breeders to do whatever it takes to create blue ones.
Inferior genes generate health problems. As long as you are buying a French Bulldog puppy from a reputable breeder with no problem showing you all of the certifications and other proper details you ask for, health issues are not linked to a specific color. This means that if you have your heart set on a sable or white Frenchie, you can go for it worry-free!
But what if you want a French Bulldog mix? Well, there are plenty of those to choose from as well. From Frugs (French Bulldog and Pug mix) to French-Pei (French Bulldog and Shar-Pei mix), size can vary and the colorings will certainly fall into different categories.
Each mix has an individual personality and appearance that is pretty much unmatched by any other dog breed.
In Conclusion
There’s no greater joy than adding a French Bulldog pup to your life, and you’ll undoubtedly find a wiggly and exciting French Bulldog to be a welcome addition to your family!
When you decide what kind of Frenchie you want to add, enjoy scanning through these exciting photos and use those to guide you on the right choice and color preference for your family.
Frenchies can come in all different shapes, sizes, colors, and coat textures. The addition of new mixes of colors to the standard options is often avoided since it can take away from what makes French Bulldogs so unique: t
