French Bulldog Colors Explained (2023)

French Bulldog Colors. The Standard and The Rare.

Standard Colors

• Brindle
• Cream
• Fawn
• Black
• Any mix of all above + Pied

Exotic Colors

• Blue
• Merle
• Lilac
• Isabella
• Chocolate
• Blue Fawn
• *Furry
• Any mix of all above + Tan

I get so many questions about French Bulldog colors on a daily basis. I’ve scrolled online trying to find an article that covers all the French Bulldog Colors and show it to my customers as an example, but nothing extensive popped up, so I decided it’s time to write my own.

I will try to keep it as simple as possible as well as cover some basic questions regarding pricing. Keep in mind that the prices vary based on color, bloodlines and breeding rights. It will cost you more to get a specific dog with a full AKC registration, than getting it just as a family pet.

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Standard French Bulldog Colors and Patterns

Which are standard French Bulldog colors and patterns? Let’s start at the beginning..

In 1897, the only original breed standard was considered brindle. After the 1911 standard revision they approved additional standard colors and patterns like fawn, cream, piebald,.. To this day any deviation from the standard equals disqualification. The standard French Bulldog colors are the only ones allowed to compete in the ring.

Acceptable colors – All brindle, fawn, white, brindle and white, and any color except those which constitute disqualification. All colors are acceptable with the exception of solid black, mouse, liver, black and tan, black and white, and white with black, which are disqualifications. Black means black without a trace of brindle.

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AKC, American Kennel club

If you are trying to invest into a standard colored French Bulldog, from a responsible breeder – as a pet only, you will usually be looking at prices between 2,500-3,000$.

However a standard color price can still go up to 5,000 – 6,000$ if bought from a breeder with champion bloodlines and amazing quality French Bulldogs.

Brindle French Bulldog Pattern

Brindle is one of the most common French Bulldog patterns.

Brindle French Bulldog has a base coat of fawn hairs through which black hairs extend in bands to produce a coat that can range from a tiger brindle in which fawn hairs predominate to the more common dark brindles in which the black hairs predominate. The light version with fawn hairs that predominate is also known as a “reverse brindle”, and it’s generally more rare.

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Piebald Pattern

The piebald is not a French Bulldog color, it’s a pattern. Pied animal is one that has a pattern of pigmented spots on an unpigmented (white) background of hair.

The pied French Bulldog comes in multiple standard color variations. Brindle pied, fawn pied, red fawn pied, etc.. Of course pied can also come in an exotic color variation, but we will discuss that more in depth further down the line.

Cream French Bulldog

What is a cream French Bulldog? Many light fawn French Bulldogs are mistaken for a cream.

A true cream Frenchie will look slightly off white throughout – solid color. Its a recessive dilute from the fawn coat.

They have no markings on them, they have black pigment, black noses, black eye rims, black paw pads, and black lips. The DNA of a true cream French Bulldog is different than the one of the light fawn.

Click here to read more about the differences between these French Bulldog Colors.

Fawn French Bulldog Colors

The fawn French Bulldog colors come in different shades, from very light, almost cream looking ones, to a deep red fawn. They can have a mask, like the one pictured above, or be maskless.

Fawn can also be combined with an exotic color in which the dilution affects the “black mask”, eyes, nose and paw pads (Blue fawn, lilac fawn, chocolate fawn,..)

Black and Black Pied French Bulldog Colors

A non-standard color in the standard color price range. These beauties deviate from the acceptable coat colors, but are definitely still in the lower price range.

A French Bulldog is considered black if the coat color is solid without any signs of brindle, which is rare. Even if a puppy appears black, that might not be the case. A truly black French Bulldog has an unique DNA of a/a.

It will cost you around $3500-$5000 to bring a black or a black pied French Bulldog home.

Exotic French Bulldog Colors and Patterns

Exotic Colors and Patterns in the French Bulldog breed _Accare the one that aren’t approved by the AKC and can’t participate in the ring. They can still be AKC registered and are 100% French Bulldogs, but unfortunately can’t compete due to their coat color being an instant disqualification.

Blue French Bulldog

The beautiful blue (gray) French Bulldog color is a results of a dilution gene. The dilution gene affects eumelanin (liver and black coats), in some instances, the red coat as well.

When a dog has two copies of the d allele (dd), a black dog will become blue. The coat range is wide – from very light gray to almost black, but even in that case it can be visible that the dog is dd, by looking at the color shade of his nose.

The blue French Bulldog color is in the rare or exotic color price range. It will cost you between 4000-6000 $ to get a blue canine companion.

All of the coat colors can come in a variation with a pattern (piebald, brindle, merle) + a different color. The puppy picture above is a Blue Pied.

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Lilac French Bulldog Colors

These rare lilacs are a result of their parents blue and chocolate DNA. The same dilution gene that causes a black dog to become blue (like mentioned above), causes a chocolate/liver dog to become a lilac.

Click here to learn more about this type of dilution

A lilac French Bulldog dog will have the genotype bbdd (homozygous for liver, homozygous for dilution). Lilac dogs are usually very light blue, almost silver looking, with light eyes and pinkish tint on their muzzle.

Due to their unique appearance they run in the higher price range of 5000-7000$.

Chocolate/ Liver

In the chocolate color case, the dilution of the black color happen on the B locus. It is recessive, so b is liver and B is non-liver, and in order for a dog to be liver it must have the genotype bb.

Merle Pattern

The merle gene creates mottled patches of color in a solid or piebald coat, and it can affect skin pigment as well. This pattern is very controversial in the French Bulldog community since it can cause severe health issues, if two merles are bred together.

A merle should only be bred to a dog with a solid coat color. The merle gene itself, does not cause any health issues.

Merle dogs will usually have bright blue eyes, or odd looking eyes (heterochromia iridum). Heterochromia Iridum is a difference in coloration of the iris. Merle French Bulldog colors are rare and of course in the higher price range.

Platinum French Bulldog

An exotic color covered in cream, is what it’s called a Platinum. Their coat color is cream, but you can see signs of dilution by looking at their nose, eyes, lips and paw pads.

While a regular cream French Bulldog would have a black nose, dark eyes and black paw pads, the Platinum French Bulldog will have a diluted version of that.

Fluffy French Bulldog

Ok, so, Fluffy is obviously not a color, nor is it a pattern, but it’s becoming such a big part of the French Bulldog world, it simply needs to be included on this list.

Fluffy or also called Furry French Bulldog is a long-haired frenchie. They are adorable and look like little teddy bears due to the rare L - long hair gene.

There is much discussion surrounding the origin of the L gene in the French bulldog breed. Some people believe it’s a rare gene that presented itself as a mutation, others think that a different dog breed was mixed in to make the introduction.

Nonetheless they are becoming more and more popular among French bulldog enthusiasts.

You will spend anywhere from 8 and up to 50k on a fluffy French Bulldog. The price range is of course wide and what determines the price is the color as well as buying the dog as a pet only vs. with breeding rights.

Fluffy French Bulldogs do have a tendency to overheat faster than a regular French bulldog due to the fact that their hair is thicker and longer. We would not recommend getting a fluffy French Bulldog if you live in a hot and humid area.

Fluffy French Bulldog come in all the colors mentioned in this blog. Everything from a blue fluffy French Bulldog to a Merle Fluffy French Bulldog, you name it, they are out there, and they are taking over.

Isabella French Bulldog Coat Color

Let us introduce you to the Isabella French Bulldog, this is the new shade of lilac also referred to as the “true lilac” or “double lilac”.

Just like with the regular lilac French Bulldog – the color is a combination of blue and chocolate but in this case the chocolate is testable.

We will not get into to many details if you aren’t familiar with coat color genetics, but this is the rarest French Bulldog coat color at this moment.

And even though it’s still not well known in the general French Bulldog community, it’s definitely an extremely unique, beautiful and on top of every French Bulldog breeders wish list.

An Isabella French Bulldog will cost you a pretty penny, anywhere from $15,000-$40,000 if you are buying the dog with breeding rights.

Blue Fawn French Bulldog

Blue fawn French Bulldogs or fawn French Bulldogs with any other color dilution like lilac fawn French Bulldogs, chocolate fawn French Bulldogs, are fawn French Bulldogs with the signs of dilution on their mask, noses, ears and paw pads.

They can be easily distinguished from the regular fawn Frenchie with a black mask due to the lighter eye color and like I previously mentioned the different mask color.

Pricing for Blue fawn French Bulldogs varies from breeder to breeder, but they can cost anywhere from $4,000-$10,000. Lilac fawn Frenchies might go even above that, again depending on your location and the quality of the bloodlines. Read Here to learn more about Blue Fawn French Bulldogs.

Coat Color Combined with Tan Points

Another very beautiful and unique coloration. The price range is wide. You can expect to pay 7000$ for a Black and Tan French Bulldog, to up to 9000-12000$ for a Lilac and Tan or Merle and Tan one.

Merle French Bulldog

What is a Merle French Bulldog?

The Merle French Bulldog has a gene that creates mottled patches of color in a solid or piebald coat, and it can affect skin pigment as well. This pattern is very controversial in the French Bulldog community since it can cause severe health issues, if two merles French bulldogs are bred together.A merle French Bulldog should only be bred to a dog with a solid coat color. The merle gene itself, does not cause any health issues.Merle dogs will usually BUT NOT ALWAYS have bright blue eyes, or odd-looking eyes (heterochromia iridium). Heterochromia Iridium is a difference in coloration of the iris. Merle French Bulldog colors are rare and of course in the higher price range.

One of the currently most popular merle colors is the Blue Merle French Bulldogs?. Blue merle Frenchie has a light gray base with darker gray patches. They also often come with bright blue eyes that stay that way permanently. Keep in mind that this is the only French Bulldog gene that has the ability of creating permanently blue eyes. If you are looking for a blue-eyed French Bulldog whose eyes won’t change as it grows and matures, then a Merle is your only option. above is our Blue merle Pied Frenchie, called Bronson. He is all white with small blue merle patches and gorgeous baby blues. Merle French Bulldogs are definitely not cheap, especially if they are responsibly bred and from excellent bloodlines.Read More on Merle French Bulldogs.

Purchasing a Merle French Bulldog is definitely an investment and it can cost you anywhere between $6,000-$15,000. Coat color, investment from the breeder and genetics all play a huge role in the final price.

Black and Tan French Bulldog

Black and Tan French Bulldog is a solid black Frenchie with tan points. Tan points are markings that usually appear in a shape of “eyebrows”, patches on the sides of the cheeks, paws and occasionally on the tail as well.

Have you ever seen a black and tan French Bulldog in person? Let us know down in the comments.

Blue and Tan French Bulldog

Blue and tan French Bulldog is a blue colored dog with tan points. With tan points – the same rule applies at all times. The dog has the possibility of markings on those specific parts of the body.

BUT tan points can also be hidden and overpowered by other coat colors and patterns, making them invisible. If a blue and tan French bulldog is covered in cream, then it will appear cream on the outside.

The dog is however still a tan pointed dog on DNA and can create tan pointed offsprings or pass down the gene and create a puppy that is a carrier

Lilac and Tan French Bulldog

Lilac and tan French Bulldogs used to be very rare, but started gaining popularity in 2018 and by now, we definitely see more and more lilac and tan French bulldogs exploring the streets, especially here in NYC.

The next extremely rare coat color is the previously mentioned Isabella the “true lilac”, and the Isabella coat color can also be found with a tan pointed combination which is at the moment still really rare. Only a handful live in the USA and are mostly owned by breeders.

By 2023 the French Bulldog community will start becoming more and more familiar with this rare and beautiful color combo – Isabella and tan French Bulldog.

For now let’s give the lilac and tan Frenchie it’s spotlight and recognition.

Merle and Tan French Bulldog

Merle is a pattern not a color, so literally any of the above mentioned French Bulldog colors except for cream and pied can be found with a Merle pattern combination.

Merle tan French bulldogs are adorable and pretty rare, still. We might be expecting some Merle tan French bulldogs early next year so if that is a color of preference don’t hesitate to reach out and be put on the waiting list.

Have you ever seen a blue and tan Merle French Bulldog, lilac and tan Merle French bulldog or Black and Tan Merle French Bulldog like the one pictured below? Let us know in the comments.

Do you own an interesting colored Merle French Bulldog or are curious about your Frenchies coat color? Message us over Instagram and we will help to determined your doggos color combo. Click here to get in touch.

Chocolate & Tan French Bulldog

Chocolate & Tan French Bulldogs are still pretty rare, even though the color has been around for quite a while. And of course, just like any other color, chocolate can also be combined with tan points = Chocolate and Tan French Bulldog.

Pictured above is our chocolate and tan Frenchie cutie, called Indi. She lives in Brooklyn and will be super happy to say Hi to you if you run into her on a walk.