Sable[]
A sable standard poodle
Sable exists in all poodles, big and small. It is often confused with brindle, and vice versa.[1]Sable poodles, and sable dogs in general, have black tips on their fur, though blue is also seen. This is how they are different from brindle as the color is not just the tips. Sables also fade the black on their body and are sometimes left with the black tips only on their ears. [2] The AKC disapproves of this color because it is not standard/recognized.
Brindle[]
A parti brindle standard poodle.
As with sable, brindle exists in poodles, it is confused with sable, and the AKC disapproves of the color because it is not standard. Brindle poodles appear to be tiger striped, unless they are what is called a reverse brindle, then they look like a black dog with light stripes when really they are a light dog with black stripes.[1]
Parti[]
Ben of Moondance Standard Poodles, a parti standard poodle.
Parti poodles are poodles who have the piebald (MITF) gene. It is not standard and therefore the AKC disapproves of it. Both parents must carry the piebald gene to produce a piebald puppy because solid color is dominant over the piebald gene.
Phantom[]
Phantom miniature poodles.
Phantom is basically a poodle with tan points, though they are not always tan, tan points range from a deep rich red to an almost white point.[3] Others just call it a black and tan pattern.[2]According to one source, genetically phantom poodles are agouti (but a kind of agouti that allows red pigment to become dominant over the agouti), black and tan, and have the extension gene (MC1R) that allows either eumelanin or phaeomelanin to be produced. The formula is ky/ky (agouti alleles that express phaeomelanin) + E (eumelanin or phaeomelanin can be produced in hair) or EM (melanistic mask) + at/at (black-and-tan or brown-and-tan).[2]