The History of the Coton De Tulear Dog Breed

The Coton de Tulear is rare, pure breed that originated on the island of Madagascar off the coast of Africa. The Bichon Tenerife and the Maltese arrived at the island of Madagascar with French colonists in the 15th and 16th centuries.

In this famous coastal port of Tulear, Madagascar the ruling Merina tribe, took control of the beautiful playful dog. This tribe forbade ownership of all but those of nobility. It is believed that a cross breeding with the indigenous Morondavea Hunting Dog resulted as the forerunner of the present Coton de Tulear. The Coton is known in many history books as the Royal Dog of Madagascar.

In as recent as 1967 the first Cotons were imported into France, Germany and other European countries, a handful of them made it to the United States in the late 1970's. The Coton has taken a direction in the United States compared to all other countries. Some Coton de Tulear in North America, have coats of solid black, brown as well long legs [ standing as tall as a Labrador] have been added to the blood lines.  The only way this can occur is crosing the Coton de Tulear with another breed.  So you must be very careful when selecting a puppy.  Make sure that the parents of the puppy show where the ancestry came from Europe or Madagascar.  Otherwise your guess would be as good a mine.

As I mentioned on our home page, I did two years of reserach on the Coton de Tulear, not only talking and communicating with breeders here in the United States and other countires, but historical research.  The history of the breed is limited -- but then if you have the opportunity to speak with people that have been to Madagascar and seen the Coton de Tulear in their natural habitat that really makes a huge difference.  By nothing short of luck I contacted a breeder that was from Europe and as a small girl she and her family visited Madagascar in the 1950's.  She had fallen in love with the breed and decided that when she grew up she would own a Coton de Tulear no matter what it would take to make it happen.  At the age of 21 she went to Madagascar and selected a male and female Coton and that was the beginning of her life -- devoted to the breed.  She has since retired from breeding and showing her Cotons.  Now she lives in the country side of France with six Coton de Tulears.
 
The breed is "rare" subsequently there are very few blood lines [ lines that are not related], so this limits the breeding stock for many breeders, especially those that prefer to mate related Cotons instead of importing different blood lines. 

This practice is the cause for many dog breeds in the United States to be over whelmed with health issues, such as heart defects, deafness, vision problems, organ failures at a young age -- the list goes on.  Health should always be a breeders number one concern, otherwise they only produce unhealthy puppies and never think about the life of their puppies and the life style they will endure.

Our four Coton de Tulears we imported and they are strictly of the European blood lines and confirmation. Only one registration remains in Europe and countries other than North America and that is the FCI. 

The Coton is exceptionally outgoing, has a playful temperament which suits well in any family or life style, as well they blend with other animals without any difficulties. Happy with children, the Coton de Tulear makes a perfect companion dog and shows great loyalty to his/her owner, though they can be reserved with some strangers due to their owner loyalty. This is not in any way to be compared to a lack of socialization.

Cotons are very intelligent. On occasion I have walked through the house with a terry cloth robe and a towel around my head and our Cotons will bark at me..........as they know immediately that something is different. Once I speak to them all is well. This breed is alert and have a constant sense of what is going on around them, but they are not hyper in their behavior.

Today due to the excellent and diligent care and extreme love of the breed by Europeans, the Coton de Tulear are very healthy, long lived [ up to 20 years ] and free of genetic defects. The statistics of genetic defects is 1-5% compared to their cousins the Havanese and Maltese which is 38-51%.

The Coton is known around the world as the "anti stress companion".

But there is one problem to having a Coton de Tulear, " it is difficult to have just one".

The Cotons do enjoy exercise, but it is not required to keep them healthy. The breed is sturdy, and they do enjoy hiking, and walking at the side of their master on horse back. As well they are capable of quite impressive feats of stamina and agility but they will also adapt to a mostly indoor life.

Their coat has the feeling of soft cotton, not silky.

Puppies are born all white with maybe a touch of crème on their ears or a tri color. Also a section of their coat along the spine can carry the tri color. This tri color fades with the age of the puppy, dissipate almost totally by the age of one year.

The Coton has hair instead of fur, no dander and non shedding, as well their coat is hypoallergenic. On occasion you may find a few dust bunnies under furniture but never will their coat cover your furniture or clothing.

Cotons stand no more than 12 inches tall at the shoulder, weigh no more than 15 pounds, possessing dark intriguing eyes, black pigment around the eyes and lips, a medium length muzzle with a beautiful black nose. On occasions in the winter months the pigment on the nose may turn a very dark brown, but as soon as summer and the sun arrive the pigment gets an intense black. Much of this is due to the breed coming from a desert island, some times the cold temps allow the pigment to lighten.

The most outstanding characteristic of the Coton de Tulear is their behavior. The Coton is a companion dog, bred for the pure delight of its intelligent, loving attention to their human family. They like to snuggle and rest close by like a small elegant fluffy blanket. They are calm, love to walk on their hind legs and entertain.

                          Call us today at  937.248.5811     cotons@centurylink.net