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Quick Glance

  • size-icon.svg
    Size
    Small (under 11kg)
  • exercise-icon.svg
    Exercise
    No daily exercise
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    Training
    Puppy school only
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    Size of home
    Some outdoor space
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    Time at home
    Alone with support
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    Grooming
    Frequent
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    Barking preference
    Low
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    Personality
    Very affectionate
Coton De Tulear

History

Also known as the “Royal Dog of Madagascar,” the Coton de Tulear is a member of the Bichon family that came to the island of Madagascar several hundred years ago. At the time, the Bichon Tenerife — the Coton’s distant ancestor — was particularly popular with the women of Europe’s high society, who would commonly bring their dogs with them on long voyages across the sea. European sailors also kept Bichons aboard their ships to catch rats and other pests. As those ships reached places like South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope and the Indian Ocean, the Bichon Tenerife began to mate with other breeds on the Island of Reunion, located just 500 miles from Madagascar. The resulting breed was the Coton de Reunion, who’s fabled to have finally reached Madagascar’s Tulear port after being beached in a shipwreck. As legend has it, the sturdy dogs survived the wreck and swam ashore, giving rise to the modern-day Coton de Tulear after 400 years of natural selection, and a little selective breeding.


The adventurous Coton De Tulear quickly became a favorite of the Merina, Madagascar’s ruling indigenous tribe. They perceive the breed as a sign of nobility — hence the nickname “Royal Dog of Madagascar.” When French settlers came to the island in the 16th century, they too became enamored with the breed. Within the same decade, the Coton de Tulear was taken to both France and North America. Today, they’re a favourite all around the world.

The Coton de Tulear gets its name from its fluffy, cotton-like coat, and from Madagascar’s seaport city of Tulear (now known as Toliara), where the breed originated. 1.

Appearance

Small, long-haired, companion dog with a white cotton textured coat, with round, dark eyes and a lively, intelligent expression. 2.

Temperament

Bright and sweet-natured. Of a happy temperament, stable, very sociable with humans and with other dogs; it adapts perfectly to all ways of life. The temperament of the Coton de Tuléar is one of the main characteristics of the breed. 2.

The Coton is a playful, charming, affectionate, intelligent breed. Although generally quiet, it can become very vocal - grunting, barking, and making other noises when having fun. Cotons are known to have a habit of jumping up and walking on their hind legs to please people. Most Cotons love meeting new people and are very curious in new situations. 3.

Cotons are easy to train as they are very eager to please. Cotons love to swim, run, and play. They adapt well to any kind of living environment. A common trait of the Coton de Tulear behaviour is to come alive in the evening.3.

Coton fanciers describe them as 'witty' companions 'at times boisterous but never demanding' and 'naturally clownish and lighthearted,' who possess a 'remarkably gentle, sympathetic awareness.'

Petsmont

Health

The Coton is in general a healthy breed. However, there are still some health issues as there are in all breeds. The most serious issues are heart problems, liver shunts, back (disc) problems, and eye problems. Luckily, these are still relatively uncommon in the breed. 3.

The average life span of a Coton de Tulear is 14 to 19 years. 4.

Suitability

Coton de Tulears do form strong bonds with their owners and love spending time with them, and they can easily get anxious if they’re separated. They’re playful dogs who aren’t afraid to get silly for some praise and attention. They get along with anyone and everyone, whether it’s strangers, kids, or other pets like dogs and cats. 1.

Cotons are generally quiet dogs that usually only bark when something startles them. They’re a highly intelligent breed that’s easily trainable and they have loads of entertaining quirks that are sure to make you fall in love with them. 1.

The Coton has a coat that requires brushing and combing almost daily and bathing about once per week to maintain its beauty. Cotons love swimming; owners who have pools are recommended to let their Cotons play in the pool with supervision. Like poodles, they do not "shed", meaning they don't drop hair on furniture, carpeting, etc. They do lose hair; the texture of their coat causes the shed hair to be trapped in the coat. If not brushed and combed daily, the fur of this breed will mat up quickly and may require shaving. Cotons need a walk every day for exercise, but will appreciate a play session as often as possible, and have the endurance to go on a long hike. Cotons love to play with other dogs and they are great with kids. 3.

The Coton is a fairly active dog who requires a moderate amount of exercise. Daily walks with his human at a slow speed will keep him in good weight and condition. Chasing a tennis ball around his backyard can keep his mind active as well as his body. A bored and unhappy Coton can become destructive. He does best when provided with enough exercise, lots of attention from his owner, and plenty of interesting toys to keep him occupied. 5.

Sizes

Height at withers

Males: 26-28 cm

Females: 23-25 cm

Weight

Males: From 4 kg to a maximum of 6 kg.

Females : From 3.5 kg to a maximum of 5 kg. 1.

In Conclusion

Now you know a little about the Coton De Tulear and have decided this is the dog for you, or you would like more information, please make contact with the breed club or your State controlling body for purebred dogs. They will be able to give you information about available puppies and also suggest dog shows where you can see the breed and speak to breeders. In this way you will gain a better perspective of the Coton De Tulear and its needs and whether this breed would suit your lifestyle.

References:

  1. Betterpet.com

  2. DogsAustralia.org.au

  3. Wikipedia.org

  4. "About the Coton". USACTC, Inc

  5. American Kennel Club

 

Official breed standard as recognized by Dogs NSW (Last Updated: 09 Dec 2015)

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Breed Standard - Coton De Tulear

A breed standard is the guideline which describes the ideal characteristics, temperament, and appearance of a breed and ensures that the breed is fit for function with soundness essential. Breeders and judges should at all times be mindful of features which could be detrimental in any way to the health, welfare or soundness of this breed.

General Appearance

Small, long-haired, companion dog with a white cotton textured coat, with round, dark eyes and a lively, intelligent expression.IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:· The height at the withers in relationship to the length of the body is 2 to 3.· The length of the head in relationship to that of the body is 2 to 5.· The length of the skull in relationship to that of the muzzle is 9 to 5.

Temperament

Of a happy temperament, stable, very sociable with humans and with other dogs; it adapts perfectly to all ways of life. The temperament of the Coton de Tuléar is one of the main characteristics of the breed.

Physical Standards

Head and Skull Short, seen from above triangular.CRANIAL REGION:Skull: Seen from the front slightly rounded; rather wide in relation to its length. Superciliary arches only slightly developed. Slight frontal groove. Occipital protuberance and crest only slightly accentuated. Well developed zygomatic arches.Stop: Slight.FACIAL REGION:Nose: In the extension of the nasal bridge; black; brown is tolerated; nostrils wide open.Muzzle: Straight.Lips: Fine, tight, of the same colour as the nose.Cheeks: Lean.
Eyes Rather rounded, dark, lively, wide apart; the rims of the eyelids are well pigmented with black or brown according to the colour of the nose.
Ears Pendulous, triangular, high set on the skull, fine at the tips; carried close to the cheeks, reaching the corners of the lips. Covered with white hairs or with some traces of light grey (mixture of white and black hairs giving a light grey appearance) or red-roan (mixture of white and fawn hairs giving a red-roan appearance - lemon).
Mouth Jaws/Teeth: Teeth well aligned. Scissor bite, pincer bite or inverted bite without losing contact. The absence of the PM1 is not penalised; the M3s are not taken into consideration.
Neck Well muscled, slightly arched. Neck well set into shoulders. Proportion of neck to body = 1/5. Clean neck with no dewlap.
Forequarters General appearance: The frontlegs are upright.Shoulder and upper arm: Oblique shoulder, muscled. Scapulohumeral angle about 120°. The length of the upper arm corresponds approximatively to that of the shoulder blade.Lower arm: Lower arms vertical and parallel, well muscled, with good bone. The length of the lower arm correspondsapproximatively to that of the upper arm.Carpus (Pastern joint): A continuation of the line of the lower arm.Metacarpals (Pastern): Strong, seen in profile sloping very slightly.
Body Topline very slightly convex. Dog longer than high.Withers: Only slightly pronounced.Back and loin: Strong back, topline very slightly arched. Loin well muscled.Croup: Oblique, short and muscled.Chest: Well developed, well let down to elbow level, long. Ribs well sprung.Belly: Tucked up but not excessively.
Hindquarters General appearance: The hindlegs are upright. Though dewclaws are not sought after, their presence is not penalised.Upper thigh: Strongly muscled; coxo-femoral angle about 80°.Lower thigh: Oblique, forming with the femur an angle of about 120°.Hock joint: Dry, well defined, angle of the hock about 160°.Metatarsals (Rear pasterns): Vertical.
Feet Forefeet: Small, round, toes tight, arched; pads pigmented.Hind feet: Similar to forefeet.
Tail Low set, in the axis of the spinal column.· At rest : carried below the hock, the tip being raised.· On the move : Carried « gaily » curved over the back, with the point towards the nape, the withers, the back or the loin. In dogs with abundant coat, the tip may rest on the dorsal-lumbar region.
Gait/Movement Free and flowing, without covering a lot of ground; topline retained on the move. No sign of uneven movement.
Coat Skin: Fine, stretched tight over all the body; although of pink colour, it can be pigmented.Hair: This is one of the main characteristics of the breed from which its very name derives. Very soft and supple, with the texture of cotton, never hard or rough, the coat is dense, profuse and can be very slightly wavy.
Colour Ground colour : White. A few slight shadings of light grey colour (mixture of white and black hairs) or of red-roan (mixture of white and fawn hairs), are permitted on the ears. On the other parts of the body, such shadings can be tolerated, if they do not alter the general appearance of white coat. They are however not sought after.
Size Height at withers:Males : 26-28 cm, tolerance of 2 cm above and 1 cm below.Females : 23-25 cm, tolerance of 2 cm above and 1 cm below.Weight:Males : From 4 kg to a maximum of 6 kg.Females : From 3,5 kg to a maximum of 5 kg.

Faults

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.SERIOUS FAULTS :· Skull : Flat or too domed, narrow.· Muzzle : Disproportion between skull and muzzle.· Eyes : Light, too almond shaped; entropion, ectropion, prominent eyes.· Ears : Too short, with insufficient length of hair; ears folding backwards (rose ear).· Neck : Too short, too stuffy in shoulder, too slender.· Topline : Too arched, sway backed.· Croup : Horizontal, narrow.· Shoulder : Straight.· Limbs : Turned inwards or outwards; out at elbows; hocks wide set or too close; straight angulations.· Hair : Too short, too wavy, curly.· Pigmentation : Partially lacking or too light pigmentation of eyelids or lips; discoloured nose, with unpigmented areas.DISQUALIFYING FAULTS :· Aggresive or overly shy.· Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.General type:· Lack of type (insufficient breed characteristics which means that the animal on the whole does not sufficiently resemble other examples of the breed).· Size and weight outside the requirements and tolerance of the standard.Particular points:· Foreface : Bridge of nose convex.· Eyes : Bulging, with signs of dwarfism; too light; wall eyes.· Ears : Pricked or semi-pricked.· Tail : Not reaching to hock; high set, completely curled (forming a tight ring); carried flat on the back or against the thighs; carried candle like; tailless.· Hair : Atypical, rightly curled, woolly, silky.· Colour : Heavily marked; any marking of a definite black.· Pigmentation : Total lack of pigment on eyerims, nose or lips.Anomalies:· Overshot or undershot mouth with lack of contact between the incisors; vertical gaping of the incisors.· Absence of teeth other than the PM1 or the M3s.· Aggressive or extremely shy specimen.

· Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.· Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

History

Introduced to France long before its official recognition in 1970, this newcomer from Madagascar quickly acquired a prominent position amongst the companion dogs of this country; today it is widespread all over the world.

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