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Coton de Tulear
The Coton de Tulear, originates from Madagascar. Cotons are a small white dog with fluffy cotton hair. The coton sheds very little if at all and has no doggy odours, they are allergy friendly dogs but they do need grooming every day for 15 minutes to prevent any cotters or knots forming. They are called the anti stress dog. The coton has an incredibly sweet nature and thrives on human contact. They are hearty dogs that like the heat in summer, but also enjoy a frolic in the snow. The coton is strictly an indoor dog.
The breed is extremely healthy, long lived about 16 years and up to now free from genetic defects. Probably the most outstanding characteristic of the coton is its behaviour. It is intelligent and very loving and loyal to its human family. The coton is alert, agile very quick & lively companion, it also loves its food. It is very slow to anger. Most cotons seldom bark, although they will alert you if there is someone at the door. A coton usually snuggles on your lap or rests close by you. Cotons are calm, sturdy dogs most of whom enjoy the well-intentioned rough-housing of children and other house hold pets (other cats & dogs). Cotons do smile, they walk on their hind legs and are easily trained, it retains a puppy-like joy through out its life. When they arn't getting attention they just go to sleep.
The coton is an extremely rare, ancient, purebred. They look like a minature Old English Sheepdog with hair covering their eyes, they weigh 5-7kgs & are 10-12ins tall. The cotons are a bundle of joy, which brings smiles laughter & complete devotion to its owners. The coton is a companion dog and will suit people of any age.
The Coton de Tulear originates from Madagascar, they are a small white companion dog with fluffy cotton hair, hence the name Coton and the word Tulear is a port city on the southwestern coast of Madagascar. The Coton is a toy breed of dog.
The history of the Coton de Tulear started in the 15th century. Ships were being sailed from France to the West Indies. ladies on board the ships often sailed with little white spirited dogs thought to be the ancestors of the Bichon Frise. It is alleged that during a violent storm, one of these ships sank in the proximity of Madagascar, the ship has never been named and all people aboard the ship were thought to have perished. The little white dogs from the ship managed to swim to the southwestern coast of the island, the port of Tulear.The Coton de Tulear gets its name from its white coat which feels like cotton and the word Tulear is where the Cotons were found.
These dogs survived and began mating with the local terriers, the result of this relationship is the Coton de Tulear. The Cotons foraged for food. They hunted wild boar in packs, and also crossed rivers using their intelligence. The rivers in Madagascar were infested with crocodiles, these reptiles patiently waited for the Cotons to attempt to cross the river and then attempted to eat them. For the Coton to swim accross the river would be sheer suicide, so the Cotons used a diversion to reach the opposite side of the river bank. The Cotons looked for the narrowest part of the river then two Cotons would run back to the widest part and begin to bark and make as much noise as possible to attract the crocodiles attention. This enabled the rest of the Coton pack to cross the river at the narrowest part in safety. The other two Cotons would cross when it was safe again. Later the natives began to notice the intelligence of the Cotons and fell in love with their characters so they domesticated and trained them. As there were no bridges in Madagascar they trained the dogs so that they could cross the river also.
After a few hundred years the King and the Malagasy nobles began taking an interest in the Cotons, they loved the dogs ellegance, beauty and character. In fact the king of Madagascar made it law that only people of "royal blood" could own and raise them. If a peasant was caught owning a Coton he could be sentence to death. This law is what prompted the Coton de Tulear to become the royal dog of Madagascar, and has also been honoured on a Magagascar postage stamp. The first Cotons known to be taken off the island were thought to be taken to France before the second world war. A french man allegedly helped the royalty of Madagascar and was paid Cotons, Then later the french colonists also became owners of Cotons and payed a great deal of money to buy and take this very rare breed to Europe in the 1970's for breeding. The coton was recognised by the French Kennel Club (FCI) as a rare and pure breed in the 1970's. To this day the Coton is still a rare and desireable breed and still cost a great deal of money. The Coton de Tulears are defect free with no known medical or hereditary health problems. The Coton de Tulear is now solely used as a companion dog. These ellegant small white dogs have the most endearing personality and are unique from any other breed.
Cotons look alittle like stuffed cuddly toys and have even been discribed as a miniture Old English Sheepdog. Don't be fooled by the Cotons looks, these small dogs are determined, untiring, and very willing to please. The Coton is devoted to its owner, and he will love you and your family even more than you love him. Cotons are calm sturdy dogs that enjoy the rough housing of children and other household pets. They are very slow to anger and make excellent companions for children and are always ready to play lots of games. Infact Cotons will eaagerley follow your children on many adventures. They love all weather and enjoy playing in the snow, having a dip in the paddling pool and will follow children through muddy puddles. Coton de Tulears are willing to do just anything to please you all he asks in return is lots of love and cuddles.
Cotons love to be with their owners at all times, they do not expect your attention constantly and are happy to sleep if you are busy just as long as they are near you. Within its family the Coton is a beautiful and spirited little dog. The Coton is extremely intelligent, alert, openly affectionate, cuddly,sensetive,and very easy to train. Cotons make excellent obedience dogs and require very little in the way of discipline, the worst punishment that you can do to a Coton is to ignore them as they thrive on human contact. Cotons keep a puppy-like joy through out their life. At home they are very playful and even clownish doing many party tricks, walking on their hind legs, rolling over and even jumping onto a sofa landing in a sleeping position. They love to chase one another and grunt when they get excited. Cotons can run very fast, jump very high but are not overly active. Cotons make an excellent choice of pet if you live in a small house, they are content to spend most of the day lounging around occasionally having a playful spell.
The Coton can definately fit into nearly everyones life style either living in town or country. Cotons are a bundle of joy and always brings lots of smiles and laughter to their families lives. No wonder they have earned the name the anti-stress dog. One of the greatest pleasures about owning a Coton is when you come home they are always pleased to see you, it doesn't matter if you have been away for 10 minutes or even 3 hours they greet you with chortles, smiles and dancing around, this is all because they adore and love you so much. Most Cotons are usually very quiet dogs whom seldom bark, although they will alert you if there is someone at the door. All Cotons are very cautious with strangers and it takes time to win their confidence.
The Coton de Tulear is a relatively easy breed to groom to keep its cotton like coat looking beautiful. The Coton sheds little of its hair and has no doggy dander or odour so this makes the breed a perfect choice for people with allergies. The Cotons hair is soft and should look wind blown and natural in appearance. The adult Cotons hairs do not fall out all over your home, they stay in the coat waiting for you to groom the coat to remove them. It is important that you groom your Coton every day for at least 15 minutes,to prevent cotters. Grooming is an excellent way to bond with your Coton. Cotons destined for the show ring are not permitted to get their coat cut in any fashion, infact the only part of the Coton allowed to be trimmed are their feet and pads. The colour is also very important when showing a Coton. Only Cotons who are born white with champagne ears all white, or cream/champagne can be shown.
Many Cotons who have champagne colour in their coats have been known to look nearly pure white as the champagne fades when your Coton matures. At the moment the Coton de Tulear is only able to show in the import register classes at any dog shows.
Written by Jo-Anne Hitchen. 01287 678310
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