Cotonnerie - Info on the breed

Origins of the breed
Behavior and Temperament
Characteristics of the breed
Standard of FCI

The Coton de Tuléar was originally from the Island of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean, and for a long time was strictly reserved for this country's Royal family. Then, it was slowly introduced to America and Europe, the Coton de Tuléar is gaining more and more popularity from dog enthusiasts. It possesses a wonderful character and is absolutely magnificent with its soft luxurious white coat.

It was in the XVI century that the Coton first saw the light of day. A legend says that little dogs where brought by sailors who left them on the Island. These dogs soon mixed with the native dogs. Because of the love between these different types of dogs it gave way to an all new characteristic breed with a cotonny coat and a lively intelligence: the Coton de Tuléar. Very rapidly it was used as a hunting dog then later became a shepherd dog and further on it was adopted as a companion.

This breed was recognized by the Fédération Cynologique International in 1970 and was soon exported to Europe and the United States. In 1989 the first specimen of this breed was introduced to Canada; today, a lot more cotons are found in Canada

Being very devoted and affectionate, the Coton loves among all things his master and his home. Even if it is an apartment dog, it will adore the open air. Running short distances, walking few kilometers and swimming do not scare him, on the contrary it thrives on this.

It is lively, very lively. It was classified by our French friends as a first class anti-depression dog. From his savage (wild) ancestors, it has inherited an assurance and an independence seldom seen in small dogs. Emanating from this ball of fur is a straggering authority that obliges inescapably its master to forget his concerns. This dog is in a perpetual good mood, coton is a happy lad that delights by adding animation in the house: it steals a slipper, hides a sock, attacks a leaf or does a dance for a bone given as a reward.....

Attention to the tender hearts!!!! They know exactly what they want and will make every effort to get it. They have become masters of charm, you will have a lot of problems resisting them. In your home it will rapidly become the center of attention and everybody's pet.

The Coton is an excellent watch dog. He is curious, vigilant and always on guard. Nothing can get away from him. He know very well how to communicate it to his master. On the other hand he is not a barker: he loves to express himself but doesn't ever bark without a reason.

These are all good reasons that the Coton is a pure pleasure for the family adopting it and to whom he will generate all of his good spirits.

They are so funny, that I surprise myself watching them play and laugh at their silliness. They are such little sunshines in my life.

This marvelous companion is not very tall standing on his paws. The modest size (on the average 28 cm for the male and 25 cm for the female). and its light weight (3.5 to 6 kg) make this dog an ideal companion. When you look at its head, you'll see a ball of fur with a very black muzzle at its center. If you push your observation even more, you will discover very expressive black eyes hidden under this abundant fur. Its general aspect is original. Its spine is slightly convexed and its body ends by a tail well curled over the back that beats joyfully for all and for nothing. Coton has thus one particularly mischievous air.....especially when it looks at you with its pink tongue hanging out.

Its fur is luxuriant and soft as cotton. Its coat is fine and of a good length. This loving dog is habitually all white with atches of champagne colour on its ears. On the other hand, Coton puppies are not born necessarily all white. It can present patches of champagne color, chestnut and going to full black. These patches will disappear as it grows. The enthusiast should'nt forget however before he or she melts at the sight of this breed, that the long and luxurious coat is the main characteristic of this breed. Therefore the amount of care that needs to be given to the coat will be a major consideration as the puppy grows as it will require daily brushing until its adult age. Then it will only need a weekly brushing.

Coton does not lose its fur, it is therefore the ideal choice for people with allergies It has also an exceptional longevity (between 15 and 20 years) and is a very healthy dog.

Official FCI Coton de Tulear Breed Standard
Federation Cynologique International
Standard of the Coton de Tulear
FCI-Standard N° 283 / 04.02.2000 / GB

COTON DE TULÉAR

TRANSLATION : Pamela Jeans-Brown, Renée Sporre-Willes, Raymond Triquet.

ORIGIN : Madagascar.

PATRONAGE : France.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 25.11.1999

UTILIZATION : Companion dog.

CLASSIFICATION FCI : Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs.

Section 1.2. Coton de Tuléar.

Without working trial.

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY : 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.

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.

BEHAVIOUR / 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.

HEAD : 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.
Jaws/Teeth : Teeth well aligned. Scissor bite, pincer bite or inverted bite without losing contact. The absence of PM1s is not penalised ; the M3s are not taken into consideration.
Cheeks : Lean.
Eyes : Rather rounded, dark, lively, wide apart ; the rims of the eyelids are well pigmented with black or brown according to the color 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).

NECK : Well muscled, slightly arched. Neck well set into shoulders. Proportion of neck to body = 1/5. Clean neck with no dewlap.

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.

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.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : The frontlegs are upright.

Shoulder and upper arm : Oblique shoulder, muscled. Scapulo-humeral angle about 120°. The length of the upper arm corresponds approximatively to that of the shoulder blade.
Lower arm : Humero-radial angle : about 120°. Lower arms vertical and parallel, well muscled, with good bone. The length of the lower arm corresponds approximatively 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.
Forefeet : Small, round, toes tight, arched ; pads pigmented.

HINDQUARTERS : The hindlegs are upright. Though dewclaws are not sought,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.
Hind feet : Similar to forefeet.

GAIT / MOVEMENT : Free and flowing, without covering a lot of ground ; topline retained on the move. No sign of uneven movement.

SKIN : Fine, stretched tight over all the body ; although of pink color, it can be pigmented.

COAT

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 af white and black hairs) or of red-roan (mixture of white and fawn hairs) are permitted on the ears. On 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 AND WEIGHT :

Height at withers :

Males : 26-28 cm, tolerance of 2 cm above and 1 cm below.
Bitches : 23-25 cm, tolerance of 2 cm above and 1 cm below.

Weight

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

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 shoulders, 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.
Coat : Too short, too wavy, curly.
Pigmentation : Partially lacking or too light pigmentation of eyelids or lips ; discoulored nose, with unpigmented areas.

ELIMINATING FAULTS :

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, tightly curled, woolly, silky.
Colour : Heavily marked ; any marking of a definite black.
Pigmentation : Total lack of pigment on eyerimes, 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 PM1s or the M3s.

Aggressive or extremely shy specimen.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum

Sara France Saint-Pierre
Québec, Canada, J0W 1R0
Tél.: (819) 278-3952
Email: sarafrance@cotonnerie.com