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Coton de Tulear

History

The Coton de Tulear (pronounced cu-toe de too-lay-are) is a rare ancient purebred that originated on the island of Madagascar more than three centuries ago. This large island is located near the bottom of Africa. The Coton was a favorite of the Malagasy Kings and noblemen and for many years only royality could own them. Romantic and fabulous, alot of tales abound about the Coton and alligators, about them tricking them to climb onto the banks of the river at a wide point and the cotons sprinting to a narrow part to cross the river, neverless Mr. Petit, former President of the "Societe Canine du Madagascar" offers a more plausible account. The first European merchants holding commercial and trading posts in Madagascar would have introduced various Bichon type dogs destined for companionship who in turn procreated with our four legged friends of the island.
In 1653, Etienne de Flacourt, geographer and governor of Fort Dauphin, Madagascar recorded the following in literature: "There are quantities of dogs that are small, have long muzzles and short legs similar to foxes. A few of them are white. They have been engendered by dogs originating from France and have remained. They have short ears." Lovely puppies resulted from the semi-white fluffs, half European, half Malagasy who quickly became distinguished by their cottony coat, from which the Coton earned the first part of it's name. As for the second part, he owes it all to "Tulear" better known today as "Toliara", being the costal city where the breed was believed to be developed. Today the Coton is known as the "Royal dog of Madagascar" and has been honored on postage stampsLegend has it that the Coton's arrival in Madagascar coincides with a ship wreck in the proximidity of Madagascar. No one knows the name of the ship nor the flag which it flew under, but it is assumed that the ancestors of the Coton were aboard this ship. These dogs are also the ancestors of the Maltese, Bichon Frise, and Havanese. The standard of the Coton de Tulear was established in 1969 and submitted to the "Federation Cynologique Internationale" (FCI) in 1970 and it has been since February 1971 that the breed has been recognized by the FCI.. Cotons arrived here in North America in 1974, and since the early 1990's have had a surge in popularity in the USA and more recently here in Canada. Cotons have a good life span, living for about 16 years, the oldest survived for almost 19 years. Probably the most outstanding characteristic of the Coton is the role of a companion. Bred to do your bidding, cotons are alert, lively companions and slow to anger. Most cotons seldom bark although some will act as a guard dog alerting you to someone at your door, or coming into the house. Cotons like to snuggle in your lap or rest close by your feet in the evening after a good play and romp in the yard or the house, entertaining everyone with their comical antics. They enjoy the companionship of other pets including cats, and may cock their head attentively when spoken to, or smile and stand or walk on their hind legs to please it's human family. Cotons are easily trained in obedience and agility. A Coton quickly becomes a family member and almost always retains a puppy like quality throughout their life.

CLASSIFICATION F Group 9 Companion and Toy Dogs. Section 1.2. Coton de Tuléar. Without working trial.
BREF 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.
Cheaks ** 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).
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.
At rest ** carried below the hock, the tip being raised.
On the move ** carried Ť gaily ť 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.

FOREQUARTERS The frontlegs are upright.
Shouldr 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.
Métacarpals (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.
Color ** 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.
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.

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.

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.

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.

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