COTON DE TULEAR | COTON DE TULEAR FOR SALE | COTON DE TULEAR PUPPIES | COTON DE TULEAR KENNELS | COTON DE TULEAR PUPPY FOR SALE WITH 111 COTON DE TULEAR STUD SERVICE*** | COTON DE TULEAR BREEDER | COTON DE TULEAR KENNEL | COTON DE TULEAR PUPPIES FOR SALE | COTON DE TULEAR | COTON DE TULEAR BREEDER IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA, AL, ALASKA, AK, SAMOA, AS, ARIZONA, AZ, ARKANSAS, AR, CALIFORNIA, CA, COLORADO, CO, CONNECTICUT, CT, DELAWARE, DE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, DC, FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA, FM, FLORIDA, FL, GEORGIA, GA, GUAM, GU, HAWAII, HI, IDAHO, ID, ILLINOIS, IL, INDIANA, IN, IOWA, IA, KANSAS, KS, KENTUCKY, KY, LOUISIANA, LA, MAINE, ME, MARSHALL ISLANDS, MH, MARYLAND, MD, MASSACHUSETTS, MA, MICHIGAN, MI, MINNESOTA, MN, MISSISSIPPI, MS, MISSOURI, MO, MONTANA, MT, NEBRASKA ,NE, NEVADA, NV, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NH, NEW JERSEY, NJ, NEW MEXICO, NM, NEW YORK, NY, NORTH CAROLIN,A NC, NORTH DAKOTA, ND, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS, MP, OHIO, OH, OKLAHOMA, OK, OREGON, OR, PALAU, PW, PENNSYLVANIA, PA, PUERTO RICO, PR, RHODE ISLAND, RI, SOUTH CAROLINA, SC, SOUTH DAKOTA, SD, TENNESSEE, TN, TEXAS, TX, UTAH, UT, VERMONT, VT, VIRGIN ISLANDS, VI, VIRGINIA, VA, WASHINGTON, WA, WEST VIRGINIA, WV, WISCONSIN, WI, WYOMING, WY

The Coton de Tulear is a "rare breed" not a mixed breed. Cotons are a breed standing alone and is accepted by the FCI, UKC, ARBA, CKC and other registries for rare breeds in the United States --- but not accepted by the AKC. Don't be mislead by a breeder telling you they have AKC registered Coton de Tulears as the breed is not accepted by the AKC see the official site of the AKC at this link : www.akc.org/breeds/fss_breeds.cfm   You will not see a Coton in the AKC show ring. Projected time frame for the AKC to accept the Coton de Tulear still remains vague, simply due to the fact the breed remains rare and there are very limited blood lines.

The FCI is an international kennel club that is accepted by many countires in the world, but not the United States. Any Coton de Tulear coming into the United States must be FCI registered or they can not be accepted by the rare breed clubs that offer show ring, agility and other services to this wonderful breed.

The last Coton de Tulear imported into the United States legally was in 1992. The government in Madagascar stopped exporting because they feared extinction.

History is limited when it pertains to this wonderful breed, stories of Cotons reaching the island of Madagascar and arriving on the shores from ship wrecks, then there are notes in history where the breed developed on the island of Madagascar mating with Bichon Frise and Maltese over the period of many years. One thing is true the breed is different in their coat texture which can not be compared to any other breed, even their cousins. The hair is soft like cotton and possesses a feeling totally owned by the Coton de Tulear. The hair does not need to be cut monthly like the Bichon and Maltese, the hair stops growing when the Coton reaches maturity at about 18 months of age. Our adult Cotons have not had a hair cut and their hair never drags the ground/floor.

The Coton is very loving, alert, gentle and they love people, life and every thing around them. As well they are intelligent and do not possess any terrier or spaniel behaviors. When a Coton walks into a room, they are the center of attention without even trying. They have such a graceful walk and prance --- what you see is what you get with a Coton, they are as beautiful inside as they are beautiful to the eye.

The Europeans have been involved with the Coton de Tulear since the 1950's, the Coton is known as the "anti-stress dog" in Europe. There is limited history that Americans discovered the Coton in Madagascar in the late 1970's, but the Europeans make claim to finding and importing the Coton many years earlier.

During the 1960's the Societe Canine de Madagascar sought breed recognition of the Coton de Tulear from the FCI. The FCI is a kennel club accepted around the world by all countries. In 1970 the breed was accepted as a distinct breed n the island of Madagascar with the distinction of the first original breed standard. The name of the club was Malagasy Kennel Club of the island of Madagascar.

Cotons touched the lives of Europeans and importing was a huge undertaking in the 1960's through the 1970's and very limited. The Madagascar government stopped the exporting of the breed in 1992 to Europe or America because of the limited population of Cotons in Madagascar. There are limited blood lines. So it is important when dealing with a breeder to make sure they are not mating and creating puppies from relatives, this type of breeding only opens the door for health issues at birth or in the young lives of puppies.

The Coton de Tulear is not a petite breed, they are sturdy, loving to run, follow their master on long hikes. They even love a true game of retreiving.

Our dear friend/veterinarian has a cattle ranch and adopted two of our Cotons several years ago. The Cotons have been known to help her cattle dogs round up cattle in the evening hours on her ranch in Nevada. As well she takes her Cotons with her when she go on trail rides and the Cotons keep up with her on horse back, never missing a step, the true Coton de Tulear is not wimppy, hyper or noise makers --- they are a special breed in a class of their own.

We were very lucky to meet an elderly lady in the Las Vegas airport back in 1999. Mrs. Jacques was born and raise in Paris. She told us that when she was a child she visited the island of Madagascar with her parents and she fell in love with the local dog that was at that time only allowed to be owned by nobility. Her father was in Madagscar on a business trip for several weeks. She vowed to return some day and take home with her one of the friendly white and black dogs that took her heart.   This occured in the early 1950's, today Mrs. Jacques lives in a small town in Nevada, near Las Vegas and has four beautiful Cotons that are her life and her daily companions.

Cotons also make excellent therapy dogs and always have a crowd gather around them to learn about the breed, they are a show stopper -- to say the least.

The FCI guidelines/confirmation for show and breeding Coton de Tulears can be found on the official web site of the FCI at www.fci.be   The Coton de Tulear is listed under the "companion" dog division, from that location you can click the button for "EN" and that will take you to a file written in English.

Male Coton de Tulears for show and breeding should be no more than 13.2 pounds. Females are allowed to be up to 11 pounds. The confirmation claims the following:
    Females 3.5 kg to 5 kg
    Males 4 kg to 6 kg

Height to confirmation for show and breeding is:
    Females to the withers 23-25 cm   9.1 inches at the whiters to 9.8
    Males to the withers 26-28 cm      10.2 inches at the whiters to 11 inches high at the whiteres

Don't be mislead by breeders who tell you the Coton is small/petite and under ten pounds, that is not the case. On rare occasion breeders do have a "runt" of the litter and that does not happen with each litter. The Coton is on the average at the top of the weight scale. Additionally, there is the tall Coton de Tulear and that breed style is not accepted by the FCI. There are Cotons available as tall as hunting breeds. It is difficult to say what the confirmation/standard will be for the Coton de Tulear when it is finally accepted by the AKC, it may very well be totally different then as we know it today.

Sad to say the Coton de Tulear is going many different directions, changes in their height, color and overall appearance, we are not involved with these changes in the breed. These changes are made by mating a pure blooded Coton de Tulear with other breeds, there are many mixes today that are presented as Cotons but believe me they are not Cotons. We have seen Cotons that are guaranteed to be under 6 pounds as adults, Cotons that have solid coats of black or solid coats of brown, then we have seen Cotons that stand as tall as a Lab --- they are very unusual looking to say the least. It is upsetting to see people changing the breed that is already perfect --- and rare if they are the real thing.