Coton de Tulear

White, potentially with grey or red-roan accents on the ears and elsewhere – although she still needs to appear to be white in general to meet the breed’s standard.

The Coton de Tulear's hair is long, dense and single coated.

Black or brown to match the nose.

Looking somewhat luxurious for her long soft hair, the Coton de Tuléar is most known for the white-cotton appearance by which she gets her name. Her dark round eyes and nose and petite silhouette give the impression that her fur is just a disguise over the top of a living, breathing teddy bear. Her tail tends towards perky.

The Coton de Tuléar is a quiet creature but she will let you know if she loves you, as she probably will.

She is a particularly playful one ; you may have spotted one of these softies pattering about on their hind legs before, since that is their number one party trick.

The Cotie is generally calm and relaxed but by no means antisocial ; indeed, she can become boisterous when she senses she has an audience.

Witty and engaged, the Coton de Tuléar keeps her eye on what’s going on around her and learns quickly.

Despite her exotic origins, this dog has no genetic memory of the hunting life; neither lemurs nor geckos, aye-ayes nor crocodiles should fear the chase of the Coton, particularly if they should encounter her on her hind legs.

Although close to her family, the Coton is a people-person in general and will greet strangers with licks and tricks.

This breed thrives on human company and hardly heeds any appeal to conduct its own explorations or research. However, you will usually find the Coton de Tuléar to be a free-thinker ; and the female more independent than the male.

This dog loses her sense of purpose when her people are absent. She is built like a teddy-bear for a reason : she desires to be taken everywhere with you and subjected to regular hugging and boops.

She’s intelligent and enjoys company and treats, but can also be stubborn and grow bored of the pedagogic progress. Use compliments rather than punishments when training the Coton de Tuléar, always be patient, and this dog has great potential for continued education – the realm of tricks and agility.

A couple of warning barks when she requires your attention for one reason or another will usually satisfy this dog’s need to vocalise.

She’s a loyal homebody, but may wander off if understimulated, so fencing must be adequate to retain her.

She can do more damage than you might think, and will take the opportunity to do so if she feels abandoned or undervalued. Treat her with love and attention and your slippers should remain intact.

This little bear is no glutton, indeed she tends towards pickiness in her eating habits if anything.

The only house this dog is fit to guard is a dollshouse during play. She is too loving and sociable to see an intruder as anything other than a potential friend ; and even if she were to err towards vigilance, the intruder would hardly be troubled by this pint-sized fluffball.

As long as the first-time owner has the discipline, resilience, and resourcefulness to see the Coton’s sometimes tricky education through to completion, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t take on this friendly and manageable pup.

The Coton is an ideal flat dog. She is not suited to outdoor living, and – although she requires adequate daily exercise – is not ‘too much’ for a small urban space.

Moderate. Daily walks and a game of fetch are a good start. She also needs intellectual stimulation, so training and tricks can supplement her daily workout.

She’s holdall-sized and mellow-to-go ; pack her up and off you go.

She’s more a people-person than a cat-person, but will tolerate and even enjoy the society of cats so long as she is acclimatised to them from a young age.

The Coton de Tuléar gets on just fine with dogs (especially if well-socialised during pup hood) and will value the company of a canine roommate if she is to be left alone for a period of time.

She and the children should both have a lot of fun together in good safety, so long as she is not aggressively handled – for the Coton de Tuléar is more delicate than, for example, a Labrador Retriever, for whom wrestling is a breeze.

Playful and alert without being large or overbearing, the Coton de Tuléar can make a good companion for an older person who can provide the attention, training, and moderate exercise that this dog needs.

She does not shed unduly ; however, there’s a lot of hair on that dog to start with, so it’s only common sense that you’ll come across a strand or two during the day.

14-16 years, maybe longer.

The Coton may be a toy dog, but she is no more delicate than her build and energy levels suggest. She shouldn’t live outdoors, but can certainly handle outdoors conditions for stretches at a time.

She is neither particularly suited not unsuited to hot weather, but should be afforded the comforts demanded by every dog in the summer: constant access to shade and fresh, cool water.

The Coton will not grumble at short periods spent outdoors in cold weather, particularly since her coat is so layered and luxurious.

Being a little dog and keen with it, she may pile on the pounds if her portions are beyond adequate to her daily energy expenditure levels.

There are no particular illnesses to which this dog is especially prone.

Tulear (now mostly known as Toliara) is a port town on the island of Madagascar, 200 miles from the coast of Africa. The island was colonised for nearly a century by the French, and their language is still common there today, especially among the so-called elites. Hence the name of this ‘cotton dog of Tulear.’
The deep pre-history of the Coton de Tuléar is somewhat blurry. In some places it is asserted that the hound evolved as a feral creature after a crate of Euro-pups from a shipwrecked merchant boat washed up on the island and mated with local strays, as Euro-brats are wont to do. Others suggest the dog’s ancestors arrived on the island under more formal conditions, as the Bichon-type dogs of international traders, who then interbred and evolved into this fluffy little superstar.
Anyway, at some point during the 17th century, the ruling "Merina" tribe adopted the breed for themselves, forbidding regular islanders from keeping Cotons, so that the creature soon became known as the "Royal Dog of Madagascar," a title by which she is still informally known today. And indeed she was exclusive also to the island, having evolved there, and did not find her way abroad until the 1960s, when she became popular in France. She wasn’t recognised by the UK Kennel Club until 1990.
Today, her fine hair and keen price tag have caused her to be associated with elements of high glamour. The likes of Barbra Streisand, Debra Messing, Glenn Close, Jane Fonda, and Catherine Zeta-Jones have taken Cotons as companions, while she has graced her own postage stamp in her native Madagascar.