A Short History Of The Coton De Tulear
The
Coton de Tulear, pronounced "coe-Tawn day TULE-ee-r" is a
breed of dog that came from the port of Tulear in Madagascar,
it is a
close cousin of the Bichon family. How they came to
Madagascar is a subject of much debate,
among both owners and historians but all seem to agree that
they
came to Madagascar by European
sailing ships, trading
between the west Indies and the Indian
ocean,
using Madagascar as a trading
post.
The breed is often
referred to as "The royal dog of
Madagascar" this came about as a law
was passed by the nobility the "Merina" making
it a
criminal offence for anyone other than the
upper class or nobility to own the breed.
In the 1700s Madagascar became a French
colony and through these colonists the breed finally came back to
Europe. But it wasn't until 1971 that the
breed was
finally recognized by the
FCI
(the Federation Cynologique Inernationale).
The Coton de tulear got it's name from the cotton like
hair of it's coat, it's dry and wind tossed coat is probably one of
the easiest to maintain of all the long haired
breed of dogs but it
still requires regular grooming. As a breed
it sheds little and does not usually bother
people who suffer from allergies to dog hair. In
fact the perfect
anti-stress dog.
There are three colours of Cotons, white often with
champagne coloured
patches, Black and white and also a tri colour but tri colour adult's
are mostly white
with champagne patches and just a faint dusting of
black hairs. Cotons thrive in both a desert heat more like their
original home on Madagascar
ie sub tropical
but they are also at home playing in the cold of
winter, but don't forget that, they are more at
home indoors as they are strictly an indoor
dog.
Both breeders and owners say that the Coton de
tulear's most outstanding characteristic is it's behavior. A
companion dog, intelligent ( you just have
to see a pack
of cotons working together to see that) as it may cock
it's head attentively when spoken to, smile, stand or walk on it's
hind legs to please it's human family they
are also easily trained.
They also give lots of loving attention to their
human family.
The average life span of a coton de tulear is 16
years
but they have been known to live to 19 years. Cotons are calm
and sturdy dogs and will enjoy the company of most
other household pets including other dogs
and also cats, they also
enjoy the rough and tumble playing of young children. A Coton pup
will quickly becomes a member of your family and will retain a
puppy
like attitude throughout it's long life.