Breed Priorities – Coton De Tulear

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274 – October, 2024

By Nikki Riggsbee

The Coton de Tulear is one of the Bichon family of dogs, which includes the Bichon Frise, Maltese, Bolognese, Havanese, Löwchen, and Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka. While the family originated around the Mediterranean, it traveled on sailing ships over the centuries to other lands.

The Coton hails from Madagascar, an island off the southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. It is named for the city of Tuléar (also known as Toliara) and for its coat texture–Coton, which is French for “cotton.” Presumably little white dogs arrived on the island by swimming ashore from a shipwrecked vessel. It is the Official Dog of Madagascar, which is a former French colony, and is also known as the Royal Dog of Madagascar.

Some stories have the little white dogs running wild and mixing with other native island dogs. Others represent them as precious pets of the wealthy and gifts to royalty. Perhaps they were both and more. In the 1960s, French tourists brought the breed back to France from the island. The Coton was recognized by FCI in 1971 and by AKC in 2014. It is shown in the Toy group in FCI and in the Non-Sporting group in AKC.

We found thirty Coton de Tulear experts–parent club mentors and those who would qualify to mentor others in the breed–to invite to take a survey on their breed’s priorities in the conformation world. Sixteen responded and agreed to help with this project. At the deadline, thirteen completed surveys arrived. The participants have been in the breed more than twenty-one years on average (the breed has been AKC-recognized for ten years). The few who judge have been doing so for thirteen years on average.

Coton de Tulear Virtues

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274 – October, 2024

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