Judy Taylor
If you want an absolutely loyal dog, you are on the safe side with a Coton de Tuléar. The loving four-legged friend cannot imagine anything nicer than sitting on the lap of his mistress or master all day long and enjoying cuddles. He wants to be an important part of the family and needs a lot of attention, preferably from his primary caregiver.
Interesting Facts about the Coton de Tuléar
So you shouldn’t leave him alone for long periods of time. Even if he feels most comfortable on the sofa and with his owner, he is also a very lively dog that needs daily, long walks and also loves to swim in lakes or rivers.
Avid Learner
Since he wants to please his owners, he learns very eagerly and normally follows orders quickly. This works best when he is sufficiently rewarded with praise and treats for his achievements. He gets along great with other pets and is a patient and playful companion for children.
He is also a sweet and gentle dog with a big heart. He is always ready to play and loves to learn new tricks. He is also quite open to strangers. That’s why the Coton de Tuléar is a good watchdog because it listens to all noises and barks immediately if anything suspicious happens. At times he can get worked up about his barking and it is his owner’s job to train him to be more moderate in that regard. But the Coton de Tuléar is not a good guard dog because, after the initial excitement, in most cases, they quickly make friends with strangers they have barked at before.
The Appearance of the Breed
The Coton de Tuléar is between 22 and 30 centimeters tall and weighs between three and six kilograms. He has a long, soft, and slightly wavy coat with no undercoat. Its coat color is white or white and black.
It is also the fur that gave the little four-legged friend its name. “Coton” is the French term for cotton – and this dog’s hair feels just as soft and fluffy. His cute face also makes you want to cuddle with the little one immediately, which in turn suits him very well.
Care
The fur is one of his trademarks and should rarely be trimmed. However, care is then a bit more complex, as the silky soft hair tends to become matted. Daily brushing can counteract this, as well as a bath with a gentle dog shampoo at regular intervals.
However, the time spent on grooming can be made up for by cleaning the house. Despite the lush fur, the Coton de Tuléar hardly loses hair because it has no undercoat.
Origin: Coton de Tulear
We have already clarified what “Coton” means, now we come to “de Tuléar”. This is the French name for the city and province of Toliara in Madagascar. The little four-legged friend, who descends from Bichon Frisé and Havanese, among others, comes from there.
The breed probably came about when the French colonial rulers brought lap dogs to the island around the turn of the century before last. Their descendants with the fluffy fur served solely as companion dogs for the wealthy French. Even during the colonial period, but especially at the end of 1960, the Cotons de Tuléar also came to Europe. In 1970, the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) recognized the dog breed.
