We welcome this opportunity to introduce you to the rare, ancient, pure-breed dog known as the Coton de Tulear (pronounced coe-TAWN day TULE-ee-r).

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The history of the Coton de Tulear is poorly documented, but the most common belief is that they are descendants  of dogs, probably from the Bichon family, who survived an ancient shipwreck near the Madagascar coast. Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island and lies in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. The little white dogs who swam ashore to the port of Tulear were the now extinct Coton de Reunions. The dogs settled on the island and bred with the local terriers resulting in what we now know as the Coton de Tulear. During the 17th century, the Merina, who were the ruling tribal monarchy in Madagascar, closely controlled the breed. They forbade both costal tribesmen and non-nobles from owning the dogs, and the Coton became known as "The Royal Dog of Madagascar". Later, conquering French colonists adopted the dog as well and only those in the top echelon of society were allowed to own a Coton de Tulear. Political and economic crises in Madagascar now threaten the Coton with extinction in it's own native land. The Coton was honored on a Madagascar postage stamp in 1974. In that same year, Dr. Robert Jay Russell, a biologist studying Madagascar's lemurs, sent Coton breeding stock to America and three years later they were introduced in Europe. The dogs were enthusiastically received and are quickly becoming one of America's and Europe's fastest growing rare breeds.

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The name Coton derived from the French word for cotton, thus the name means "cotton of Tulear". The Coton de Tulear earned this name in part for a port city in Madagascar called Tulear and because the look and texture of their coat resembles a wad of cotton wool, a trait that causes it to stand out from almost all other dog breeds. Their coat has a wind-tossed appearance and is probably among the easiest to maintain of any  long-haired breed. Cotons shed very little and have little or no dander (a cause of allergies in people)qualifying it as a hypoallergenic dog. They have little or no doggy odor and a dry-hair like coat that sheds dirt. This is truly a dog clean enough to sleep in your bed!

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The companion Coton has a relatively easy-to-care-for coat. Many Coton de Tulear owners make a run for the groomer when their Coton is between 6 and 18 months of age for a "puppy cut". This is the "blowing coat" stage in their development when it seems all the under-hair come loose at once! Don't worry--your Coton will still look adorable with a puppy cut! Most, but not all, Cotons have undercoats. This is the fine, downy hair under their coat that mats as it loosens from the skin. These loose hairs are held in by the coarser and longer outer hair and stay locked in the coat instead of being shed all over the house. This sounds ideal, however, without frequent brushing and/or combing, mats and knots will form close to the skin and can be difficult and painful to remove. Coats vary and many Cotons have long, thick hair that may require a bit more attention to care for. Many owners easily get by with and overall combing once or twice a week, although many families enjoy the social experience of daily grooming.

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Cotons, by nature, are playful, merry companions. They are quite affectionate and love to be close to you. They are very good with strangers, children and other pets and are easily trained. However, Cotons are not much of a guard dog and are hopeless as protection!

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There are three color varieties of Cotons seen. They are: white (often with champagne color patches); black and white; and tri-color (brown, black and white). A tri-color is often born with a lot of color, which gradually fades so that the adult is mostly white with champagne patches and a faint, irregular "dusting" of black hairs. Black and white Cotons retain their color throughout their lives.