CUKOTON

CUKOTON - BREEDER of the Best UK Toy import register Puppy 2002.
The first breeder in the UK to have a litter and the whole litter win Best of Breed Puppy at their show debuts, (UK and abroad).
No other breeder in the UK today has achieved this level of success.

ALL ABOUT COTON DE TULEARS

The Coton de Tulear originated in Madagascar. They are a companion dog and are shown in the toy import register class in the UK at the moment. Coton's are a charming, small white dog with fluffy cotton hair.
The Coton sheds very little of it coat and has no doggy dander or odours, they are allergy friendly. The Coton does need to be groomed for 10-20 minutes every day so that their long luxurious coat doesn't tangle or knot.


The Coton is an extremely rare, ancient purebred.
If you are interested in becoming an owner of one of these beautiful little dogs they will cost between £1500 - £2000.


They are known as the anti stress dog. The Coton has an incredible sweet nature and is devoted to its human companions. They are hearty dogs that like all seasons of the year.

This breed is extremely healthy , they are long lived about 16 years. Be aware! Like all breeds of dogs they do suffer from some health problems, maybe not to the same extent as more popular breeds. But ask breeders about what health checks they do on their dogs before breeding and always look for an up to date health certificate.

Probably the most outstanding characteristics of the Coton are its behaviour. They are very intelligent, easy to train and loving, loyal and devoted to its human family.. The Coton is alert, agile very fast and a lively companion, it also loves its food. It is very slow to anger so a perfect companion for children of all ages.
Coton’s seldom bark, although they will alert you if there is someone at the door. The Coton is also very wary of strangers and it takes time to earn there friendship.
When you are sitting a Coton usually snuggles on your lap or rests close by you. All Coton’s love to be close to their owners at all times and you might find this little dog follows you around the house.
Coton’s are calm, sturdy dogs that enjoy the rough housing of children and other pets (cats & dogs). Coton’s can smile and often do so. They are a happy, beautiful, affectionate, compact size, clownish, healthy little balls of fun. A Coton retains a puppy-like joy through out its life, often walking on their hind legs, jumping, and rushing around & making grunting noises.
When a Coton isn't getting attention they are happy to just go to sleep.


They look a little like a miniature Old English Sheepdog with hair covering their eyes.
They weigh around 5kg - 7kgs and are 10-12 inches tall.
Most Coton’s are white with champagne, brown, grey, black or cream coloured ears. They have dark expressive brown eyes.
The Coton de Tulear's are a bundle of joy, which will bring smiles laughter & complete devotion to its owners. The Coton will suit people of any age. THE PERFECT LITTLE DOG.


The Coton is a relatively easy breed to groom to keep their coats looking elegant and beautiful. The Coton’s hair is soft and should look wind blown and natural in appearance.
Coton’s enter the world either all white, white with champagne or black ears and also tri coloured. These spots of colour usually disappear or fade. Brown fades to cream, Black fades to grey. In most cases the colour fades leaving the dog looking nearly pure white by adulthood.
I think that a little colour gives Coton’s character, but if showing in the UK the body of the Coton should be white in colour.
The adult Coton hair tends not fall out all over your home, they stay in the coat waiting for you to groom the coat to remove them. Most Coton’s that are spayed or neutered do not shed at all. The times a Coton does shed more hair is when the female is experiencing hormone changes due to pregnancy or her having a season.
Be prepared to have some dog hairs though as no dog does not moult.
Coton’s destined for the show ring are not allowed to be cut or trimmed in any fashion. In fact the only parts of a Coton permitted to be trimmed are their feet and pads.



THE MANY ORIGINS OF THE COTON DE TULEAR

In their home country the Coton is known as the royal dog of Madagascar and has even been honored by having its picture on a postage stamp. There are many stories about how the Coton de Tulear first became a breed in Madagascar. One such story says the Coton’s were said to have originated because of a ship wreck in the 15th century. French sailors would sail in the region of Madagascar. They had little white dogs on board their ships said to be the ancestors of the Bichon. These dogs were used to kill the rats on the ships and also to help the ladies on board the ship from becoming bored. It is alleged that one of these ships sank during a vicious storm. The little dogs all managed to swim to safety and mated with the local dogs. This was the start of the breed know as the Coton de Tulear.

The Coton’s then hunted in packs to kill wild boar. In Madagascar there are lots of rivers filled with crocodiles. It would have been sheer suicide for the Coton’s to cross the river so they used their intelligence to fool all the crocodiles. The Coton pack would find the narrowest route to cross the river and then they would send 2 Coton’s back to the widest part of the river. These Coton’s will then bark and attract the crocodile’s attention so that their pack would be able to cross in safety. As Coton’s are much faster than crocodiles on land. Once the crocodile's attempted to catch the two little heroes’ they would just run off and wait to cross the river safely them selves. After a hundred years or so the locals began to see how intelligent these beautiful dogs were especially at their skills of crossing rivers. As there were no bridges in Madagascar at that time they also thought about training the dogs to assist them on crossing rivers. These little dogs were so charming and beautiful that they attracted the attention of the royalty and the nobles of Madagascar and it was declared that no one could own a Coton unless they were of royal or noble blood. If a peasant was caught with one of these little dogs they could be sentenced to death.
This is probably why this breed is still a very rare and pure bred.

Another story about the Coton’s origins, was that when the French settlers came to Madagascar the ladies brought with them little white dogs thought to be ancestors of the Bichon. These dogs also mated with the local dogs and the Coton was said to have been bred.

The next story is a little like the first. A ship from France came to the port Tulear of Madagascar willing to trade some of their goods. On board the ship were ladies who had with them little white dogs. These dogs were trained to jump and dance on their hind legs to entertain the ladies on long tedious journeys, they also caught the rats on board the ships. Once the ship had docked, the crew began trading their goods with the residents of Madagascar. On this day a noble man happened to be in the port looking to buy goods when he saw what was thought to have been Bichon's dancing and entertaining the passengers. Astonished by the little dogs abilities and intelligence, the nobleman offered the ships captain a great deal of money for these dogs. Once again they managed to mate with the local dogs and the Coton de Tulear was born.

The last story is the least believable, French troops apparently brought Bichon dogs with them to Madagascar, and once again they mated with the local dogs and the Coton emerged from this partnership. This explanation is quite odd, because normally the French troops wouldn't travel with dogs especially small ones.
With all of these stories the Coton’s still out smarted the crocodiles and hunted in packs in the wild before they were caught & domesticated once again. The Coton also still became the property of the royalty and the nobles only. All peasants were sentenced to death if they were caught owning one.



We are very proud of all our little Coton’s, they are a joy to own. Vadi has done very well in the show ring. She was the Top Coton de Tulear 2000 in the UK and was crowned Top Coton de Tulear 2001 even though Vadi had a litter in 2001. Vadi was featured in the Best of British dog’s magazine. Cukoton's success carries on with Cukoton Argent Apollo who is the UK's Best Toy import register puppy 2002 winning an impressive 8 Best of Breed Puppy, 5 Reserve Best Dog, 2 Best Import Register.