Coton De Tulear Dog Breeds
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Height at the withers: Males 25 – 30 cm, Females 25 – 30 cm
Average weight: Males 6 kg, Females 5 kg
The Coton de Tulear is a charming little dog that resembles a Bichon Frise with their pure white, fluffy coats. They have large, round, dark and extremely expressive eyes which adds to their endearing appearance. They have quite short forefaces and a very slightly convex skull with a slight stop and lovely black nose. Their ears are set high and are slender and pendulous being well covered with lots of long, fine hair. The Cotie has a strong jaw with a perfect scissor bite where their upper teeth neatly overlap their lower ones with tight black lips.
Their necks are moderately long and slightly arched with dogs having well laid-back shoulders and nice, straight front legs. Their bodies are quite compact with a good depth to the brisket and bellies are moderately tucked up. There is a slight rise over their loin and back legs are well muscled and strong. A Cotie’s feet are on the small size, round and tight with dogs having black pads. Tails are very well feathered and set low, they taper to the tip and when dogs are at rest they carry it low although the tip is always slightly raised. When alert, the Cotie carries their tail higher and level to their back.
When it comes to their coat, the Coton de Tulear boasts having a pure white coat that’s slightly wavy and very soft to the touch much like cotton, hence the breed’s name. The accepted colours for Kennel Club registration are as follows:
- White
- White with slight brown around a dog’s ears
- White with grey around a dog’s ears
- White with lemon around a dog’s ears
- White with tan around a dog’s ears
More about coloured Cotons
Prospective buyers should be aware that there is no such thing as a “coloured” Coton de Tulear although as the Kennel Club breed standard sets out, Coties can have a slight amount of grey or lemon around their ears. It is also worth noting that Cotie puppies may have some colour in their coats when first born, but they lose this colour as they reach maturity. In short, the colour in their coats gets diluted as they grow older, but if the colour remains in a Cotie’s coat, they are not pedigree Coton de Tulears and would have other breeds in their lineage.
Gait/movement
When a Coton de Tulear moves, they do so freely with a well-defined and smart movement both in their forequarters and hindquarters. Coties are always alert and gay when they are on the move.
Faults
The Kennel Club frowns on any exaggerations or departures from the breed standard and would judge the faults on how much they affect a dog’s overall health and wellbeing as well as their ability to perform.
Males should have both testicles fully descended into their scrotums and it is worth noting that a dog can be a little lighter or heavier as well as slightly taller or shorter than set out in the Kennel Club breed standard which is given as a guideline only.