Knorr Coton De Tulear

1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59378-827-8
Verlag: CompanionHouse Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 160 Seiten

Reihe: Comprehensive Owner's Guide

This Comprehensive Owner's Guide dedicated to the Coton de Tuléar covers the history, characteristics, and breed standard of this unique toy breed from Madagascar. A rare breed similar to the Bichon Frisé and Maltese, the Coton de Tuléar has been swiftly growing in popularity around the world and especially in the United States. Written by breeder Wolfgang Knorr, this colorful guide offers new owners all the information they need to select and purchase an ideal Coton puppy as well as socialization, house-training and obedience training, and every-day care (feeding, grooming, exercise). An elaborate chapter on healthcare discusses the selection of a veterinarian, parasite prevention, and vaccinations, essential reading for all dog owners. Sidebars throughout offer helpful advice to readers about hundreds of topics. Fully indexed.

Wolfgang Knorr is a bichon specialist who lives in Europe.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Knorr, Wolfgang

Leseproben

Deriving from Madagascar, the Coton de Tuléar possesses a cotton-like coat that distinguishes it from most other breeds of dog.

HISTORY OF THE COTON DE TULÉAR

It is an onerous undertaking to try and describe a dog breed with competence when hardly any literature about the breed can be found, when the documentation that can be found is so sparsely distributed and when the breed’s origin is, like that of many other dog breeds, everything but clear. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile effort to investigate the subject as closely as possible and to introduce a most delightful dog breed, the Coton de Tuléar, to the readers of this book. Let us therefore try to shed some light on the origins of this breed, a breed that is not even mentioned in most books on dogs.

Many may say, “Coton de Tuléar, what a funny name for a dog!” In this case, the name is entirely appropriate. Found principally in the port city of Tuléar, this is a small Madagascan dog whose beautiful white or nearly all-white coat has—just like the ripe fruit of the cotton bush—a texture similar to a wad of cotton wool. The French word coton translates to the English cotton. The texture of the breed’s coat makes the Coton stand out from almost all other dog breeds.

SAVE THE COTON!

With the Coton de Tuléar’s being threatened by extinction, the Madagascan government imposed an export stop in 1992.

It is quite obvious that the Coton de Tuléar is closely related to the Bichon breeds. Its ancestors were probably introduced to the country by Indian troopers who found a new home on the Mauritian island of Bourbon around 1665. The neighboring island of La Réunion was home to the Chien Coton, also known as the Havana Silk Dog, and the Madagascan Cotton Dog or Cotton Swab Dog. Both bore a distinct resemblance to the Maltese, the Tenerife dog (today’s Bichon Frise) and the Bolognese.

With its numerous ports, Madagascar, which later became the native country of the Coton, used to be a popular center of trade for many seafarers and merchants. These travelers often carried small dogs of the Bichon type on board their ships, where the dogs earned their keep as undemanding terminators of mice and rats. In the process, these dogs reached ports around the globe.

Our Coton de Tuléar is presumed to have evolved from these small Bichon-like native dogs, but what explanation is there for the variety of colors that can be found in the breed? Today’s Cotons have the blood of the same ancestors as today’s other Bichons, which clearly explains their white coat and their body shape. The original Bichons mingled with some stray terriers on the island, which placed a little terrier “time bomb” in the white fluff and accounts for the Coton’s inability to resist going after the neighbor’s poor chickens! More precisely, it was Bedlington Terriers brought along by the French colonists that contributed the Coton’s arched back, longer legs and the two skin colors: gray and pink.

Italy’s Bichon breed, the Bolognese, is similar to the Coton and seen in a coat of pure white.

MADAGASCAR, A LOST PARADISE

Madagascar is referred to as a bridge between two worlds, those worlds being Asia and Africa. It is an idyllic island, covering 581,540 sq km (about 224,500 square miles) of land surface with about 4,828 km (about 3,000 miles) of coastline and a range of climatic zones. It is marked by a many-tiered society. At present, the island is inhabited by some 15 million people, which averages to only about 25 people per square kilometer.

A southwestern trade wind, blowing in from the Indian Ocean, favors tropical rainforests, which are, however, under severe threat from human activity. Large areas are therefore now covered merely with scrub. The weather is dominated by the monsoon during the summer months, which makes way to winterly trade winds in the western lowlands. All central regions are marked by a pleasantly warm climate, while the south of the island presents itself rather arid.

The island is home to unbelievably diverse flora and fauna, the latter including a wealth of colorful butterflies, crocodiles, lemurs (small monkey-like primates) and the largest and smallest chameleons on earth. A visit to this eldorado creates the impression of walking straight through a book on evolutionary history. The towns may be peppered with scattered cornfields, manioc shrubs and banana plants, with shade being offered under the wide umbrella crowns of huge mango trees. The rich green of the lush vegetation is only enhanced by the purple-red flowers of the famous flamboyant trees.

The fact that temperature never drops below 68°F (20°C) here offers a plausible explanation for the light and airy coat of the Coton de Tuléar, despite its being most certainly not an original inhabitant of this dream island, but rather evolving from Bichon-like predecessors.

Viktoria Deak’s Yatiare of Woodland Cottage is an 18-month-old bitch.

RECOGNITION IN EUROPE

The Coton de Tuléar was recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) as a distinct breed of Madagascan origin. It is a relatively new breed in terms of FCI recognition, this occurring in 1970. In Europe, the first Cotons appeared around 1975, when breeding with Cotons imported directly from Madagascar commenced in France. The breed was extremely rare and practically unknown to the public. The first three pups were entered into the French breeding register in 1976. By 1984, their number had increased to 192 pups, while at the same time only 15 specimens were known to exist on Madagascar; these had all been appraised by a recognized judge.

Madagascar was also home to a large number of Papillons bred in Belgium. These dogs were tricolored in ginger, black and brown and may be responsible for some ears found in the Coton that tend to stand erect or are upright in the fashion of the Collie with the tips turned down.

After France claimed Madagascar in the 17th century, the island paradise also became home to the French aristocracy. Influenced by the literary ways of life that marked this epoch, aristocratic ladies found it fashionable to surround themselves with uncommon treasures. Therefore, it soon became unlawful by royal decree for a commoner to keep a Coton, making it a privilege reserved for those of noble birth and those related to the court on the island. It appears possible, though, that the first “cotton dogs” were actually given as presents to the regents of the island realm. The small Madagascan jewel thus was soon known as the “dog of royalty,” and even today the Coton on Madagascar is kept mainly by residents of distinction.

Hailing from France via Tenerife, the Bichon Frise is among the most famous of the Bichon breeds.

The Havanese, or Bichon Havanaise, derives from the tropical island country of Cuba and is gaining new admirers in America and Europe every day.

This presumed history of the Coton is no doubt rather unspectacular, but at least quite realistic. Old legends, in contrast, may appear much more impressive, but can hardly be substantiated. One story tells of a pair of dogs that, kept afloat by their luxurious coats, reached the island of Madagascar by swimming after a ship carrying refugees was wrecked off the coast. How they made it through the multitude of sharks living in the waters around Madagascar remains unclear, however.

Other storytellers claim to be certain that European settlers brought along their spaniels, Maltese and Bolognese, which subsequently mingled with the dogs native to the island. What is sure, in any case, is that small white dogs have been living on this island for centuries. The name by which they subse quently became known was based on their hair, soft and aromatic like cotton, and the principal region in which they were found, the port city of Tuléar and the surrounding areas.

SURVIVING THE ISLAND

It is presumed that many Cotons lived freely in their native country. They had to fend for themselves if they were to survive. Over time, they had acquired the skills to find food and managed to adapt to the climatic conditions. The dogs also had to learn to face dangers and outfox their main natural enemy on Madagascar, the crocodile. This skill was of particular importance if a Coton had to cross a river. The dog would bark loudly at one place at the bank to attract all of the crocodiles in the vicinity. Once the crocs arrived at that point, the dog would run some 100 meters (about 330 feet) down along the bank and swim across the river without being harmed.

Today, there are no more freeranging Cotons on Madagascar, but locals who keep them are quick to report that the small dogs used to run free on the island in earlier times. The little vagabonds would beg for and receive kitchen scraps at houses so that their livelihood was ensured. Many hospitable families would not be able to resist these cute cuddly wads of cotton and would also give them shelter.

COTONS IN NORTH AMERICA

The Coton arrived in America in 1974, when Dr. Robert Jay Russell sent breeding stock over from Madagascar. The breed is rare in North America, and is not recognized by the American Kennel Club. There are devotees of the breed, though, with several clubs operating in the US and Canada. The first club in the US, the Coton de Tuléar Club of America (CTCA), founded by Dr. Russell, maintains its own breed standard. Other clubs abide by the FCI standard, including the United States of America Coton de...