Breed Description of a Coton de Tulear

by Robert Jay Russell, Ph.D.,

Dog enthusiasts sort purebred dogs into categories that reflect their similar ancestry or their similar vocations. Cotons de Tulear fall into the "Companion Dog" group in most such classificatory schemes. We have argued, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that they are a "Working" breed, like a Border Collie, since they must be selectively bred to BE a human companion--perhaps the most difficult task that ever faced any animal species. Cotons should be bred for their ability to bond well with people, for their ability to empathize with human pain and suffering.
Haughty, high-strung creatures with silly, overly-poofed and powdered hairdos sauntering a show ring is NOT what this Malagasy breed was created to be.

So what is a good performance sport for a Coton? Agility. Obedience. And best of all, Therapy Dog work. We urge everyone to spend some time pursuing therapy training with their Coton de Tulear. First, of course, train your Coton in its basic commands and make sure your Coton's temperament has been conditioned to meeting people of all ages. In many locations, you can enroll your Coton in classes to train it to meet the criteria for therapy dog work. But even without a certification, many special needs homes welcome a well-behaved dog. You see, Cotons have come into popularity precisely at the rise of very terrible human epidemic: dementia is on an exponential increase.

In many cases, it appears that a dementia like Alzheimer's Disease may arise from environmental poisoning, such as heavy metal toxicity. In other cases, we may be seeing the impact of unknown prion diseases.
Whatever its cause, there are more people today in special needs homes than ever before. For the most part, these people are warehoused and unwanted. They sit and stare without so much as a memory to gladden what's left of their conscious hours. It must be hell, sheer, unmitigated hell [*]. A Coton can bring a smile to most of these unfortunates and as bonus, those smiles will bring joy to your life (unless, of course, your human sensitivities have hardened like a lump of coal. If that's the case, get a pet rock and join the American political "dialogue").

Breeders may be able to offer local Alzheimer's and special needs homes an opportunity to bring puppies into that environment. In turn, the residents there will help socialize the pups. It is a win-win proposition all round. We do that with our litters, and we never cease to be amazed at how the patients open up with memories of their pets, and how a Coton puppy seems to know instinctively how to bring out the most caring and tender considerations from people who have fought hard--often bitterly in their final years--to cling to their diminishing thoughts and control their runaway lives.