Local Business Spotlight: Coton du Tulear Breeder, “Coton De Neige” in Gatineau, Quebec.
/About the breeder, Coton de Neige?
Coton De Neige is a family run Coton de Tulear breeder located in Quebec, Canada. Their mission is to protect and preserve the breed.
“It only took ONE look for our family to fall in love with this little white ball of hair that is a Coton de Tulear. We discovered this wonderful breed with our first Coton de Tulear, Kyra de la Brume Océane. At 7 years old, with her softness, joie de vivre and ease, she has adapted to children, the elderly, and foreigners as well as other animals perfectly like a Coton usually does. She also gave us the desire to own another Coton, this time a male full of energy and talented in agility. Astro de la Brume Océane who is now 4 years old, filled us with love and joy. We discovered with our little Astro that no two Cotons are alike, but that both represent the breed very well.
Three years later, my daughter who had left the family environment for her own adventure asked me if I wanted to start a Coton de Tulear breeding kennel. The love of this little fur ball made me say “yes” immediately! My retirement plan for the future was now assured.
So here is how our project begins. At the beginning of 2018, we welcomed a beautiful little Coton with us named Onyx, who is the sweetest Coton coming directly from Polana. Onyx is a little princess in the ring of conformation competitions, with an exemplary calm with a joie de vivre as well. She has a fantastic temperament which helped her to become Grand champion in conformation with the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club). In 2019 Onyx was classified by the CKC, the first female in conformation (pending confirmation from the CKC). In less than a year we had achieved what most breeders take several years to achieve. That gave us what was needed to continue our program.
With the help of our Mentors, we then obtained a beautiful little male named Pégas (French for Pégasus) du Domaine de Polana from Nova Scotia in co-ownership with a wonderful friend and mentor. Pégas is now 8 months old. A beautiful future is emerging for this little ball of love. He has already won 5 “best puppy baby” in the breed as well as in the group. In addition, he has also won a “best of the breed” and a “best of the group” in conformation as a puppy.”
- Melina & Nathalie from Coton De Neige
You can get more information about the breeder, Coton De Neige here:
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I also had the pleasure of creating an ad for Onyx which was published on Canuck Dogs. Good luck at the show Onyx!
What is a Coton de Tulear?
The Coton de Tulear was developed on the island of Madagascar and is still the island's national dog. It is believed that the Tenerife dog was brought to Madagascar and mated with a dog of the island, creating an unexpected result. The Coton's ancestors were possibly brought to Madagascar in the 16th and 17th centuries aboard pirate ships. Madagascar was a haven for pirates and pirate graveyards can still be seen there. Pirates established a base on St. Mary's Island, Madagascar and some of them took Malagasy wives. Whether the dogs were brought along to control rats on the ships, as companions for long voyages, or were confiscated from other ships as booty, no one knows. Tulear is a port now also known as Toliara. The Coton is of the Bichon dog type, linked most closely to the Bichon Tenerife and the Tenerife Terrier. There have been many stories circulating about the history of the Coton in recent years, most of them untrue. The Coton de Tulear was never feral on Madagascar. It did not hunt wild boar or alligators, as its size, strength, and demeanor can disprove easily. It was a companion dog of the Merina (the ruling tribe) in Madagascar. It has very little prey drive and is not a hunting dog.
The cottony coat may be the result of a single gene mutation. This small, friendly dog caught the fancy of the Malagasy royalty and they were the only people allowed to keep Cotons. When Dr. Robert Jay Russell discovered the breed in Madagascar in 1973 and brought the first ones to America, he coined the phrase the “Royal Dog of Madagascar” and the name stuck. They were also imported occasionally into France by returning French colonists, but were not officially imported to Europe until the 1970s. In 1974, Madagascar released a stamp with the image of the Coton, affirming their status nation's "royal dog".
Known for its cotton-like coat, the Coton de Tuléar, typically grows to no more than 18 pounds, and are white, sometimes with gray, black, or tricolored markings.
The Coton is a playful, affectionate, intelligent breed. Although generally quiet, it can become very vocal -- grunting, barking, and making other noises when having fun. Cotons are known to have a habit of jumping up and walking on their hind legs to please people. Most Cotons love meeting new people and are very curious in new situations. Cotons are easy to train as they are very eager to please. Cotons love to swim, run, and play. They adapt well to any kind of living environment. A common trait of the Coton de Tulear behaviour is to come alive in the evening.
Learn more about the Coton de Tulear by watching this episode of Dogs 101.
Looking for a different type of small dog breed, here are a few examples to get you started in your search:
