Coton de Tulear

The Coton descends from small white bichon-type dogs that reached Madagascar from Europe, most plausibly aboard trading and privateering ships working the Indian Ocean routes in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. On the island the dogs bred largely among themselves and developed the distinctive soft, cotton-like coat that gives the breed its name.

Tradition holds that the Coton became the dog of the Merina nobility, and the breed is still promoted as the royal dog of Madagascar, a phrase popularised by the American biologist Robert Jay Russell, who brought Cotons to the United States in 1973. Madagascar treats the breed as a national symbol, and it has appeared on the country's postage stamps.

European fanciers, particularly in France, took up the breed in the 1970s, and the Federation Cynologique Internationale recognised it under Madagascar's patronage. The American Kennel Club admitted the Coton de Tulear to the Non-Sporting Group in 2014, and there remains an active parallel community of breeders who register with the older, separate Coton clubs.

Cotons are small but not fragile. Males typically stand around 10 to 11 inches at the withers and females an inch less, with weights usually between about 8 and 15 pounds. The body is slightly longer than tall, the bone is moderate rather than fine, and a good Coton moves with a jaunty, unhurried gait and carries its tail low with the tip curved over the back at rest.

The coat is the defining feature: long, profuse and dry to the touch, with the light, airy texture of cotton rather than the silk of a Maltese or the tight curl of a Bichon Frise. It is hair rather than fur, grows continuously and sheds very little, which is why the breed is often described as suiting some allergy sufferers, though no dog is truly allergen-free.

White is the classic and preferred colour. Puppies are frequently born with lemon, tan, grey or black markings, especially on the ears, and these commonly fade with maturity. Black-and-white and tricolour dogs occur and are accepted by some registries; the eyes are dark and round and the nose black, set in a face framed by falling hair.

This is a merry, sociable, faintly clownish dog. Cotons are known for walking on their hind legs, offering a paw uninvited and inventing games to hold your attention. They tend to have a soft, expressive vocal repertoire of grunts and murmurs rather than persistent barking, though they will announce a caller.

They are exceptionally easy-going with people. Most Cotons greet strangers as new friends, tolerate the noise and handling of family life well, and get on with other dogs and with cats. Prey drive is minimal, which is unusual in a small breed and makes walks in busy places much simpler.

The flip side of all that sociability is a low tolerance for solitude. A Coton left alone for long working days is a candidate for separation-related distress and nuisance barking. They suit households where someone is usually home, or owners willing to arrange daycare, dog-sitting or a companion dog.

Cotons are sensitive and eager to please, which makes them responsive to gentle training and quick to lose confidence under harsh handling. They read the mood of a household closely and mirror it.

The Coton has no working history to speak of, and that is the point: it was selected purely as a companion and it excels at the job. The breed does well as a therapy and visiting dog, where its small size, stable temperament and non-shedding coat are genuine advantages, and it takes readily to trick training, rally and novice agility.

Practically, the Coton is one of the better small breeds for apartment life. Exercise needs are modest, the dog is quiet by small-breed standards, and it travels easily. What an owner must budget for instead is grooming time and company.