History of the Coton de Tulear

The Coton, from Madagascar; the Maltese, from Malta; the Bichon Frise; from the Canary Islands; the Havanese, from Cuba; and the Bolognese from Italy; all descend from the Barbet, a small white long-coated dog.   If you look at the origins of all five of the aforementioned breeds, the big picture here is that four of the five places of origin are islands.  The exception is the Bolognese from Italy..  Italy was a seafaring nation in the age of exploration, during the 15^th to 18^th century.  The islands had one other factor in common in as much as they were all on 16^th and 17^th century trade routes.

Legend has it, that the Coton came to Madagascar when a pirate ship sank offshore and the little Barbets swam ashore with the human survivors.  There were pirates on Madagascar during the 16^th and 17^th century, however, it is more likely that the Barbet was brought by traders who would always open trade negotiations with gifts from “our very powerful King from far away” with the local chief, emir, sultan or whatever. The little Barbet was part of the gifts.  The Captain of these trade ships were always in a difficult situation as they needed fresh food, water and trade goods but were facing a strategic dilemma: they had the boat (a prize in itself) a hold full of goods that the natives coveted, and 60-80 men to defend them.  Often, they set foot on shore facing 5,000-8000 natives.  Human nature being what it is there was always the fear that the locals would kill the Captain and crew, take the cargo and ship.  The usual procedure in this situation was for the Captain to don his most magnificent uniform, and present the local authorities with gifts from “The King from far away”  “I am just his lowly emissary.”  The gifts were the honey, the “powerful king” the threat.  It usually worked out well for all concerned.  The Barbet was unique, and charming and usually ended up in the Chiefs harem as a companion.

The Coton is truly a unique breed.  It’s vigorously healthy.  The females whelp with little or no problem in 3-5 hours.  The first puppy is fat before the last puppy is born.  They live a long time.  The females are spunkier than the males, particularly when they have puppies which they will defend voraciously.  They have a broader range of vocalizations than any other breed.  They are omnivorous compared to other canines.  All of these things are many more subtle ones make them truly different than any other Breed.  Because they “evolved” in the comparative isolation of an island, and because they were relatively recently “discovered” by Europeans they were isolated for a longer period of time hence they diverged in type to a greater degree., and set that type more firmly than other breeds.

An interesting aside to this genetic, evolutionary view (remember, this history is written by a breeder)  is the consideration of the Siberian Silver Fox project started in 1959 by Dimitri Belyaev, and continued by geneticist, Lyudmila Trut.   The projects goal was to breed foxes that were tame and could be easily handled by humans for the fur trade.  The project was continued over 20 years and succeeded, in as much as they did, in fact create very tame foxes that were tame enough to be house pets for children very much like a puppy.  It failed to aid the fur industry however, as some truly amazing things started happening to the foxes over time.  1. The foxes started showing large patches of white (this is what made the fur industry unhappy)  2.They went from prick eared to drop eared foxes. 3. They began to carry their tails plumed over their backs when excited. 

What is significant about this study is that previously whiteness occurred only in domestic animals (the exception is artic animals). Wild animals look more like their natural environment.  White stands out and attracts attention.  Whether predator, or prey you don’t want to do that. The general consensus was that domestic animals were white because our primordial ancestors just preferred white.  Now it seems that white seems to follow tameness .  It makes much more sense that our ancestors would select for tameness.  Trust me, the first man to milk a cow  was a very tough courageous man.

It’s an interesting anamolity that the Coton is a white at maturity, drop eared, dog that quite often will carry it’s tail plumed over it’s back.  In many ways they are the most domestic of domesticated dogs. They don’t really maximize their full potential unless they are living with a human family.

                                           Recent  History 

In 1949 the native Merina people began revolting.  This was happening all over Africa  during this time after the second world war.  The conflict raged on and off for the next 11 years.  By the time the Merina declared independence and were recognized, in 1960,  most of the French had returned to France, and of course they took their little Cotons with them.   Although the French Kennel Club did not officially recognize the Coton until 1970, they were fairly well know, although not common, before then.  In 1975 The Federation Cynoloque International FCI  recognized  the Coton.  In Europe the breed is well established and competition in the show ring is fierce.  In major shows it is not unusual to have over 1500 Cotons showing. 

In 1975 Dr. Robert Jay Russel brought 18 Cotons from Madagascar this is after the French left..  He set up a stud book and this club is still in existence today.  This was the original Club.  Many Cotons have been imported from Europe.  Generally, the European dogs are smaller, more consistent in type and whiter than Dr. Russel’s  original imports were, although this seems to be evening out as more European dogs have been registered with the original club.  As of this writing, although the Coton doesn’t have full AKC recognition, they can be shown in B classes, agility, and obedience.  Full recognition can’t be too far away.