First Coton

Finally saw my first Coton on Saturday and they lived up to all my expectations! We travelled to see our chosen puppy for the first time and she is much, much cuter in the fur than in photos. We are going to call her Yu You meaning “Happy, Friendly” in Chinese which is exactly what she is!

When I finally managed to negotiate a working from home arrangement I knew I could be around enough to care for a dog and the search began for my “perfect” breed. I wanted a dog that:-
• Didn’t require more than a walk or two a day. i.e. I didn’t want to have to worry I wasn’t exercising it enough
• Didn’t demand my attention all the time
• Didn’t moult too much
• Wasn’t large
• Wasn’t a Toy Breed (This was Daniel’s requirement!)
• Remained cute even when grown

After considering a poodle cross (cockapoo – cocker spaniel & poodle) for a long time due to the fact that poodles also do not moult too much I stumbled across Coton de Tulears. They seemed to fit all my needs:-

• They are quite happy with short walks
• They will happily just sit quietly in the same room without constant demands for attention
• They don’t moult but do need grooming
• They grow to 12inches so were small but not tiny
• Adult dogs are extremely cute also


All that remains to be seen is if the real life dog lives up to the literature! So far I have high hopes.

Our breeder has 3 Cotons living with her and they were all very well behaved and happy little dogs. Even Daniel was charmed although being a man he tried not to show it but I could see he was smiling at them! 12 inches high sounds as though they are not too tiny but up close they are much smaller than I had imagined. Although 12 inches is not far off the ground so I have no idea why I thought they were a bit bigger… most of it must be hair as well! The impression I got when her dogs greeted me was of a mini white tornado rushing to say hello to me!

Kitty, the Coton mum, and her pups were in the kitchen and a stair gate kept the other dogs out. Yu You is the only bitch of the litter. She has two pure white brothers but she herself currently has two black patches on her eyes and a patch on her back. She very narrowly missed out on being called Zorro! As Yu You has a patch of black on her back the breeder told me that she may not be eligible for show as colour is only allowed around the face. This is isn’t a problem for me as I don’t have the time to devote to looking after a show dog. Show Cotons are not allowed to have their coat cut and this is a bit too much hair for me! Yu You’s eye patches are definitely fading though as you can tell from the pictures. Although we shall have to wait and see if the black patch on her back fades. She’s adorable either way!

I think she is looking forward to growing up already. Several times during my visit she padded over to the stair gate to have a look beyond into the Big Wide World! I think I will have to watch her carefully as she doesn’t seem to be scared of anything at all just now! Only 3 weeks to go until she comes home with me! Counting the days but I expect I shall busy myself buying her things to make her feel more at home when she arrives…