Please take your time when researching breeders of the Coton de Tulear.  Support breeders who belong to a reputable breed club.  For the Coton de Tulear the reputable breed clubs in the United States of America that I recommend are:  The American Coton Club (ACC) and the United States of America Coton de Tulear Club (USACTC).  The breeders from these clubs follow a code of ethics and care about the health and well being of their Coton de Tulear dogs.

RED FLAG WARNING!  There are many registries in the USA.  Some registries are papermills who will register puppymill dogs.  They will register any dog and you may think you are purchasing a pure bred Coton de Tulear if you purchase a puppy from a breeder who is affiliated with one of these registries, beware!  Some examples of registries in the USA are the APRI, the ACA and the AKC FSS.  These registries will register backyard breeder dogs, puppymill dogs, dogs from auctions and dogs from pet shops.  There are no background checks on these dogs. 

A reputable breeder will never sell his/her puppies to a backyard breeder, pet store or to a puppy mill.  Watch the following puppymill video.  Is this how you want your puppy to have his/her start in life?  Do you want to support people who bring puppies into this world under these conditions?  How will you know if the puppy you purchase from a puppy mill, pet store or backyard breeder is a genuine Coton de Tulear?  Is it your desire to purchase a Coton de Tulear with a fraudulent pedigree?  If you purchase a puppy from a pet store or a puppy mill you are helping promote an industry that, in my opinion, should be banned in the USA. Puppymill Video's -  http://www.dcr.net/~humane/Puppy_Mills2.html

This is a great article on the pet shortage in the USA.  PETA would have us believe that we have a pet overpopulation.  Read the following article and then draw your own conclusions.  http://spanieljournal.com/33lbaughan.html

If your desire is to have a Coton de Tulear puppy join your family that has had a great start in life, a puppy that is a genuine Coton de Tulear, then purchase a puppy from a breeder who is a member of one of the reputable breed clubs.

Cotons are not hypoallergenic dogs.  One person may be allergic to dog hair, another person may be allergic to the dog's saliva or from the shampoo used on the dog.  Most people with allergies to dogs do fine with Cotons but there are some people who will have an allergic reaction to Cotons. 

TiaCotons will provide the following with each puppy sold:

Each TiaCotons puppy will be microchiped, Each puppy will have a health examination with intestinal parasite exam and first vaccinations of which you will receive a copy.  Registration/Pedigree papers from the ACC will be sent to you after spay/neuter surgery is done.  A CERF eye exam will be done on your puppy before he/she comes to live with you.  I will provide a leash and harness, small bag of food, a comb, small shampoo and conditioner, small blanket, toy, chew item for your puppy, puppy development book and lifetime breeder support.

The items you will need to provide for your puppy are:

• Stainless steel bowls for food and water
• Small crate or vari-kennel and ex-pen recommended along with a crate bed for your Coton's comfort.  The vari-kennel I recommend is the Furarri kennel, model 250, medium size.  A good article on crate training is on the following web site - http://www.dog-crates-online.com/puppy-crate-training.html
• Toys - be careful of squeakers in toys, chew items for puppy teeth
• Baby gates to confine puppy to areas that have been puppy proofed.  Watch out for poisons, electrical cords etc.
• Shears for trimming paw pads, Nail Trimmer
• Combs and Brushes, Shampoo and Conditioner (See Grooming Tips page)
• Pee Pads and Nature’s Miracle for sanitizing
• Special treats for training your Coton de Tulear puppy,  I prefer treats without the addition of corn, wheat or any by-products.  My Cotons enjoy Merrick flossies, chicken strips, goat milk yogurt, carrots , freeze dried liver treats and doggie biscuits

Please do not feed the following to your Coton de Tulear dog:

Greenies have been known to cause death to some dogs, raisins, grapes and any fruit pits, chocolate, onions, tomatoes, macadamia nuts, walnuts, alcoholic beverages, bread dough, caffeine - coffee or coffee grounds and any bones that have been cooked or barbecued.    The above items can be fatal to a dog.  Keep the garbage can away from where your dog can get into it.  If you suspect your dog has ingested any of these items or other protentially dangerous substances please seek emergency medical help right away.

If your Coton has diarrhea, applesauce or plain canned pumpkin (not pie filling pumpkin) will help control the diarrhea.

• Please take doggie waste bags with you when you walk your Coton to pick up your Coton's waste

The harness I prefer for my puppies and adult Cotons can be purchased from the following website. http://hug-a-dog.com/hugadog.htm.  

Beautiful party collars can be ordered from the following website.  Senia makes the most elegant party collars. http://www.petalohaleis.com/

Poochie Bells are great for teaching dogs to eliminate outside.  The dog rings the bells at the door to let the owner know the dog needs to go outside to potty.  http://www.poochie-pets.net/

Coton de Tulear are a small breed of dog.  They are very loving and they enjoy human companionship.  Coton de Tulear dogs may enjoy the following activities: Agility, Rally O', Canine Freestyle Dance, Therapy Dog, Obedience and Conformation.

Layla May 

Steps in the Placement Process

A TiaCotons Coton de Tulear puppy is priceless!  If you are considering a Coton de Tulear puppy from TiaCotons these are the steps in the placement process:

Step 1:  A telephone interview will help us learn more about you and your desire to have one of our Coton de Tulear puppies join your family.  After the telephone interview we will let you know if you qualify for the next step.

Step 2:  We want to have a clear understanding of the kind of puppy you desire.  We have a questionnaire form that can be downloaded from our web site.  We ask that you put some thought into answering the questions and e-mail the questionnaire back to us.  The questionnaire helps us match our puppies personalities to your lifestyle.  We ask that you read and agree to the conditions in our pet/companion Coton de Tulear contract.  A sample copy of the contract can be downloaded from our web site for your review and if you agree to our terms then the next step, if you are able, is a visit to our home.

Step 3:  Come for a visit. We encourage all members of the family to come for the visit.  If we all agree to a placement of one of our Coton de Tulear puppies with you then you will be given a deposit agreement and we will go over the pet/companion contract at that time.  It is our responsibility to place our puppies in homes where they will be wanted and loved.  If you are happy with your puppy then your puppy will be happy with you.  Your deposit is fully and promptly refunded if you are not happy with the puppy chosen for you.  Because we are breeding to add a show/breedable Coton prospect to our lines, we retain first option on ANY of the puppies.

Step 4:  You will be notified one week after the litter has been born.  Our web site is updated weekly with new pictures of our puppies.  Your puppy is handled by us as soon as he/she is born and on a daily basis from the time of birth.  Your puppy associates human touch as something pleasant before opening his/her eyes.  We start the "Super Dog Program" - http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html after the third day of birth and continue the program until the sixteenth day after birth.  When the puppies are four weeks of age we expose them to many different types of stimulation, surfaces, sights and sounds.  The puppies spend the day in our kitchen area where they experience the normal noises of our home.  At five weeks of age they are going for rides in our car, in their crates, so they will adjust to car rides easily when they go to their homes.  We work on crate training at eight weeks of age.  From the time the puppies are able to eliminate on their own we work on potty training to pee pads, grass and pea gravel so your puppy will be comfortable eliminating on different types of surfaces.  At eight weeks of age the puppies practice walking on lead.  They also enjoy playing outside on the agility equipment we have for them.  I have been a child care provider for thirty years and the older children I take care of during the day love to help teach the puppies to go through the tunnels and the tire jump in our backyard.

Our adult Cotons and puppies are fed high quality dog food.  We feed our Cotons either Taste of the Wild dog food   http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com or Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance dog food.   http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/     Our Cotons like the Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Formula with Smoked Salmon, the Wild Wetlands Canine Formula with Roasted Wild Fowl and the High Prairie Canine Formula with Roasted Bison and Roasted Venison.  Taste of the Wild dog food is grain free.  Our Cotons also like the Dick Van Patten Natural Balance Organic Chicken formula, Sweet Potato and Fish formula and the Duck and Potato formula.

Some different treats we feed our Cotons are Natural Balance Dog Treats, Nature's Logic Canine Treats, Liver Biscotti, No Wheat, Belly Rubs Dog Treats, Flossies, Zukes Mini Naturals Small Dog Training Treats, baby carrot sticks and goat milk yogurt.

A supplement I have been adding to my adult Cotons food is called - ShowStopper.  http://www.k9power.com/k9_show_stopper.php    A supplement I have been adding to my puppies food is called - K9 Puppy Gold.  http://www.k9power.com/k9_puppy_gold.php 

 A good web site on dog feeding  - http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html

Our Cotons have regular veterinary care at the Lake Stevens Animal Hospital - http://www.lsah.vetsuite.com/

We use "PetzLife" Oral Care Spray in our Cotons mouths to help fight plaque.  http://www.PetzLife.com  We also sprinkle Wysong Dentatreat power on our Cotons food to help fight plaque.
http://www.wysong.net/page/WOTTPWS/PROD/DTREAT

Step 6:  Puppies will be released to their new homes at ten weeks of age.  If you will be traveling by air the puppy must travel with the owner in the cabin of the airplane.  The travel bags for puppies that are prefered by Coton owners are found at the following web sites -  http://www.sherpapet.net/index.php or http://www.sturdiproducts.com/4111/xcart/home.php

The parties agree that TiaCoton puppies will not be shipped by air or surface cargo and will be accompanied by a responsible adult when traveling.

Included in my contract - This Coton de Tulear puppy is to be accompanied by a responsible adult in the passenger section of the airplane, bus or other conveyance during any transport throughout the lifetime of the dog.