Please take your time when researching breeders of the Coton de Tulear.  Support breeders who belong to a reputable Coton 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 North American Coton Association  (NACA) .  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 puppymill.  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 puppymill, 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.   Learn more about Puppymill's on the following website -   http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/puppy-mills/puppy-mill-faq.html#auctionbuy        Puppymill Video's -  http://www.dcr.net/~humane/Puppy_Mills2.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 Coton de Tulear reputable breed clubs.

No dog is hypoallergenic.  One person may be allergic to dog dander, another person may be allergic to the dog's saliva, urine, feces or the shampoo used on the dog.  Most people who have allergic reactions to dogs do fine with Cotons but there are some people who will have an allergic reaction to Cotons.   As an example, my daughter breaks out in a rash on her neck when my Cotons lick her on her neck, she is allergic to their saliva.

TiaCotons will provide the following with each puppy sold:

Each TiaCotons puppy will have a health exam by our veterinarian and first vaccination of which you will receive a copy of the health report and vaccination.  Each puppy will have a microchip.  I will provide the American Coton Club registration paper which you can send to the club for official registration/pedigree papers.   I will provide a leash and harness, small bag of food, small blanket, toy with litter smell, chew item for your puppy and lifetime breeder support.

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

• Stainless steel bowls for food and water
• Food for your puppy
  
• 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
• A  favorite dog bed around our home is the Kuranda dog bed.   http://kuranda.com/
• An idea for training puppies to potty on grass or if you live in an apartment or condo -  http://www.porchpotty.com/
  
• 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 around paw pads or small electric trimmer, Nail Trimmer
• Doggie waste disposal bags
  
• Combs and Brush, Shampoo and Conditioner (See Grooming Tips page)
• 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 made in the USA, goat milk yogurt, carrots , freeze dried liver treats and doggie biscuits.  My Cotons favorite doggie cookies are Castor and Pollux Organic dog cookies.  They enjoy the chicken, peanut butter or cheese flavored treats.   http://www.castorpolluxpet.com/store/organix/organix_organic_dog_cookies
• A good training book -  Dog Friendly Dog Training by Andrea Arden
  

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 potentially 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 

For Cotons that like to pull this is a good harness to correct pulling -  Wonder Walker  Body Halter

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/

If you are looking for some challenging activities for your Coton some of these games may be lots of fun for your Coton.  http://www.pawlickers.com/products/manufacturers/nina-ottosson

Coton de Tulear dogs are in the small breed dog catagory.   I know female Cotons who weigh 9 pounds and some female Cotons I know weigh as much as 16 pounds.  Males may weigh between 10 and 18 pounds.  Cotons 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.

If you would like more information about anticipated litters or puppies that may be available now, please contact us.  Our puppies are usually spoken for within the first few weeks of their birth so early inquiries are suggested.

Click here to visit the "Newborn Puppies" page for information on our litters.

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.dpca.org/BreedEd/battagliahiachievers.htm 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 adult Cotons "Taste of the Wild" dog food - http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com.  Our Cotons eat all three formulas of "Tast of the Wild" dog food - 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.  We follow a rotation diet with the above food on a monthly basis.  Taste of the Wild dog food is grain free.   We also feed 'Natural Balance" dog food to our dogs.  http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/

Some different treats we feed our Cotons are Natural Balance Dog Treats, Caster and Pollux Organic Chicken Dog Treats, Nature's Logic Canine Treats, Liver Biscotti, No Wheat, Belly Rubs Dog Treats, Flossies, carrot sticks and goat milk yogurt.

A supplement I add a few times a week to my adult Cotons food  is called - ShowStopper.  http://www.k9power.com/k9_show_stopper.php 

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

We use "Petz Life" Oral Spray or Gel in our Cotons mouths to help fight  plaque.   
http://www.petzlife.com/    Leba lll is another product that helps fight plaque.  http://www.fubaohealthstore.com/LebaIII.html   We also sprinkle Wysong Denta Treat powder on our Cotons food to help fight plaque.     http://www.wysong.net/products/dentatreat-dog-cat-supplement.php

Parasites removal for your Coton and yourself - probably not the most pleasant subject but one that we need to address.  There are two websites that I recommend that you read about parasites and what to do to remove them from your pets body and your own body.    http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/diatomaceous_earth.html, Diatomaceous Earth can be purchase at wholesale from this website -  http://www.earthworkshealth.com/     http://drclarkia.com/clarkia.asp     http://drclarkia.com/dosage.asp     

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.com/    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.