The FCI (Federation Cynologique Internationale) Standard for the Coton de Tulear
Origin:
Madagascar
Patronage:
France
Utilization:
Companion dog
FCI Classification:
Group 9, Companion and Toy Dogs, Section 1.2, Coton de Tulear
General Appearance:
Small, long-haired white cotton-textured coat, with round, dark eyes and a lively, intelligent expression
Important Proportions:
* The height at the withers in relationship to the length of the body is 2 to
3.
* The length of the head in relationship to the length of the body is 2 to 5.
* The length of the skull in relationship to that of the muzzle is 9 to 5.
Behavior/Temperament:
A happy temperament, stable, very sociable; it adapts perfectly to all ways of life. The temperament of the Coton is one of the main characteristics of the breed.
Head:
Short, seen from above as triangular.
Cranial Region:
Skull - Seen from the front slightly rounded; rather wide in relation to its length. Superciliary arches only slightly developed. Slight frontal groove. Occipital protuberance and crest only slightly accentuated. Well developed zygomatic arches.
Stop - Slight.
Facial Region:
Nose - In the extension of the nasal bridge; black; brown is tolerated;
nostrils wide open.
Muzzle - Straight.
Lips - Fine, tight, of the same color as the nose.
Jaws/Teeth - Teeth well aligned.
Scissors bite, pincer bite or inverted bite without losing contact. The absence of PM1 is not penalized; the M3s are not taken into consideration.
Cheeks - Lean.
Eyes - Rather rounded, dark, lively, wide apart; the rims of the eyelids are well pigmented with black or brown according to the color of the nose.
Ears - Pendulous, triangular, set high on the skull, fine at the tips; carried close to the cheeks, reaching the corners of the lips. Covered with white hairs or with some traces of light gray or red-roan.
Neck:
Well muscled, slightly arched. Neck well set into shoulders. Proportion of neck to body 1-to 5. Clean neck with no dewlap.
Body:
Topline - Very slightly convex. Dog longer than high.
Withers - Only slightly pronounced. Back and loin: Strong back, topline very slightly arched. Loin well muscled.
Croup - Oblique, short and muscled.
Chest - Well developed, well let down to elbow level, long. Ribs well sprung.
Belly - Tucked up but not excessively.
Tail:
Low set, in the axis of the spinal column. At rest, carried below the hock, the tip being raised. On the move, carried gaily curved over the back, with the point towards the nape, the withers, the back or the loin. In dog with abundant coat, the tip may rest on the dorsal-lumbar region.
Limbs:
Forequarters - The front legs are upright.
Shoulder and upper arms - Oblique shoulder, muscled. Scapulo-humeral angle about 120 degrees.
The length of the upper arm bone corresponds approximately to that of the shoulder blade.
Lower arm - Humero-radial angle about 120 degree. Lower arms vertical and parallel; well muscled, with good bone.
The lenght of the lower arm corresponds approximately to that of the upper arm.
Carpus(Pastern joint) - strong, seen in profile, sloping very slightly.
Forefeet - Small, round toes tight, arched; pads pigmented.
Hindquarters:
The hindlegs are upright. Though dewclaws are not sought, their presence is not penalized.
Upper thigh - Strongly muscled.
Gait/Movement:
Free and flowing, without covering a lot of ground; topline retained on the move. No sign of uneven movement.
Skin:
Fine, stretched tight over all the body; although of pink color, it can be pigmented.
Coat:
Hair - This is one of the main characteristics of the breed from which its very name derives. Very soft and supple, with the texture of cotton, never hard or rough, the coat is dense, profuse and can be very slightly wavy.
Color - Ground color: White. A few slight shading s of light gray color(mixture of white and black hairs)or of red--roan (misture of white and fawn hairs) are permitted on the ears. On other parts of the body, such shadings can be tolerated if they do not alter the general appearance of a white coat. They are however not sought after.
Size and Weight:
Height at withers - Males: 26 to 28cm, tolerance of 2 cm above and 1 cm below. Females: 23 to 25 cm, tolerance of 2 cm above and 1 cm below.
Weight - Males: From 4 kg to a maximum of 6 kg. Females: From 3.5 kg to a maximum of 5 kg.
The main reason that standards exist is to protect the desired type of the breed. Pure-bred dogs should have puppies with predictable characteristics as to size, color and other physical characteristics, as well as temperament and personality traits.
Elimination Faults:
General type:
* Lack of type (insufficien breed characteristics, which means that the animal on the whole does not sufficiently resemble other examples of the breed).
* Size and weight outside the requirements and tolerance of the standard.
Particular points:
* Foreface: Bridge of nose convex.
* Eyes: Bulging, with signs of dwarfism; too light; wall eyes.
* Ears: Pricked or semi-pricked.
* Tail: Not reaching to hock; high set; completely curled (forming a tight ring); carried flat on the back or against the thighs; carried candle-like; tailless.
*Coat: Atypical, tightly curled, woolly, silky.
*Color: Heavily marked; any marking of a definite black.
*Pigmentation: Total lack of pigment on eye rims, nose or lips.
Anomalies:
*Overshot or undershot mouth with lack of contact between the incisors; vertical gaping of the incisors.
*Absence of teeth other than the PM1s or the M3s.
*Aggressive or extremely shy specimens.
N.B.: Male should have two apparently normal testicles that have fully descended into the scrotum.
Temperament a Plus
Although it seems that physical conformation is the only factor considered in the show ring, temperament is also of utmost importance.
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