Coton de Tuléar Breeder

   Featured Coton breeder shares secrets to the show ring success of the Amour de Cotons breeding program due to proven, thoughtful genetics producing high quality Coton de Tulear puppies.

My Coton Breeding Program

by Danielle Gauthier / Amour de Cotons

I am a nurse and my breeding story starts while I was in nursing school. My daughter wanted an English Bulldog which was quite a learning curve. Breeding an English Bulldog (Artificial Insemination) and delivery (C-Section) all occurred while I was studying OB/GYN so I thought I was prepared. Not so.

In 1985 I moved to Philadelphia and still bitten by the breeding bug, I determined to focus on a breed I felt had retained its reason for being and could have natural puppy birth.  Carolyn Hardy, a top judge and owner in the world of Pyrenees became my mentor.

I left Philadelphia for NC in 1990 and continued to breed and show Pyrs until 2008.  But after back surgery that year, I realized if I wanted to continue to breed and show my own dogs, I had to change my both my breed and my career.

The birth of Amour de Cotons was a slow seed.  When showing my Pyrs, I would examine the small breeds being shown.  Nothing was tempting. 

About 1996, the cover of Dog World had this wonderful, fluffy white puppy. I found out it was a Coton De Tulear and loved what I discovered about the Coton.

Loyal, real hair, little shedding, funny, cozy, grooming YES (oh well) but a real BARK.  No yelp!!!!  And the Coton has great health, sturdy, intelligent, from Madagascar originally and standardized by the French, even used in the circus by the French, meaning they are very easy to train!

*click to enlarge photos below - use back button to return to this page*

So I began to research the Coton De Tulear breed and finally found a couple in the Virginia Area.  My heart got stolen by a little female, but unfortunately, I had found a Madagascar/French mix, taller, different hair.  Not enough research, expansive mistake.  Spayed her and continued to research.

Because of my knowledge and love for dogs, the most important thing to me is the temperament and health.  The conformation of the dog is of course relevant.

My first show Coton was Niko (at right).  He came with an impeccable pedigree that matched his superb Coton personality!  That little ball of white fur had more regal bearing than any puppy I had ever met. He was a true tribute to his champion bloodline and to his father Reggae.

I soon found beautiful mates for Niko.  They would compliment his temperament and pedigree.

Maila, Juliette and Camelia arrived at 6 months intervals. I could better assess each of their personalities and attributes this way. And what wonderful individuals they are! Maila is a clown, Juliette is a diva and Camelia owns the world. The girls are also descendants of wonderfully successful bloodlines.

As my Coton family matured to their respective 2 years of age, each had to be certified in these areas:  patellas, eyes, heart, hips, complete blood work  and for Niko a DNA analysis.  I feel it is very important to comply with the Code of Ethics of United States of America Coton de Tulear Club (USACTC) and the American Rare Breeds Association (ARBA) registry.

28 years of breeding and my clinical background make me very comfortable with delivering litters nevertheless, a litter of Cotons seemed like a little miracle.

They were perfect little Coton replicas and well stamped by daddy.  Mommies were treated to home cooked meals.

And how wonderful that the smaller area needed for whelping was a welcomed benefit to this previous breeder of Great Pyrenees.

Two of my Pyrs still guard the property against predators, vultures, hawks, and bears.  Fortunately, my Pyrs get along wonderfully with the Cotons, as you can see.  Here's Tinkerbell on the right, standing guard over Birchie, one of my Cotons.

I continue to dream of improving this line.  Niko continues to produce and imprint the babies well.

Our reputation for quality and true type Cotons is well supported by return clients who have expressed so much joy and happiness from their puppies.

Of course they have great health and tons of socialization, and then are carefully screened for a perfect personality match.

Our goal is to produce show quality Cotons even though we focus on personal companion babies.  Amour de Cotons is at a crossroad as we have finally kept two girls to evaluate for our  breeding program. 

True, this means that we are evaluating kennels, looking to find a new baby boy Coton to join our family.  We are hopeful about finding as wonderful a Coton as Niko.  I am patient.

Channing (at right) is one of the baby girls I have kept, she is showing all the potential of a winner in the show ring and I’m keeping my fingers crossed. First she must go through all the health and structural certifications.  I hope to see you there, in the ring.

Amour de Cotons welcomes you to visit and meet the parents, we are located in Virginia.  I am always happy to chat and educate others about Cotons De Tulear as well as discussing criteria for adoption and explaining our contracts.  Call 540-347-5318 or email grandmamandg@comcast.net