coton de tulear....thoughts? (how much, miniature, vet, schnauzer)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hey everyone. I am thinking of getting a coton for myself and my four-year-old. I have a townhouse with a small yard. I am not looking for a jogging companion, in fact I am not a huge exerciser. I work during the day (lots of people do and have dogs so please don't give me a hard time about this ) but am usually home otherwise. I do travel a good amount, but don't mind bring the dog with me. I am looking at purebreds, because I want to know what I am getting into (to some degree at least) personality and size wise. Does anyone have any insight into if this dog may be for us?
One of my coworkers daughter's lives in an apartment in New York City and has two coton de tulears and she loves them . They did spend some time here in Santa Barbara with their " grandma " while she got settled in in New York and "Grandma" was in love with them and misses them a lot!
I have heard that many years ago that Pirates from Madagascar had them on the ships as they were such good and entertaining companions. They are suppose to learn fast and be good at tricks. I would just say be careful who you buy one from as now that they are becoming popular there are a lot of questionable breeders out there.
they require a lot of grooming and matt up in a new york second!! If you don't mind a LOT of extensive daily brushing.... I groom one every four weeks and he is kept short with a sort-of bichon head (they are actually heavily related to bichons). bichons have a more coarse coat that matts, but the cotons have a much softer cottony coat that matts DAILY. If I had a four year old child, that is one breed I might pass on until years later, just from the upkeep. I did have a maltese/bichon mix that had a coat very similar to cotons and (even as a groomer) it was exhausting maintaining her coat, she ended up pretty short. I learned my lesson about how much time I am willing to give up for coat maintenance in my daily life with kids....I now have a miniature schnauzer and a doberman. Huge difference! I groom 3 bichons and 2 of them come every 2 weeks, the other every 4 weeks on the dot. Just high-maintenance breeds, but gorgeous and sweeeeeet!
What if their coats are kept short? I don't mind the brushing, but that sure does make it sound expensive. If they are kept on the short side how often would they need a hair cut? COuld this be done at home (Im certainly not looking for show quality looks here )
I would NEVER put a small dog like a coton with a 4 year old child. Children aren't careful enough around small dogs and must be supervised with them at ALL TIMES. All parents say that THEIR children are good around dogs, but the fact of the matter is, they're not. They don't mean it, they just don't know better. I work in pug rescue and we never place a dog in a home with any child younger than 10.
How about a larger dog that isn't so likely to be inadvertently hurt?
Are you going to have a dog walker during the day? I work, but my dogs have someone who comes in at noon to take them out. How do you travel? By car? Do you travel overnight? Many places do not welcome dogs, by the way. AMTRAK doesn't permit any pets, even in carriers. And dogs and airplanes aren't a good mix. Not only do you have to pay extra to bring the dog, but if you bring it in the cabin you forfeit your carry-on allowance and have to pay extra for check bags. And cargo, IMHO, is simply not an option - too many tragedies.
Kalolina, we have a coton de tulear and she is an absolutely wonderful dog with a HUGE personality. She is great with our kids - ages 9, 5 and 2. We never leave the 2 year old alone with her though. She loves to play but she's just as happy to be mellow and hang out.
Re: the matting. She did get a ton of matts when she was changing from her puppy coat to her adult coat. I ended up just cutting her short. When she's short I don't have to brush her everyday.
Feel free to DM me with any specific questions that you might have.
BTW...I do agree on finding a good breeder. There are some bad breeders out there so you have to be careful.
Cotons actually are pretty hardy little dogs and great with kids. The male that I do is a ball of energy and lives with a 6 & 7 year old and the dog is 3. He is a ball freak that loves playing non-stop. I think if he didn't have 2 little people at home to play ball with, he wouldn't be so well adjusted His coat is kept shorter and is groomed every 4 weeks. I imagine that anyone could groom them at home , if I had one, it would have to be kept short and clipped pretty frequently.
Have a friend who has one....He is great with kids...she has 3 all under the age of 8...and he always looks great. Not sure how she keeps up with his coat...
I would NEVER put a small dog like a coton with a 4 year old child. Children aren't careful enough around small dogs and must be supervised with them at ALL TIMES. All parents say that THEIR children are good around dogs, but the fact of the matter is, they're not. They don't mean it, they just don't know better. I work in pug rescue and we never place a dog in a home with any child younger than 10.
How about a larger dog that isn't so likely to be inadvertently hurt?
Are you going to have a dog walker during the day? I work, but my dogs have someone who comes in at noon to take them out. How do you travel? By car? Do you travel overnight? Many places do not welcome dogs, by the way. AMTRAK doesn't permit any pets, even in carriers. And dogs and airplanes aren't a good mix. Not only do you have to pay extra to bring the dog, but if you bring it in the cabin you forfeit your carry-on allowance and have to pay extra for check bags. And cargo, IMHO, is simply not an option - too many tragedies.
Have you thought about a rescue?
I agree here with Viralmd. She has given some great advice. Especially as to the safety and welfare of bringing a small delicate breed of dog into a home with a small child.
I would suggest a dog more around the weight size of 25 lbs or so and definately a more hardy, mixed breed rescue also. JMHO! Good luck!
They aren't really delicate dogs....and they aren't tiny, and they are known to be great dogs for children. They aren't fragile at all....rather strong dogs. I understand rescues' concerns, but honestly, there are a lot of people that aren't idiots out there. A rescue that I got my 2nd dobe from almost didn't give me a chance, even thought I raised a dobe around my kids, was a vet tech, trained dogs for clients.....I know they have rules for a reason, but geez, not everyone is an idiot that raises kids that are idiots. I am now on my third dobe and have always had a small dog with each one.
I think it would be more beneficial to assess potential owner and their kids in their environment and maybe a lot more dogs would be in homes. A lot of people are too intimidated to go to rescues (which I would prefer to go to) because of all of the hard fast rules. There should always be some grey area, don't you think? I'm pretty sure the OP, being that she is getting loads of info beforehand, has assessed whether or not her child has the ability to have self-control and awareness around a dog. Now, my sister's 4 yr old....no way, he's Don't get me wrong, I know rescues have rules for a reason, but not everyone has a hellion child
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) but am usually home otherwise. I do travel a good amount, but don't mind bring the dog with me. I am looking at purebreds, because I want to know what I am getting into (to some degree at least) personality and size wise. Does anyone have any insight into if this dog may be for us?
I groom one every four weeks and he is kept short with a sort-of bichon head (they are actually heavily related to bichons). bichons have a more coarse coat that matts, but the cotons have a much softer cottony coat that matts DAILY. If I had a four year old child, that is one breed I might pass on until years later, just from the upkeep. I did have a maltese/bichon mix that had a coat very similar to cotons and (even as a groomer) it was exhausting maintaining her coat, she ended up pretty short. I learned my lesson about how much time I am willing to give up for coat maintenance in my daily life with kids....I now have a miniature schnauzer and a doberman. Huge difference! I groom 3 bichons and 2 of them come every 2 weeks, the other every 4 weeks on the dot. Just high-maintenance breeds, but gorgeous and sweeeeeet!
