Click the phrase to return to the: The BREEDERs LIST

QUESTIONS to Ask Coton Breeders

What your breeder should be eager to answer.

What you need to know before you buy...

We suggest that you print out this page, place it by your phone with a pad of paper and a pen, and call breeders.

• Ask breeders about the health and temperament of their bloodlines (remember: show ring victories are NO indication of proper health or temperament and such titles do not even insure that a dog meets the Standard for the breed).
• Ask breeders about their previous puppies. Do they have happy, loving homes? Can you contact a happy Coton owner? (obviously, no breeder would likely supply you the name of an unhappy customer).
• Some breeders may be new to whelping litters. Ask them how they acquire and update their knowledge about the Coton de Tulear breed. Since 1997, the CTCA has published detailed information about more than 43 genetic disorders confirmed in the breed. Does the breeder you are talking with know about them and what to look for?
• Ask breeders what health and temperament examinations they perform on their breeding Cotons. What health examinations will they perform on the pup they will deliver to you? To see what tests should be performed on breeding Cotons, click here.
• Ask breeders what health guarantees they offer in their contract. What help will they offer you should your puppy have a health or behavioral problem?
• Ask breeders how they socialize their pups. Do they expose them to children? many different adults? travel? household noises? other pets? When will they allow a pup to be delivered (the CTCA recommends 9 weeks old or later--time for the pup to acquire peer group bite inhibition).
• If you have a problem or question about your puppy, where do they suggest you turn for advice? Can you always contact them? Do they suggest you call the CTCA Hotline?
• Does the breeder seem interested in interviewing you to insure that you might be a good home for his/her puppy?
• Will your new pup be CTCA registered? Does your breeder subscribe to the CTCA's Code of Ethics? To view this important document that protects buyers, puppies and the gene pool, click here.
• What are the financial terms of the breeder's contract. Will you need to place a deposit--is part or all or none of it refundable? How long will the breeder likely take to produce a puppy for you? [NOTE: in our considered opinion, there are no bargain basement Coton pups out there worth buying. Cotons range in price from about $2000, Not Breedable, to about $2800-$3000 Potentially Breedable. As with anything you buy, you should expect professionalism and a sound product from a breeder].
• Note, too, that stud fees above about $1800 are, in our opinion egregious and are counterproductive to insuring that Cotons in the gene pool will be sufficiently outbred to minimize genetic problems. High stud fees mean that breeders buy a male and breed its brains out to their females in an attempt to reduce costs--this is called the "Favorite Sire Syndrome," long a practice of the show fancy and actually supported by the AKC. It inevitably results in too few genes highly concentrated in the lineage and ultimately, the gene pool. Extremely high stud fees discourage the cooperative breeder's concept that is at the heart and soul of the CTCA's Gene Pool. Reasonable stud fees are biologically and medical justifiable.

  For an in depth, understandable explanation of what you should expect your Coton pup to be, please refer to the "The Official Coton de Tulear Book, 2nd Edition" CD Rom, available from the CTCA; to learn more, please click here.

Where do you want to go from here? Got to a list of CTCA Code of Ethics Breeders: The BREEDERs LIST

Go to: COTON NEWS MAIN MENU
Or, explore another topic: | Intro to the Breed | Pictures of Cotons | a Brief History of the Breed | The Standard | The Code of Ethics | Coton Headline News | Opinions and Editorials | Questions and Answers | Breeding & Genetics | How To Register Your Coton | Coton Mystery Fiction | Contact the CTCA! | THE Book & the Coton Newsletter | Explore Coton Cyberspace! |

Please inform the CTCA should any of your interactions with breeders prove noteworthy. Go to: Contact the CTCA!

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Title and contents of The Coton de Tulear News & Information Network © 1996-2005, the Coton de Tulear Club of America, all rights reserved. Celebrating the CTCA's 30th Anniversary in 2006.