Who meets the Coton will realize right away : The Coton is a dog that needs coat care on a regular base.

Taking some often asked questions we will try to teach you something about taking care of your Coton’s coat.

The equipment....

How often do I need to brush my Coton ?

An adult Coton needs to be brushed about 2 to 3 times a week. According to a puppy we advise to take him to your lap and brush him daily to teach him the skills of brushing. Start with teaching him to touch him with your brush and slowly take small steps forward in putting him on his site. Soon he will find out that brushing is part of his life and allow you to do so. Check on regular basis also his ears, eyes and teeth.

Around and about 8 months of age your Coton will change his puppy coat into an adult coat. This period teh coat is very hard to handle for lots of new coton owners. Try not to panic, it will only last a few weeks and then all will be back to normal. Brush your dog during this period on a daily bases and sometimes the use of a good detangling spray might help you to make the job a bit easier.

How often do I need to bath my Coton ?

The Coton has an easy coat that doesn’t get dirty very quickly. Of course they can look like a muddy beast after a long walk through the forest and is a good wash the only solution that seems to be available. Though this isn’t always necessary ! Try first to let your Coton dry up slowly, and do nothing till he is completely dry. Then take a brush and brush out the dirt to see how it looks then. often the dirt will just fall out while brushing and your Coton will look descend again. Our advise is to bath your Coton once every 6 weeks. The coat stays easy to handle that way. Shampoo for human use is not suitable for dogs. The skin value of a dog is different as the one for us people and using shampoo for human use will dry out your dogs skin to much. Never forget to brush your dog properly before starting his bath. After his shampoo we advise you to use a good crème to give the coat extra care and make it easier to brush. Afterwards blow-dry him carefully with a hand warm blow-dryer, while carefully brush the coat at the same time.

Extra advice:

• Shampoo and cream is cheaper in use when first being mixed with water before use. Like this you can first make your dog wet and use the whole prepared bottle to the coat and have it easier spread.
  
  
• Don’t make to much circling movements but carefully massage the shampoo/crème into their coats. It avoids that you create tangles while washing.

Can’t we just cut that coat of ?

We do not advise this. You know if you choose a long-haired dog, coat care is necessary ! The coat of your Coton also is his protection, against cold but also against strong sun ! A cut dog will easier get a sun burn or be overheated because the coat is a filter against the sun and it’s warmth. In between the coat is a lot of air which has the function of a shield. Also you will damage the structure which is so specific to the cotton breed. After a few times cutting the hair the structure will change and brushing will become a harder job.

It’s not impossible and many people are happy with us but when you ask us straight : We prefer not to !

What other care does my Coton need ?

• From time to time we need to cut the nails. Watch out here for not cutting the vain that is in the dogs nail. Most coton’s have white nails and the vain is visible through the nail. If you feel it is to exiting for you, your vet or groomer will be pleased to help you with it. The 5-th nail on the inside of your dogs front feet need extra attention. It does not stay short because it doesn’t touch the ground, when not cut on regular basis it will grow back into your dogs skin and cause serious infections.
  
  
• Hair on the inside of the dogs ears needs to be pulled out.

	We can use or fingers or a special tool for it. Take small parts at the time. The first few times you do this job your puppy will not like it but after a few times the hair comes out much easier and will not cause any pain anymore. It’s simply something that needs to be done, if not the ear will be closed up and dirt will stay on the inside of the ears with all consequences of that. It the easiest when we also start doing this while the dog is still young. Never use scissors here, it will make the ear irritated when the cut hair starts to grow again ! ( see picture )
	Hair between the paws we cut away. It makes easy tangles and then starts pulling the skin which is very thin between the toe’s . ( see picture )
	On male dogs we cut the coat at and around the penis. ( see picture ), on female dogs we can also cut some hair in the area around her vulva. If your male dog starts to grow he will start pie with his legs up and it causes serious staining which can become very smelly. Your male dog may never have yellowish fluid out of his penis, if he has contact your vet or pet store for a special cleaner.

• We have to keep the eyes clean. Hard dirt we can just take out of their eyes with our fingers. If your dog suffers severe tearstains we can use boiled water or a special cleaner to keep it clean. If it is really staying a problem please contact your vet, your dogs tear drains might e stuck and your ( eye ) vet might be able to help you out by opening it.
  
  
• The teeth you can brush with a small toothbrush or special tissues drained with cleaner. Make it a daily ritual and start to teach your puppy early again. When your dog already has teeth stoning you can ask your vet to remove it. It can cause serious infections in your dogs gums and at the end give caries just like with people.

Let’s get started !

Try to brush the coat always in small layers. Start at the bottom and work your way up. You use the same system for the leg’s. First take a pin brush and then check everything out with a medium comb. Like that you will find out when there are any tangles left because your comb will stay behind a tangle. Then you first need to remove this carefully with comb or fingers, using some silk might help you getting it out easier.

Pay some extra attention to the difficult spots like under the armpit, behind the ears and in the groin.

Use a so called pinbrush or a mix brush from pork hair and nylon. Use two different sizes of comb and also a small comb for the face. For keeping the hair out of your adult dog there are several things available like rubber bands, clips or special pins.

Using a leave in conditioner or special grooming sprays might make the job easier.

Everybody buying a puppy at our place gets from us written advise about coat care. We also can provide all the stuff you need. We always give a grooming demonstration on one of our adult dogs before you pick up your puppy to take him home. If there are any questions left, don’t hesitate to ask us !

All needed grooming material is available through our webshop.