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I'm Shay! I’m a cookbook author, lifestyle blogger, travel agency owner, wife and mama who loves making every day special for my family.

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Mix & Match Mama

Pets ·

All About our: COTON DE TULEARS!


Happy Monday, friends!

Okay, first of all, if you missed our FEBRUARY BOOK CLUB yesterday, make sure you catch that today.

I hope you are all settled in and ready for a SPECIAL post.

Friends, this post has been YEARS in the making.

I have been asked so many questions.

I have responded to so many emails and DMs on this topic.

It is finally, finally, FINALLY time for me to do a dedicated blog post…

…because they really are the loves of my life 🙂 .

Now, what about Yankee Doodle?

Goodness, I love my Yankee so much but because she’s a labradoodle, I just don’t get questions about her.  I think you guys must have labradoodles figured out because I can’t even tell you the last time someone asked me a labradoodle question.

I have a blog post about getting sweet Yankee that you can see HERE.

Spoiler alert though…

…the three cotons and the labradoodle are as thick as thieves.

They all have a VERY sweet relationship.

Today, we’re going to focus on…

…our coton de tulears.

I get so many questions about these small little fluffy dogs.

Are they Maltese?

Do they shed?

Are they always white?

Where are they from?

What are they called again?

How did you hear about them?

So many questions.

Let’s start with what the heck is a coton de tulear and why did you select this breed?

This breed of dog is originally from Madagascar.  They are small, white dogs that have long, fluffy hair that feels like cotton.  They are almost always white but do often have black or brown patches as puppies.  Those colors fade to white, but any “champagne” colored markings typically stay.  (Our Poppy has these champagne markings.)

Andrew and I were both raised in pet households.  Growing up, we both had dogs and cats (and I had a ferret too…a whole other blog post, ha!).

We LOVE our pets.

If you’ve been around since the beginning, when we first got married, we had our beloved…

…Tulip.

She was a miniature yorkie and the love of our lives.  We ADORED her.  When we first started having kiddos, Tulip was unsure and by the time we had two toddlers, Tulip was so anxious and nervous and stressed that she began having multiple seizures A DAY.  It was just so hard on her to have little humans running around.  After seven wonderful years with her, my parents’ friends (who were retired and empty nesters) offered to take care of her.  We kept up with Tulip until she passed at the ripe old age of 16.  As TERRIBLE as it was to let her live somewhere else, it was clearly the best decision for her health.  We kept in touch and swapped pictures until she passed, and let me assure you, she lived the most amazing (kid-free) life without ever having another seizure.

After almost a year of not having a dog, Andrew and I really, really wanted to bring another pet into our home.  (Because what parents of a two and three year old don’t want to add a puppy to the mix? 😉 )

Since this was circa 2012, we did what so many did back in ye olden days, we went to Barnes and Noble one night and found a book on dogs.  I remember it so clearly.  We stood there in the dog aisle and read and read about so many different breeds.  We could not mentally handle having another dog that wasn’t a good fit for our family (that broke our hearts!), so this time, we really wanted to make extra extra sure we picked a breed that would fit in well with two toddlers (I mean…seriously, a puppy + toddlers?!  To be young and naïve.)

As we were looking through the books, we kept seeing that the coton de tulear breed checked all of our boxes: they are good with kids, they are small, they don’t shed, they have long life expectancies, they have a good temperament, and they sleep a lot.

Sold.

We located a breeder in Texas (who has since retired) and after her next litter…

…we brought home Poppy Popsicle Shull.

You can see Poppy’s first blog post HERE 🙂 .

Smith’s face says it all.

We were immediately smitten.

Here’s a bit about our…

AGE: 13 (will be 14 on April 9th!)
SIZE: about 13 pounds
NICKNAMES: Pop 
PERSONALITY TYPE: The ultimate alpha dog

Poppy is the epitome of an alpha dog.

I never understood that phrase until I met Poppy.

She is the leader of the pack.

An enneagram 8.

The boss babe.

She goes in and out the door first, she eats and drinks first, she keeps the other dogs in line…she is absolutely in charge of her herd.

Though she’s almost 14 and sometimes a little bit like an old lady (she loves the heater!), if you met Poppy in person, you would NEVER guess her age.  Poppy bounds up and down the stairs all day long faster than any of the other dogs.  She plays fetch like crazy.  She runs and runs and runs.  She loves her walks.  She is SO energetic and full of spunk.  People are shocked when I tell them how old she is.  Cotons typically have longer lifespans, and based on Poppy, I would agree.

Poppy has traveled across the country and spent months on Nantucket, but because she is the oldest and currently really healthy, we have started limiting her travel.  We want to keep her youthful and not add to any early aging.

I get asked all the time which dog is “mine” and the answer is three out of the four.  I am the one who is with them all day long, who feeds them, who walks them, who gives them treats and medicine and so by default, loves on them the most.  They’re all ours, but three of them are all really “mine” 😉 .  Out of all the dogs though, Poppy is my sidekick.  As I’m sitting here now typing this sentence…

…she’s lying right here next to me.  She’s the least “cuddly” of the dogs but the most “present”.  She won’t snuggle up with you, but she wants to be as close as she can to you.

Wait?  Three of them are yours?  What about the fourth?

Well, this girl here, is without a doubt Kensington’s…

AGE: 9 (will be 10 on August 16th)
SIZE: about 7 pounds
NICKNAMES: French Fry
PERSONALITY TYPE: easy and laidback

I’ve never seen a human and a dog have the bond that Kensington and Frenchie have.  Their personalities fit together perfectly.

You can see the first post on our Frenchie Macaroon HERE.

While the other cotons are more active, this dog is more chill.  The other cotons get up with me at 4:30 AM and start their day.  Frenchie wanders down stairs closer to 10:30 ready to start hers.

I mean, you can throw her a ball, but she will not go get it.  She’s disinterested in activity.  She doesn’t bark.  Doesn’t really move about much.

She does enjoy…

…to lie in the sun.  She will follow the sunshine around all afternoon just to lie in it.

Frenchie is our smallest and our easiest.  She loves to sleep, loves to be in Kensington’s room, loves to do her own thing…she’s never difficult and always precious.

I’m not sure we’ll ever have an EASIER dog than Frenchie.

Our third coton de tulear is truly the star of the show though…

AGE: 2 (will be three on January 5)
SIZE: about 14 pounds
NICKNAMES: Charles
PERSONALITY TYPE: happy go lucky and playful

This guy is the fourth child who seems just super happy and excited to be included at the party.  He’s our only male dog, our largest dog, and just JOYFUL.

You can see the first blog post about him HERE.

This dude is funny.  He’s the largest of the cotons and yet at the same time, the biggest “baby”.

He won’t go up and down the stairs inside our house because he knows we will carry him.  Any time we encourage him to try, he’ll just roll on his back and look at us like “really?”.

He is so chill (all three cotons are great travelers!), but if he thinks you’ll play with him, he instantly perks up and is ready to RUN AROUND.  He has a “baby” (a stuffed rabbit) that he LOVES for you to throw to him.

His favorite position is on his back…and he’s always submissive.

We’ve never heard him growl or get upset with the other dogs.  He is just so chill.

His favorite spot is by our front door.  He loves to look outside and see what’s going on.

He’s the only dog that sleeps in the bed with us because well, he’s just a big baby 🙂 .

All of the dogs enjoy a morning walk, but Charlie loves a LONG morning walk.  I try and walk just him at least 2 miles every day.  The other dogs can’t hang that long, but it is his FAVORITE time of day.  When you pick him up, he’s like a bean bag.  He’s just squishy and limp and snuggles right up into you.

So, back to that fateful day at Barnes and Noble.

Do cotons shed?  Nope.

Are they great with kids?  YES.

Do they sleep a lot?

Well…

…the answer to that question is a BIG YES.

These dogs love their sleep 🙂 .

The Shulls are smitten with any and all dogs.  We just LOVE dogs.

We have developed quite the soft spot though for these coton de tulears.

I hope this gives you a bit more context around this super fluffy, super sweet breed.  We absolutely love all four of our pups.

I’m off for today.  I have work to do and dogs to love on 🙂 .

I’ll see you tomorrow. xx

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Comments

  1. Ashley-Rae Vaughan says

    Oh my goodness! I read your blog every day and seldom comment, but this is just the BEST post for a Monday morning … especially since my precious Cavapoos (Gracie, age 1.5 and Ozzy, age 5 mos) were up at 430am with me today and very much interfering with my daily workout. Hahaha! Too cute. Have a great day!

  3. Emilee says

    What a fun post for a Monday! We have one miniature dachshund who weighs 8lbs, and I’d love another!

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      We just saw three blonde long hair dachshund puppies on Saturday, and they were SO SO SO CUTE!!

  4. Kelly Sites says

    I love and adore people who love animals and provide a great home for their pets. We LOVE animals at our house, and have 2 rescue dogs (brothers). I love people who give their pets nicknames. Each of our dogs has 245 names (kidding). Jynx and Jango are their real names, but Jynx can be Jynx Samuel (when he’s in trouble) Sammy Brown, Jynxy, and on and on it goes. Jango is Jango Jones (when he is in trouble) Jonie, Blacky, Jangy. hahahaha We love animals. Yours are adorbs and so loved. Thanks for sharing.

  7. Ashlea says

    How did you decide to get more than one? We have a maltipoo who seems so similiar! Also are you allowed to dogs out of the bag on the plane? We’re going to travel with our guy for the first time soon!

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      You can read about that in the Frenchie post that I linked. Kensington asked and asked and asked for one for years, and we finally gave in 🙂 . We always keep the dogs in their carrier under the seat in front of us on the plane, but 95% of the time, flight attendants tell us to bring them out so they can see them, snuggle them, etc and let us keep them out. Flight attendants are so sweet to dogs.

      • Ashlea says

        Thank you!!! I read your blog daily for going on 13 years now (I know because my twins are 13 insert sobbing face) and this brought such a smile to my face today! Thank you!

        • Mix and Match Mama says

          Oh goodness, THANK YOU so so much for being here every day. Truly, I am so humbled by it. xx

  8. Hayley says

    Curious about grooming! How often do you get them groomed? Does their hair mat easily? They’re so cute!

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      They get groomed twice a month to avoid excessive matting. Sometimes, it happens regardless, so we cut them short when that happens.

  9. Kathie says

    I have a Cavapoo that doesn’t shed but gets matted easily. I have to have her shaved when she’s groomed. How do you keep their hair long but not matted?

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      They get groomed twice a month just to keep them from matting…but sometimes, they get so matted that we have to cut them short. Their hair grows pretty quickly though, so it usually grows back fast.

  10. Paula Hobbs says

    I’ve been longing for one of these sweet fur babies for so long. I think after this post I’m going to make it my mission to finally convince the hubby we need one now!!! The are all adorable.

  13. Kristi says

    Do they bark? Any tips on controlling barking? We just got a mini goldendoodle and she’s a barker (our other dogs have never barked).

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      Poppy barks at the other dogs to keep them in line/boss them around. Charlie likes to bark at dogs on TV and/or sometimes when he sees them outside. When they all run around and play fetch, they all bark like crazy at each other. That is the only time Frenchie barks.

  14. Laci Murray says

    I can’t explain how much I love my dog! I didn’t grow up with inside pets, so when I brought home my little yorkie/maltese mix I was head over heels (still am)but now I am in love with your pups too!

  16. Amy says

    We absolutely adore our Coton girl! We have had Westies and now a Yorkie with our Coton, and hands down she is our biggest cheerleader and best friend. I leave for an hour and come home to a “where have you been all my life” barks and licks.

  17. Arika says

    Might be my favorite Monday morning post ever! I fought getting a dog for years. Finally gave in and now I love those darn things more than anything. Funny how that happens.

  19. Melissa says

    Your pups are so cute! We finally got another dog last year after losing our first dog in 2020. We had her for 17 years. It took us five years to be ready because they truly become your family. Loved this post!

  20. Aparna says

    Awww! They sound so much like my toy poodle and maltipoo! It’s just the best thing to be dog mamma! Like your poppy, my mocha ( toy poodle ) and maple ( maltipoo) are completely by my side if I’m at home even though they love my children, I’m their go to person.

  21. Erin says

    We are about to put a deposit on a coton! I hadn’t heard of them until your blog. We’ve encountered black and brown cotons in our search, not just white. Very happy to have found this breed. They are a little rare, so if you want one, start looking!

  22. Katie Hahn says

    Love this post! It seems fitting to have a post all about your FAVORITE CHILDREN after all right?! 🙂 Happy Monday!

  24. Kristen says

    Great post! I owe everything to you.. We have a 8yr old Coton that is the love of our lives! I was never a dog person and years ago while researching breeds I was a reader of your blog and started researching Cotons and realized they were a perfect fit for what I was looking for. It’s really the best breed ever!!!
    Currently sitting here in a blizzard south of Boston!

  25. Jumi says

    Thanks for sharing this post. Your dogs are so cute and I love that you put so much thought into getting them.
    Can you share the information on where you got them?

      • Jumi says

        Thanks for sharing. I’ll look into them. My girls want another dog and the fact that Cotons are small, get alone with kids and sleep all day sounds awesome !!!!!

  27. Faith Kapp says

    I love white fluffy dogs. I have 17 year old bichon! Are Coton’s hard to potty train? We got ours when she was 4 months old so she was already (almost) house/crate trained.

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      Ours were not at all, and they all LOVE their crates! All four of our dogs were crate trained and love to be in there. I don’t remember thinking potty training any of them was a nightmare, so it must have happened pretty easily. Charlie is only two, so it should be fresh on my mind, but I can’t remember (must have been easy!).

  28. Kay says

    Hi from the New England BLIZZARD! I can’t see out the windows of my house as everything is caked in snow! Anyway, this post was a delightful distraction. Thank you for sharing these absolutely adorable photos! We are a golden retriever family and my oldest golden (12!) loves a sun patch. It’s one of the cutest things ever to see dogs seek out a spot of warmth. I always feel like it’s a good reminder-find your sun patch today!

  29. Connie says

    So cute! 🥰 Shay are these dogs hypoallergenic? My husband and both our children are allergic to dogs and cats! So we’ve only had fish and birds for pets as they grew up. My son wants a dog though. Just curious if this would be a good choice. His girlfriend wants to get a weenie dog one day when they move out together. She’s allergic to dogs too. I grew up with a dog, cat and birds. My son was soo excited when we surprised him with a blue parakeet at 7 years old. My daughter as well got to pick her teal/green parakeet out after the other one passed after 6 years.💝🥹

  30. Stephanie says

    Love this post Shay! We are dog lovers too! We had our beloved miniature dachshund Baby for 15 1/2 years before having to make that awful decision 10 years ago. We still miss her so much! We had 2 cats still with us but just lost both of them in 2025. We say that when we retire in a few years we’re each getting the dogs we always wanted. My husband wants a Boykin and I want a long haired English cream dachshund. My question is how do you know who is who? I know you said Charlie is bigger, but what about Poppy and Frenchie? Or is it like having twins and mom just knows who’s who?

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      Great question! If you saw them all in person, you would easily be able to tell them a part. They all are similar but each look really different. Those long hair English cream dachshunds are so so cute! I’m voting with you!!

  31. Claire says

    Okay now I’m curious- why did you go with getting a labradoodle when getting Yankee?! What’s your opinion on having a labradoodle vs cotons?

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      Smith wanted one 🙂 . Our labradoodle is PRECIOUS! She has the best temperament too! The four of them are as thick as thieves. They all get along so well. These two breeds really complement each other well.

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      They don’t! Frenchie sleeps in Kensington’s bed, Charlie sleeps on our bed, and Poppy and Yankee both sleep under our bed.

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      They were really fairly easy to potty train. I don’t remember exactly how long it took, but we’ve had Charlie less than two years and I don’t remember thinking it was hard. They’re pretty intelligent dogs.

  35. Katie Compton says

    Well this was a fun Monday post! I loved getting to “know” all your other babies. I do have to say… I vote Charlie for Best Hair! 😍

  37. Nova says

    I love this post! They are so cute. I have a Bichon fries and the temperament sounds much like these, good with kids/families, don’t shed, sleep a lot, loves EVERYONE! he is 17 years old now and taking care of an elderly dog takes extra heart, my love for him keeps growing.

  38. Bren says

    Shay, I say this to myself all the time about your kids’ ages and how the years have gone by, but Frenchie is NINE?! There truly is no saying with more truth than the days are long, but the years are short. This post was so much fun, I loved learning about your sweet pups and hearing all about their different personalities!

  40. S says

    Shay, your dogs are the cutest! My daughter is seriously considering getting one of these sweet pups. How is the actual “puppy time?” Do they chew everything in site? We also have a sr cat on a special diet and wondering if they will eat his food? Thanks for any tips!

    • Mix and Match Mama says

      I’m not sure if we got lucky or if it’s the breed, but none of them were chewers. They were all easy puppies! The only food they have access to is their own, so I don’t know if they’d be interested in cat food if it were available? I don’t know?

  41. WhittyWife (Lindsay) says

    Aww, we’re dog people too. 🥰 We had 5 until this past Summer when we lost our sweet Piper.

    I think you need a 5th. 😉

    I also love that you’ve had a Yorkie and you have a Poppy. One of ours is a 3 lb Yorkie named Poppy. ❤️ We adore that breed, but I think part of why she’s such a good pup is her exposure to our other dogs and to children. Poppy is a peanut, but she also runs our house… just like your Poppy. 😄

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