To answer the question, “why create a new breed club?” is a complicated answer and can vary depending on each individual breeder’s experience. 

what our breeders required when they created the mcpc and what the MCPC will provide members and the malagasy coton de tulear breed is explained below.

It’s not unusual to have a breed club divide and splinter groups formed.  Over the years, breeders have left breed clubs and created new breed clubs, or joined other existing clubs. All of these new breed clubs adhere to the FCI standard for the Coton de Tulear or created a similar standard to follow.  Currently, each breed club’s code of ethics require their members to follow one breed standard.  The breeders in the MCPC wanted to continue breeding to the CTCA standard, as they had been doing for years. These breeders realized they didn’t have to change their breeding programs, if they desired to leave their current breed club, they just needed a new breed club that supported them and shared in their vision for the future of the breed.

the mcpc basics:

  • The MCPC is a breed club that has safeguards in place to ensure its continued operation and is not dependent on any one person.  The MCPC is comprised of board members which share in the management of the club.
  • The MCPC is a licensed corporation and a non-profit organization.  The litter registration fees ($25 per puppy) are reasonable for a breed club and will support the services the MCPC provides its members.
  • The MCPC will produce pedigree registrations for families of MCPC registered puppies in a timely manner; within 90 days of the breeder submitting their documents to the club.  The MCPC has multiple board directors available for this task.
  • The MCPC will update the breeder listing website page, within 48 hours, when a new breeder is added or an existing breeder has litter announcements or any request is made to update a breeder’s listing.  The MCPC has multiple board directors available for this task.

the mcpc details:

  1. Lowering the average coefficient of inbreeding (COI) in our population is the goal of every MCPC breeder. 
  2. We will utilize all tools available to help us create breeding strategies that will maintain our genetic diversity and good health: pedigree analysis, Wright’s COI based on all known generations (not limited or misrepresented by a 3 generation only calculation), the kinship COI calculated by DNA (homozygosity observed at specific markers) and DNA genotyping. 
  3. The MCPC is participating in a Genetic Diversity Study for the Coton de Tulear.
  4. The MCPC will maintain a shareable pedigree database for breeders, providing all members an extended pedigree of their breeding dogs that go back to the foundation dogs.  (Foundation dogs are the first dogs entered when a new breed is formed, all the genes in the gene pool come from these dogs only, the pedigree starts with these dogs).​
  5. The MCPC and their members are committed to sharing health information of their breeding dogs and progeny (offspring) with their fellow breeders and participating in health surveys for the betterment of the breed.  
  6. Members of the MCPC are committed to increasing our breeding population and encouraging owners of MCPC Cotons to consider breeding IF they show an interest.  All MCPC breeders will allow their stud dogs to be utilized by other MCPC breeders under the direction of the MCPC board.  MCPC Breeders are committed to maintaining the genetic diversity of our breed.
  7. The MCPC will seek guidance and support from scientists and researchers current in the study of Canine Genetics and actively involved in the new technologies of Canine DNA analysis tools and breed preservation, to create breeding strategies for today and for the future.
  8. The MCPC is not a closed breed club.  The MCPC will allow breeding between clubs if the dog’s pedigree has ancestors that are recognized as descendants of Cotons originating from Madagascar and if the extended pedigree has ancestors that were CTCA registered.  Eliminating dogs from a breeding population because their owners left a breed club, to join another, only increases the level of inbreeding and is detrimental to a gene pool.  A “Closed Breed Club” and a “Preservation Breed Club” are contradictory terms; a breed club cannot be both. 
  9. The MCPC chooses to be a Preservation Breed Club in action and statement.  The MCPC will allow a breeder to offer their stud dog, if they so choose, to be used by a breeder that belongs to another Coton breed club, as long as the female is documented as having ancestors from Madagascar in their extended pedigree, has submitted the proper health testing, and Embark DNA results that are required by the MCPC.
  10. The MCPC will keep communication open with all Coton de Tulear breed clubs and will be available for any questions regarding the development of our breeding strategies, education and sharing of information.  For our club members, it’s all about the Cotons; all day, every day.  There is no room for personal politics when advancing a breed’s preservation.