The First Ninety Days
What actually happens when a Coton comes home — sleep, toilet training, the socialisation window — set out week by week, without the folklore.
The first three months set the temperament you will live with for the next fifteen years. None of it is difficult; all of it rewards a calm, consistent hand. Here is the shape of it, without the folklore.
Before arrival
Decide where the dog sleeps, where it eats, and where it relieves itself before the puppy is in the house — a puppy should arrive to a settled plan, not a household improvising. Keep the first days quiet. The instinct to introduce the new arrival to everyone is the instinct to resist.
Week one — sleep and trust
Expect broken nights and do not punish them. A puppy that cries is asking a reasonable question; answer it calmly and predictably. Toilet training is simply a schedule the adult keeps better than the puppy: out after waking, after eating, after play, and before sleep.
Weeks two to six — the socialisation window
This is the period that matters most and closes fastest. The goal is not exposure for its own sake but good exposure — surfaces, sounds, calm dogs, gentle strangers, the city at low volume — each met while the puppy is under threshold and can recover. A frightened puppy is learning the wrong lesson; a curious one is building the temperament you want.
- New surface or sound, daily, met calmly and rewarded.
- Short, positive car journeys — Bangkok is loud; start quiet.
- Handling: paws, ears, mouth, coat — the groomer’s table begins at home.
- Rest. A tired puppy over-stimulated is a puppy learning to be anxious.
A note on patience
The Coton is clever and a little theatrical; it learns quickly and forgets nothing about how it was taught. Reward the behaviour you want and ignore the behaviour you do not, and the breed’s sunny temperament does most of the work for you. The maison remains available for the life of the dog — a question in week six is a question we are glad to take.
