August 18, 2008
In terms of "teacup" and other small dogs, at what size would you consider it to be irresponsibly small?
I agree that intentionally breeding dogs at extremely small, unhealthy sizes is not good. I also agree that labeling them cutesy terms ("teacup") to better sell them is irresponsible.
But I often wonder, if you see a breeder, and know nothing about him except for the size of his dogs, at what size would you say "that's too small. That's an irresponsible breeder"?
It's different for each breed, I'm sure. Here's what the standards say:
Chihuahua: A well balanced little dog not to exceed 6 pounds.
Maltese: Weight under 7 pounds, with from 4 to 6 pounds preferred.
Pomeranian: The average weight of the Pomeranian is from 3 to 7 pounds, with the ideal weight for the show specimen being 4 to 6 pounds. Any dog over or under the limits is objectionable.
Toy Poodle: 10 inches or under at the highest point of the shoulders… diminutiveness shall be the deciding factor when all other points are equal.
Yorkshire Terrier: Must not exceed seven pounds.
So, for each breed, what is an unhealthy small?
It just seems to me, with dogs this small, there's a very thin line between a responsible small and an unhealthy small and I'm not sure where that is.
Hmmm… I'm totally against teacup dogs… I guess I just have a problem because the standards stipulate they should be small. Some standards say they shouldn't be too small, but most say anything below a certain height or weight is acceptable. For Toy Poodles, smaller dogs are even preferable (all other factors being equal).
For most of these breeds, a 1-pound dog (in and of itself) is still "ideal" for the standard. Likely that 1 pounder will be lacking a lot of other necessary qualities…
OK… how about this. Someone recently asked a question about this breeder: http://www.farmersyorkies.com/resources.html
Now, it's obvious this is a backyard breeder at best. I'm not asking about the quality of the breeder. But looking solely at the dogs' sizes, would you think they're too small for a responsible breeder? Most average around 6-7 pounds. Some are as small as 4 1/2.
I'd think it's not so much the size of the dogs that they're producing (even a responsible breeder will produce some small puppies) but what size of dogs they are using for breeding, and are they intentionally trying to produce super-small pups or are they trying to produce quality animals that fall within the standard's guidelines.
If I go to someone's website and they are emphasizing how tiny their dogs are then I would avoid them. If I look at a website and they are talking about *quality* and backing it up with championships then I would be more interested.
Filed under Teacup Yorkshire Terriers by admin
Comments on In terms of "teacup" and other small dogs, at what size would you consider it to be irresponsibly small? »
Hi - my answer is general as all these 'tiny' dogs were taken from the runts of a litter and bred with other runts. Runts are the least healthy of the litter therefore any dog bred to be small is unhealthy to one degree or another.
Not a good choice. A toy poodle is likely more healthy than a teacup, etc. This will be so variable that it is not likely anyone can give you a definite answer. Good luck.
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Well, people are deliberately breeding "designer dogs", giving them cutesy names and selling them for thousands, and people are just fine with that.
Right now, there is a new breed of cat that has twisted bones in the front legs. People are breeding them, despite not knowing the long term effects of this genetic problem.
Bull dogs, pugs, persian cats, and all the "mushy faced" breeds have real, dangerous health problems associated with that face type, but they are still being bred and bought.
How is this all that different from those tiny dogs?
As long as they aren't in pain, and the owners are willing to do all they can to make them comfortable and happy, it's no big deal.
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In my opinion, any breeder who intentionally breeds any dog that is not in compliance with the breed's standard is irresponsible. Even if you breed two 'normal' size specimens of a breed, there will occasionally be an extra small or an extra large. While they are just as good a quality as their in-size siblings, they shouldn't be bred, but instead spayed/neutered and placed as pets. If this were done consistently, there would be fewer and fewer out of standard dogs. A responsible breeder is always aiming for the ideal.
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Rescuer, vet tech, groomer and show exhibitor of Shetland sheepdogs for 20 years
That's hard to say….I would say anything less than the standard of each particular breed. I would also look at bone and substance. If the dog is slight in bone and lacks substance…that would be unhealthy to me.
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All breeders are irresponsible. There is no reason to purchase or breed animals when good pets are killed daily in shelters.
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Granted, some of the toys are minute but then the breed for profit breeders know that they can ask even more money for the runts of runts…. The public will pay, they will gladly pay lots for that 'rare' teacup specimen of their breed, the little puppy that grows up to have constant skin and coat problems, chronic ear infections, rotten little teeth, slipping patella's, and endless other problems. I always wonder how many died when the new owners decided to breed them?! They are not capable of breeding and carrying/delivering a litter of puppies without life threatening problems.
Ok; Chihuahua: anything under 4 1/2 pounds
Maltese: Under 4 1/2 pounds
Pomeranian: under 4 1/2 pounds
Toy Poodle: Under 4 1/2 pounds
Yorkie: Under 4 pounds
Mini Dachshund: Under 7 pounds
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My opinion would be based on if said breeder were making the choice to actually breed any dog that did not properly meet the breed standard. There can easily be runts of previous litters, residing in that breeders home, runts happen. But the breeder should have the dogs properly altered and not using them in the breeding program.
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I think a responsible breeder would always only breed dogs that met (or came very close to!) the breed standard in every way, including size. Intentionally manipulating a breed's size can have detrimental effects on the dog. Some of the giant breeds have become big, bigger, BIGGEST, but the dogs suffer health consequences, including reduced life-expectancy, because of it. Similarly, the already-tiny breeds are becoming ever smaller. I can't imagine that mating two smaller-than-standard dogs of a particular breed in any way contributes to the overall well-being of the breed.
That having been said … I don't favor any of the toy breeds. I prefer a breed that emphasizes balance over strict height or weight requirements. I'm not sure if that answers your question, but I think that any attempt to intentionally produce a dog that is smaller than the breed standard is likely to result in an inferior dog with significant health-problems.
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I'd think it's not so much the size of the dogs that they're producing (even a responsible breeder will produce some small puppies) but what size of dogs they are using for breeding, and are they intentionally trying to produce super-small pups or are they trying to produce quality animals that fall within the standard's guidelines.
If I go to someone's website and they are emphasizing how tiny their dogs are then I would avoid them. If I look at a website and they are talking about *quality* and backing it up with championships then I would be more interested.
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Each breed of dog has certain standards. A good breeder will breed to better those standards and better the breed. "teacup" dogs have so many problems, they are not as strong as they could/should be.
To bree a dog to see what you get isn't fair to the dog, to the pups, or to this world they will have they to face. Pets should not be bred to meet the "new design standards". Vet care is expensive enough and if one of these small dogs say gets a broken leg the surgery is so expensive to treat smaller bones, its lmost impossible to pin a teacups leg, it would shatter under the pressure and the poop pup would either be lame for its life or lose that leg.
Vaccines are not meant for teacups and vaccinations can kill the average sized healthy dog, imagine what it could it do to a teacup?
In the average home these guys run the risk of being stepped on, door shutting on them etc etc….
if nature intended the dog to be so small they would have started out that way. Anyone who breeds to get smaller versions of a bigger dog, is cruel and should be not be allowed to have pets.
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