breeders who sell teacups

[Jaya and Jenna]

all of us here are yorkie lovers and agree on the word teacup...some of us have babies on the smaller side, so its not like we are against smaller ones, but we're against the word teacup, because of what it allows breeders to do.

My issue is that anyone who has smaller yorkies, are using 'teacup' on their ads, websites, and everything in between. I'm from west canada, and its just huge here. And the prices they are being sold at are $3500+ sometimes $7000+ for bigscale breeders and $2800+ for smalltime wannabe breeders. It is sickening. I have tried to confront a few of these breeders, and their main comment to me is 'we are catering to the those ppl who want high quality yorkies and can afford it' --when confronted with the word 'teacup' ---------they tell me that theirs truly are! ........it makes me so upset, that these poor pups are being used in such a way.

so my issue is how we can take a stand against these breeders!!! when will it stop? if there is no breed standard for teacups, how can they be using it??

Any suggestions on what we can start doing???

[kanda]

I think that by not buying from breeders that use this phrase, AND spreading the word...hopefully this will help. If you happen to have a tiny, dont let anyone walk away from you thinking that you have a "teacup". If someone is ooohing and aaaahing at your "teacup", be responsible and correct them. Most people mean no harm when using this word, it may be all they know....and if your little furbabe tempts someone to go buy one, it will have been great of you to informed them before they set out to pay $3500+ (!!!) for this "special" type of yorkie.

Where in western Canada are you?

[Jacoby]

Jacoby is a tiny yorkie and everyone who comes up to me and asks me if he is a teacup?? As if it is a different breed or something....and I just say that he was just the smallest of his litter. So many people are misinformed. From now on I'll start to correct people and tell them there is no such thing as a teacup!!

[MyFairLacy]

I think the only thing we can do is NOT BUY FROM THOSE BREEDERS and educate others that there is no such thing as a "teacup" dog.

Unfortunately, a lot of unreputable breeders are going to use the word because it brings in big bucks and there are plenty of people that don't know any better

[majic50]

Originally Posted by Jacoby

Jacoby is a tiny yorkie and everyone who comes up to me and asks me if he is a teacup?? As if it is a different breed or something....and I just say that he was just the smallest of his litter. So many people are misinformed. From now on I'll start to correct people and tell them there is no such thing as a teacup!!

I know people ask me if Caesar is a teacup. I tell them he wasn't bred to be a teacup, he just happened to be the smallest puppy in the litter. I think all his litter mates grew to be at least 5 pounds.

Then people say are those TOY Yorkies, like that's a DIFFERENT breed. I tell them Yorkies are TOY terriers, so all Yorkies are toy dogs.

[Mybabyboymax]

Teacups, Tinies, miniature...all the same thing, a small yorkie. I mean it really makes no difference what they are called because in the end they are all the same thing...a small dog.

[marcerella02]

Layla is 6lbs, but compact and people STILL ask me if she is a toy or a teacup or a tiny .. and to answer your question.. to make that word go away.... WE need to educate people. let thme know the term doesnt' exit and yorkies only come in standard size (that's my first and osmetimes only line) ifpeople ask further. i'll tell them it's a ploy used by breeders.

[grayxie]

The general public just doesn't know or understand and the mis-information keeps being perpetuated. They think they are getting something extra special with the word "designer" or "teacup" attached to it.

[Crisalide]

Personally, I am amazed that people can fetch so much more for "teacup" puppies than standard pups. At least, that's what I gather just by browsing the ads in the newspaper and websites online advertising them. I've read some people claiming that their teacups are not "runts" of the litters but are "true teacups". Okay, so my question would be, how did they get them down to such a small size if they didn't do it by breading the runts of the litters?

[kosoma]

I agree that the word is used incorrectly by breeders....however, I have also seen where it is used simply as an adjective. It's not wrong to say "a small Yorkie". Many people say "a teacup Yorkie" to refer only to size. They are not implying that it is a separate breed. (Of course I realize that many also do)

I do feel that breeders shouldn't use it even as an adjective, not because it's wrong to use as an adjective, but because some people misinterpret it. And it's like they are profiting off the misinterpretation.

However, just because someone uses the word "teacup" to describe a Yorkie doesn't automatically mean they think it's a separate breed. People also use the term "teapot". But it doesn't mean they think a Teapot Yorkie is a separate breed.

[Jaya and Jenna]

you guys are totally right! We have to educate people. I garner a lot of attention with my yorkies, and everyone asks. I will use those times to tell people about how 'teacup' is being used to sell yorkies at ridiculous prices, and more importantly used and bred in questionable conditions to make such small pups.

I had wanted a small pup when i got Jaya. I feel guilty for that because i believe that ppl like me are the 'demand' part of demand and supply and there are just too many ppl wanting to profit on ignorance

i looked into the yorkshire breed for a whole year before i got Jaya, and i had a lot of confrontations with those mainstream breeders because i believed even then that what they were doing was wrong.

[Pinkluver]

While looking for our first yorkie I talked to a breeder who listed her smaller yorkies as "teacup" but also explained that there is no such thing as a teacup but rather she used it as a term to describe their small size, and that TEACUP was not a TYPE of Yorkie. Just curious as to what you all think of that? She didn't breed often nor were here male and female especially small. Other than using the term teacup I thought she was a good breeder.

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by Pinkluver

While looking for our first yorkie I talked to a breeder who listed her smaller yorkies as "teacup" but also explained that there is no such thing as a teacup but rather she used it as a term to describe their small size, and that TEACUP was not a TYPE of Yorkie. Just curious as to what you all think of that? She didn't breed often nor were here male and female especially small. Other than using the term teacup I thought she was a good breeder.

I still don't like it because the word is really deceiving. There are way too many people out there that really believe a "teacup" yorkie (or any breed) really exists and they think they are buying something special and better than a regular yorkie. I've honestly met people that thought their "teacup" yorkie was something different than my yorkie. I just don't think it's a good idea for any breeder to use it at all

[ILOVEYORKIES2]

I think there are reputable breeders that use the word teacup as a marketing tool because thats what people search for on search engines and there is nothing wrong with marketing keywords in search engines to drive traffic to your website. However, the breeder need to explain on their website that there is no such thing as a teacup and explain what people mean when they use the word. I seen one website that said "There is no such thing as a teacup yorkie but we have them". I didn't quite know what to think about that one.

[BLEU BOY BARBER]

WOW EVERYONE JUMPED OFF ON TEACUP.... I BOUGHT MY BLEU AS A TEACUP BECAUSE I WAS UNEDUCATED... I HAVE A EDUMACATION NOW AND WILL DEFINITELY KNOW BETTER BUT I SAID ALL THAT TO SAY THIS

HOW IN THE (hello)DO WE GET THE WORD OUT ON THESE BREEDERS!

YES IM ALL FOR EDUCATION TRUST ME BUT IM REALLY FOR SHUTTING THEIR
(ask me no more questions) DOWN

WHAT LEGALLY CAN BE DONE? I KNOW OF A ROUGH SITUATION AND THEY NEED TO BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE PERIOD!

THE MORE I THINK ABOUT THIS THE MADDER I GET!