Dilemna and questions

[GirlProgeny]

These questions are on size and health. Roxxy seems to be on the small size. I have never taken her out where people haven't asked if she's a "teacup" (I understand the controversy about the word but I think most people use this term to indicate small, not necessarily breed). Anyway, as far as I know, Roxxy comes from standard size parents and she was not the smallest of the litter. She will be 7 mos tomorrow and weighs 3lbs 8ozs. Her growth has been as follows, 8 wks 2.4, 12 weeks 2.4-at that point I was very worried but the vet said everything was fine. At 16 weeks she jumped to 2.8 and at 20 weeks 3.4, in 2 weeks she gained 4ozs and thats where she's stayed. She is 14in long, 11in girth and 7in from shoulder. I would much rather have a larger less fragile dog; do you all think she will grow much bigger? Almost every other dog I've seen is much larger. Her brother is not that much larger but his mom says he's 5lbs but I think he's a little more than that. Lengthwise he's just a little longer. I'm posting pics for you all to see her/them. I guess my question is, is she "normal" size. I do understand the variances, etc so normal is difficult to define but based on the dogs I've seen she really seems small. My worry comes from the fact that I was told the runt of the litter died. I wasn't told this until weeks after I had her and I didn't get her from a true breeder, a friend of mine had a friend who bred the dog. I didn't care about this since I only wanted a companion but my worry relates to health and size, what do you all think? Do I need to worry about the health things that affect the smaller yorkie? Is it an indication of poor genetics that the runt died? I was never told why or what happened and I think the litter was 4 or 5.

[Breny]

Sometimes it happens that a breeder may lose a baby from a litter that is smaller and just not as strong enough as the others. Thats where I step in and I feed the baby and help out. It happens and its not saying that baby is "sick". there can be many reasons.

As far as her size and growing. I have found that as they mature they may not get "bigger" but will gain weight and "fill out" up until they are 2. This may just be her size and how she is going to be. Genetics has a way of fooling us. Size of mom and dad don't always play a part. She can be picking up a gene from either parents side way back.

She's a cutie! Not all small dogs are "sick" or have health issues My male will be 3 in Dec and he is only 3 lbs. Healthy as can be

[GirlProgeny]

Thanks for responding. That info does help. I do hope she fill out a little, that was the perfect way of putting it. I had no clue on when they start to reach adult size do didn't know what to expect.

[My lil friend]

I visited with a friend last night that has two girls from the same parents. They are from two different litters. One weighed 12lbs and the other weighed 3lbs. They look nothing alike but they have the same mommy and daddy.

[GirlProgeny]

That's the thing, such variation. The thing that had me concerned though was that most of the yorkies I've seen, all seemed so much bigger than her, some were the exact same age. Yesterday, I saw a 2yo male that was a little bigger than her but they didn't know his weight and once @ petsmart, I saw a 2 pounder that was adorable. Every other Yorkie I've met so far (about 15 or 20 so far) has been much larger. When people ask if she's a teacup I always say she's not suppossed to be and I hope she grows a bit. I think if I had my choice, I'd like her to be 6 or 7 pounds. I wouldn't mind a solid lil girl.

[My lil friend]

I have to admit that her tiny little girl looked frail. Mina is 6months old today and Im guessing that she is about 5.5lbls ,but even at 3lbs when I brought her home there was nothing frail about her. Quite the tomboy. She just allows me to dress her in frilly dresses because it makes me happy. She does like her hairbows.

[GirlProgeny]

Happy 1/2 Birthday Mina. Roxxy did seem frail when she wouldn't move past 2.4 but she doesn't seem quite as frail now. Still her brother is more filled out and there's a much more comforting sort of heft to him when you pick him up. Everytime I pick him up I come away feeling like my baby is woefully fragile. Roxxy is also resigned to the bows. Since it's gotten warm she gets a pass on the harness vests and dresses but she was resigned to that too. It's hilarious, when "getting her ready" she always gives a little sigh. I swear, sometimes I wish she could talk; sure she'd say, I love you but really.

[Rachael1983]

I get similiar questions about our yorkie. He's 4.5 pounds and his growth pattern was similiar to your dog's. I would say that although she is small, she can get fuller after a while. You mentioned that Roxxy's brother seems heaftier and less fragile than your girl. A small piece of that puzzle is also that he's a boy and she's a girl. You'll see your girl will be just fine in time.

[simbasmom]

One of my boys, Simba, is 2 1/2 years old and he weighs 4 pounds 2 ounces and has been at that weight for at least 6 months. When I brought him home at 4 months he weighed less than 2 pounds. However he's as healthy as can be. I spoke with the breeder a while back and she told me that the runt of the liter wound up only weighing about 2 1/2 pounds and I thought Simba was the runt, lol. Both parents weighed around 5 pounds and there were 5 dogs in the liter so I wonder if the more dogs that are born the smaller they wind up being. Just a theory, I don't really know.