When I first came to YT I found out the term "teacup" had some negative connotations. I too, wrote and asked why on earth a term could illicit bad feelings. Then after a few years of seeing so many posts like this one:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/bre...55-beware.html where time after time, YT members have told of their experiences with unscrupulous breeders who try to get more money or make more sales by claiming their dogs are "teacups." I also saw more & more posts of YT members with new "teacup" puppies that had serious health problems. Yes, health problems can and do hit at any size, but tinies have a
greater percentage of serious problems for their numbers. They are very much more prone to hypoglycemic episodes. Tiny females that are bred have a much greater chance of requiring a C-section that puts them at greater risk due to anesthesia. The smaller the dog, the more dangerous it is to put them under. Continually breeding for tinies can also start affecting their bones and joints. Every breed has a recommended size range as that is most healthy for the breed. Our breed official parent club is YTCA and it recommends 4-7 pounds. It also says that most breeders find females unsuitable for breeding if they are under 5 pounds. Another thing to keep in mind is that breeding does not just affect the puppies of that litter. You are creating part of a health history that will affect many generations to come. That is how those sudden ultra-tiny pups occur when the parents were full size. Somewhere in the history, there was a breeder breeding tiny females.
Do not get me wrong -- I LOVE TINY Yorkies -- no matter what you call them! I was asked if that was not hypocritical to like the tiny dogs but not like breeding for them. I think enough happen naturally when you breed 5-7 pound females. I do not think there is any excuse to risk the life of a 3 pound (and LESS!) female yorkie breeding her. The goal of any breeder is to have her puppies meet standard. Wanting them all to be 7 pounds are under as adults will naturally result in some tiny 3 pounders and maybe smaller. But these are usually healthier on AVERAGE than those who are purposefully bred from tiny females and males. When continually bred too small, you sometimes wind up seeing puppies that do not meet the standard in other areas and the whole Yorkie look is lost. Many breeders of tinies are careful to hide the fact that they lose many puppies too. They point to a healthy one and say see -- I am not endangering any of them. But over time the actual facts of life are going to prove out. It is more dangerous to breed those precious tiny girls. Even if they make it through the breeding, how will they live their later years? How will that toll on their tiny bodies show in their older age?
There is nothing wrong with the term. I think that today just as I did years ago when I first came here. Now I do understand that the term has gotten associated with many unsavory practices that irresponsible breeders continue to follow. Why say you are selling teacups? What does that really mean anyway? I have seen 5 pound dogs advertised as teacups. We see puppies advertised as teacups grow to 10 and 14 pound adults all the time. So, it does not have a clear descriptive value. Most buyers think it means their adult dog will be under 3 pounds. But no one can guarantee that. All too often, you see what happened to the poster in the thread I linked above -- they were deeply disappointed in their 10 pound teacup.
I would never harass or belittle anyone using the term. I won't even let a newer member know that the term might have a negative meaning when a breeder uses it, again. I don't think anyone should be made to feel bad for using the term. I think we all agree to that. Most of us also agree that the only real negative is that unscrupulous breeders have made a habit of using the term to swindle people into buying from them over others or paying more for theirs when they are insinuating their pups will be tiny, when they may or may not turn out that way. Most of us also agree that tiny females should not be bred; that plenty of tiny puppies will occur from naturally breeding 5-7 pound females. Most agree that it is unethical to risk the lives of these precious little females for greed. I only know of a VERY FEW who think they should continue to breed 3 pounds and under females. So I do not think we are all that far from general agreement. Which is a good thing!
Sorry for the tome -- I need to work on being more succint!