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Originally Posted by littleo  Thank you all! And especially Gemy, which I take your info to heart. I figured I wouldn't breed for about 2 years in which time I planned on learning everything I could about how to best breed her. Yorkies are very hard to find in this state. I would never try and breed ill pups or pups without papers. Although, my case is basically that she lied and sold me the wrong thing.
I want you all to know, that this YT has the nicest people I have talked to or heard from online in a very long time.
I will be researching. Also, I have read a lot about the tiny teacups if you will...and I hear they're not healthy because of immature fontanelles, hydrocephalus, etc.. and have a lifespan of only 3-7 years. I believe even wikipedia talks about this. Does anyone have a stance either way? |
I agree with FoxxysMom, beware of breeders who use those terms to market their dogs. There is no definition of a teacup, some people think a teacup is a dog under 12 pounds, others think it’s a dog under 3 pounds. The mother club doesn’t differentiate between sizes, they are all toy Yorkies. Some tinies are healthy, I think the problem is breeders who breed for them. Occasionally a dog is small, just because it's in his genes, and there is no underlying disease that is making it small. A good breeder will occasionally have a tiny healthy puppy, but even then you might have certain problems and you do have to pay more attention to their needs. A good breeder will not sell the tiny for more, and in fact some will place the tiny free of charge because they say, “You don’t sell heartache.”
A breeder should never breed a female less than 5 pounds in the hopes of producing a tiny. Some will breed a 5 pound female with a 3 pound male in hopes of producing a tiny, but you have to take into consideration all the dogs in the line, not just the two you are breeding. Truth is few people have households set up to take care of a dog less than 4 pounds. If a breeder hasn’t done something like deny good nutrition in order to produce small pups, a tiny can be healthy, but special attention should be given to their teeth. Dogs under 4 pounds usually lose their teeth early. Standard says, “must not exceed 7 pounds” however, don’t look to just one part of standard, look at the whole thing. I think that’s the problem with one trait breeders, they are just trying to market a novelty.