Is my yorkie too big ? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Rambo'smama · 01-19-2005, 07:10 PM

When i got my lil guy they told me he was a tea cup. I even have the birth certificate to prove it. As it turns out he's almost one years old and I know for sure he's not a tea cup. I measured him today and he is 11 inches long from his neck to his tail. He's just about 7 pounds or so. Is my yorkie too big?

Bentley'sMom · 01-19-2005, 08:10 PM

Your yorkie is definitely not too big. The yorkie standard states the size should be between 4 and 7 pounds (although many do get heavier than 7 pounds which is fine). Your dog sounds like a nice size yorkie, you have nothing to worry about. You were misled about the full size of the yorkie you purchased, but sometimes it is hard to predict how big they will get.

orinskye · 01-19-2005, 08:54 PM

i second bently's mom youre yorkie is not too big...... average actually....... the breeder you bought your baby from was either ignorant or deliberatly misleading, there is no such thing as a teacup yorkie..... smaller yorkies happen because they are bred that small or they are runts, their is no separate classification..... how much did you pay for him???

Rambo'smama · 01-19-2005, 08:59 PM

My boyfriend bought him for me as a present. The breeder said that he was only going to be about 3 pounds and the dog next to him was going to be 4 1/2 and since i chose the smaller dog which is now my Rambo , that the price would be more for him cause of him being a "tea cup". We paid 2,000.. i'm guessing now that was a little to much. Was it too much?

orinskye · 01-19-2005, 09:11 PM

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!

(does that express my feelings effectively???)

Wow, i think you paid too much........... i would never pay 2,000 for a dog!!! Toby is going to be around 7 lbs and i only paid $500.... (but my baby doesnt have papers).... unfortunatly we hear stories like yours all too much these days, you love youre rambo and im sure that is all that matters...... But breeders taking advantage of people just BUG ME!!!!!!!!

Bentley'sMom · 01-19-2005, 10:25 PM

Wow - you got taken advantage of. Out here in Seattle the average price is around $1,000 (luckily I was able to find one for less). A good breeder would never inflate the price just because a yorkie will be small. The label "teacup" has been made up by some breeders to have a reason to charge more than normal for a yorkie. Yorkies can be smaller than 4 pounds, but that just means they are small, not that they fall into a new type of yorkie called "teacup". Breeders who advertise these types are trying to scam you into paying more money than necessary. The only price difference should be between male/female and show/non show quality.

yorkipower · 01-20-2005, 11:17 AM

No, like people have already posted, your Yorkie is not too big, but yes, you’ve been ripped. As was posted earlier the official standard for the Yorkshire Terrier, as it is adopted by the Yorshire Terrier Club of America (“YTCA”, the official American Kennel Club (“AKC”), states that Yorkies “shall not exceed seven pounds” of course, just because a Yorkie exceeds seven pounds, doesn’t make it less of a Yorkie – just makes it too big to be a show dog.

I can’t say this enough: THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS “TEACUPS” (other than the kind someone uses with a saucer!) That word started with toy poodles and has spread to encompass most of the dogs in the AKC “Toy” Group. It’s a marketing device and a ploy used by less than scrupulous and/or ignorant breeders who have recently jumped on the “teacup” bandwagon, fueled by a frenzy created by equally ignorant and fashion conscious pop-stars and teenage girls. Some of these breeders sell puppies for outrageous prices, and it sounds like you fell victim to one such breeder. To give you a comparison, my own POINTED SHOW DOG was less than $1,500. Incidentally, she is only four pounds.

Now, you mention that you have something in writing? I am doubtful it could be the dog’s papers as, at least, the AKC would not have put “teacup” next to “Yorkshire Terrier” in the pedigree. Is it some sort of contract or guarantee? Read it carefully. I am a lawyer, and as such, cannot give you legal advice in this instance (especially not over the internet like this) but I’d suggest that since we are talking about a sizable amount of money, and what you presumed to be a guarantee, your state (or the state of your purchase) may have a lemon-law that applies to the purchase of pets and a local attorney might be able to make a contract claim for you to recoup some of your lost funds. You should speak to an attorney and find out your legal rights and whether you can recoup some of your lost funds.

Lastly, as a more global post (not speaking to the chorus here): PEOPLE – NO ONE CAN PROMISE THE ULTIMATE SIZE OF A THREE MONTH OLD PUPPY! DO NOT BUY A PUPPY FROM SOMEONE WHO WILL SWEAR TO THE ULTIMATE SIZE OF THE DOG - ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE MARKETING IT AS A TEACUP! Amen.

browniesmom622 · 01-20-2005, 11:38 AM

To Big My Guy Is More Than 20 Pds Ha! Lmaao

mmyorkies · 01-20-2005, 12:00 PM

There is no such thing as a yorkie being too big, it is only oversized for showing. As already mentioned, the YTCA lists a max of 7 pounds for showing, but there is no limit on the small size, although you will not see tinies in the show ring because good breeders will not take the chance on breeding a tiny female. The only thing on the AKC registery is that it is a yorkshire terrier, period. Not over sized, or tea cup, or tiny or anything like that. Also, just because a pup may be the runt of the litter does not mean it will be the smallest when full grown. A yorkies size depends and the history of the line it comes from, and there is always, always , the exception to that too. If you want a guarntee on the size of the dog you are buying, wait until it is full grown, then the person can guarntee it's size, and only then. That is why we show people keep our puppies until they are 6 months or more, so that we have a pretty good idea of their size and their qualities.

browniesmom622 · 01-20-2005, 12:33 PM

brownie is supersized LOL

Chelsie1978 · 01-20-2005, 12:43 PM

Theres no such thing as a tea-cup,it just doesnt exist,so I dont know how they proved that to you with a certificate at all,there is no such thing as a birth certificate stating the yorkies size,simply because no one knows what a yorkie will weigh straight after birth.A yorkie is a yorkie and thats all you will see on any paperwork,so how she showed you any sort of document that "proved" this is beyond me.A yorkie can be bigger or smaller,but they are all just yorkies..any other fancy name used (tea-cup,baby faced,chocolate) is just to up the price and trick people into thinking they are buying something rare and special.
I have 2 yorkies,my 1 year old yorkie weighs 2 lb´s,whilst my 8 month yorkie weighs 8lb´s,but I can assure you they are both all yorkie.You were over charged for your yorkie,and you were also lied to..Birth certificates stating that your yorkie is a "tea-cup" dont exist,becuase as I said before,there is no such thing,so this could not be put into any serious document at all.

iheartyorkies · 01-20-2005, 12:44 PM

I had read that a yorkie or any toy breed that is less than 3 or 4 pounds when full grown may end up with health problems. Is that true? Bo is 3 months old and is already 4 pounds so I figure he will be over 7 or 8 pounds. I don't care. He is a sturdy little thing and a robust eater and we all adore him!

LittleBeakerBoy · 01-20-2005, 12:47 PM

im sorry you got ripped off.... i know when i was first looking for a yorkie i too wanted a very tiny one... one that would be under 4 or 5 pounds, my husband didnt want me to spend alot of money... i did at one point find a breeder who had a great gurante but was way too much... besides the two year gurante she was giving outshe was also giving a size gurante too... told me that if i wanted a tiny dog and bought one from her, and it turned out bigger then what i wanted then i could get a new dog or my money back... was a good deal, but stilll could not see myself spending that much money... well i did end up finding my puppy..(beaker boy) who i only spent 550 on with pappers and is going to stay very tiny... i just got very lucky....

Rambo'smama · 01-20-2005, 01:08 PM

yea, i guess that breeder saw us coming from far and knew that he could take our money. I mean , i didn't know anything about yorkies and I'm sure he knew that. I just wanted to have a small healthy dog and he said this was the one that wouldn't grow and weigh that much which he then called it a "tea cup". At the time i didn't know that there wasn't such thing as a "tea cup" so when i heard that i really wanted to have him. I thought the smaller the better cause i could take him anywhere and it wouldn't be of any bother to my family.

I love my dog and i wouldn't trade him for anything in this world but I'm just uspet because he didn't tell us the whole truth. He should of been honest with us. I do have a certificate of registration that says" Minuti". Even though i recieved that in the mail after having him for like 3 months.

I don't have anything else in writing but he did assure me that my dog wasn't going to exceed that weight limit. I didn't know anything about yorkies and being that he was a breeder I of course took his word for it. Maybe it wasn't all the breeder's fault. Probably mine for taking his word.

lickthestar · 01-20-2005, 02:00 PM

Yeah, that sucks. But you know what? You've got a great little yorkie and he'll be really happy with you and you are really happy with him and that's all that matters now. Incidentally, mine's 9 lbs and 8 months, and it doesn't make him any less of a great pet. He looks like a little Ewok and you can't go wrong with Ewoks. As a little side note, I wanted to add that I get a little irked when people get all worked up about the size of their yorkie. They're great no matter what. And if they're a little bigger than you expect, well, you were just meant to live with a big yorkie, that's all!! But I'm sorry that you were lied to.

01-19-2005, 07:10 PM	#1
Rambo'smama Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Manhattan Posts: 200	Is my yorkie too big ? When i got my lil guy they told me he was a tea cup. I even have the birth certificate to prove it. As it turns out he's almost one years old and I know for sure he's not a tea cup. I measured him today and he is 11 inches long from his neck to his tail. He's just about 7 pounds or so. Is my yorkie too big?

01-20-2005, 11:38 AM	#8
browniesmom622 Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: ny Posts: 11,253 Blog Entries: 5	To Big My Guy Is More Than 20 Pds Ha! Lmaao __________________ We Love our Yt Angel! My Website< > FB page

01-20-2005, 12:33 PM	#10
browniesmom622 Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: ny Posts: 11,253 Blog Entries: 5	brownie is supersized LOL __________________ We Love our Yt Angel! My Website< > FB page

01-19-2005, 08:10 PM	#2
Bentley'sMom YT Addict Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Redmond, WA Posts: 299	Your yorkie is definitely not too big. The yorkie standard states the size should be between 4 and 7 pounds (although many do get heavier than 7 pounds which is fine). Your dog sounds like a nice size yorkie, you have nothing to worry about. You were misled about the full size of the yorkie you purchased, but sometimes it is hard to predict how big they will get.

01-19-2005, 08:54 PM	#3
orinskye YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: California Posts: 2,990	i second bently's mom youre yorkie is not too big...... average actually....... the breeder you bought your baby from was either ignorant or deliberatly misleading, there is no such thing as a teacup yorkie..... smaller yorkies happen because they are bred that small or they are runts, their is no separate classification..... how much did you pay for him???

01-19-2005, 08:59 PM	#4
Rambo'smama Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Manhattan Posts: 200	My boyfriend bought him for me as a present. The breeder said that he was only going to be about 3 pounds and the dog next to him was going to be 4 1/2 and since i chose the smaller dog which is now my Rambo , that the price would be more for him cause of him being a "tea cup". We paid 2,000.. i'm guessing now that was a little to much. Was it too much?

01-19-2005, 09:11 PM	#5
orinskye YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: California Posts: 2,990	OMG!!!!!!!!!!! (does that express my feelings effectively???) Wow, i think you paid too much........... i would never pay 2,000 for a dog!!! Toby is going to be around 7 lbs and i only paid $500.... (but my baby doesnt have papers).... unfortunatly we hear stories like yours all too much these days, you love youre rambo and im sure that is all that matters...... But breeders taking advantage of people just BUG ME!!!!!!!!

01-19-2005, 10:25 PM	#6
Bentley'sMom YT Addict Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Redmond, WA Posts: 299	Wow - you got taken advantage of. Out here in Seattle the average price is around $1,000 (luckily I was able to find one for less). A good breeder would never inflate the price just because a yorkie will be small. The label "teacup" has been made up by some breeders to have a reason to charge more than normal for a yorkie. Yorkies can be smaller than 4 pounds, but that just means they are small, not that they fall into a new type of yorkie called "teacup". Breeders who advertise these types are trying to scam you into paying more money than necessary. The only price difference should be between male/female and show/non show quality.

01-20-2005, 11:17 AM	#7
yorkipower BANNED! Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: New York Posts: 446	No, like people have already posted, your Yorkie is not too big, but yes, you’ve been ripped. As was posted earlier the official standard for the Yorkshire Terrier, as it is adopted by the Yorshire Terrier Club of America (“YTCA”, the official American Kennel Club (“AKC”), states that Yorkies “shall not exceed seven pounds” of course, just because a Yorkie exceeds seven pounds, doesn’t make it less of a Yorkie – just makes it too big to be a show dog. I can’t say this enough: THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS “TEACUPS” (other than the kind someone uses with a saucer!) That word started with toy poodles and has spread to encompass most of the dogs in the AKC “Toy” Group. It’s a marketing device and a ploy used by less than scrupulous and/or ignorant breeders who have recently jumped on the “teacup” bandwagon, fueled by a frenzy created by equally ignorant and fashion conscious pop-stars and teenage girls. Some of these breeders sell puppies for outrageous prices, and it sounds like you fell victim to one such breeder. To give you a comparison, my own POINTED SHOW DOG was less than $1,500. Incidentally, she is only four pounds. Now, you mention that you have something in writing? I am doubtful it could be the dog’s papers as, at least, the AKC would not have put “teacup” next to “Yorkshire Terrier” in the pedigree. Is it some sort of contract or guarantee? Read it carefully. I am a lawyer, and as such, cannot give you legal advice in this instance (especially not over the internet like this) but I’d suggest that since we are talking about a sizable amount of money, and what you presumed to be a guarantee, your state (or the state of your purchase) may have a lemon-law that applies to the purchase of pets and a local attorney might be able to make a contract claim for you to recoup some of your lost funds. You should speak to an attorney and find out your legal rights and whether you can recoup some of your lost funds. Lastly, as a more global post (not speaking to the chorus here): PEOPLE – NO ONE CAN PROMISE THE ULTIMATE SIZE OF A THREE MONTH OLD PUPPY! DO NOT BUY A PUPPY FROM SOMEONE WHO WILL SWEAR TO THE ULTIMATE SIZE OF THE DOG - ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE MARKETING IT AS A TEACUP! Amen.

01-20-2005, 12:00 PM	#9
mmyorkies No Longer a Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 357	There is no such thing as a yorkie being too big, it is only oversized for showing. As already mentioned, the YTCA lists a max of 7 pounds for showing, but there is no limit on the small size, although you will not see tinies in the show ring because good breeders will not take the chance on breeding a tiny female. The only thing on the AKC registery is that it is a yorkshire terrier, period. Not over sized, or tea cup, or tiny or anything like that. Also, just because a pup may be the runt of the litter does not mean it will be the smallest when full grown. A yorkies size depends and the history of the line it comes from, and there is always, always , the exception to that too. If you want a guarntee on the size of the dog you are buying, wait until it is full grown, then the person can guarntee it's size, and only then. That is why we show people keep our puppies until they are 6 months or more, so that we have a pretty good idea of their size and their qualities.

01-20-2005, 12:43 PM	#11
Chelsie1978 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Mallorca-Spain Posts: 379	Theres no such thing as a tea-cup,it just doesnt exist,so I dont know how they proved that to you with a certificate at all,there is no such thing as a birth certificate stating the yorkies size,simply because no one knows what a yorkie will weigh straight after birth.A yorkie is a yorkie and thats all you will see on any paperwork,so how she showed you any sort of document that "proved" this is beyond me.A yorkie can be bigger or smaller,but they are all just yorkies..any other fancy name used (tea-cup,baby faced,chocolate) is just to up the price and trick people into thinking they are buying something rare and special. I have 2 yorkies,my 1 year old yorkie weighs 2 lb´s,whilst my 8 month yorkie weighs 8lb´s,but I can assure you they are both all yorkie.You were over charged for your yorkie,and you were also lied to..Birth certificates stating that your yorkie is a "tea-cup" dont exist,becuase as I said before,there is no such thing,so this could not be put into any serious document at all.

01-20-2005, 12:44 PM	#12
iheartyorkies Boppin' Bo! Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 2,719	I had read that a yorkie or any toy breed that is less than 3 or 4 pounds when full grown may end up with health problems. Is that true? Bo is 3 months old and is already 4 pounds so I figure he will be over 7 or 8 pounds. I don't care. He is a sturdy little thing and a robust eater and we all adore him!

01-20-2005, 12:47 PM	#13
LittleBeakerBoy Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: NorthWest Florida Posts: 82	im sorry you got ripped off.... i know when i was first looking for a yorkie i too wanted a very tiny one... one that would be under 4 or 5 pounds, my husband didnt want me to spend alot of money... i did at one point find a breeder who had a great gurante but was way too much... besides the two year gurante she was giving outshe was also giving a size gurante too... told me that if i wanted a tiny dog and bought one from her, and it turned out bigger then what i wanted then i could get a new dog or my money back... was a good deal, but stilll could not see myself spending that much money... well i did end up finding my puppy..(beaker boy) who i only spent 550 on with pappers and is going to stay very tiny... i just got very lucky....

01-20-2005, 01:08 PM	#14
Rambo'smama Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Manhattan Posts: 200	yea, i guess that breeder saw us coming from far and knew that he could take our money. I mean , i didn't know anything about yorkies and I'm sure he knew that. I just wanted to have a small healthy dog and he said this was the one that wouldn't grow and weigh that much which he then called it a "tea cup". At the time i didn't know that there wasn't such thing as a "tea cup" so when i heard that i really wanted to have him. I thought the smaller the better cause i could take him anywhere and it wouldn't be of any bother to my family. I love my dog and i wouldn't trade him for anything in this world but I'm just uspet because he didn't tell us the whole truth. He should of been honest with us. I do have a certificate of registration that says" Minuti". Even though i recieved that in the mail after having him for like 3 months. I don't have anything else in writing but he did assure me that my dog wasn't going to exceed that weight limit. I didn't know anything about yorkies and being that he was a breeder I of course took his word for it. Maybe it wasn't all the breeder's fault. Probably mine for taking his word.

01-20-2005, 02:00 PM	#15
lickthestar YT Addict Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NY Posts: 360	Yeah, that sucks. But you know what? You've got a great little yorkie and he'll be really happy with you and you are really happy with him and that's all that matters now. Incidentally, mine's 9 lbs and 8 months, and it doesn't make him any less of a great pet. He looks like a little Ewok and you can't go wrong with Ewoks. As a little side note, I wanted to add that I get a little irked when people get all worked up about the size of their yorkie. They're great no matter what. And if they're a little bigger than you expect, well, you were just meant to live with a big yorkie, that's all!! But I'm sorry that you were lied to.