is she a 'teacup'?

[capt_noonie]

I feel bad when someone proudly announces their yorkie is a micro. I said "what's that?" And they say "It's smaller than a teacup". and I think to myself "you just got riiiiiiiiiiped off!!!" i don't have the heart to tell them, you could have bought two for the price you paid for your "micro". Of course, she bought it from a pet store!

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

I feel bad when someone proudly announces their yorkie is a micro. I said "what's that?" And they say "It's smaller than a teacup". and I think to myself "you just got riiiiiiiiiiped off!!!" i don't have the heart to tell them, you could have bought two for the price you paid for your "micro". Of course, she bought it from a pet store!

Wow. Next time say, "why didn't you get a nano?"

[oopsmyhalofello]

I used to get asked that all the time about one of mine, at first I would try to explain there was no such thing as a teacup yorkie. Now, I just don't care whether they are educated as to what the YTCA dictates and what AKC yorkie standards are. Yes, the term is used unscrupulously by some breeders but its just a word, whats the point in wasting the time explaining it. Just my opinion

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by oopsmyhalofello

I used to get asked that all the time about one of mine, at first I would try to explain there was no such thing as a teacup yorkie. Now, I just don't care whether they are educated as to what the YTCA dictates and what AKC yorkie standards are. Yes, the term is used unscrupulously by some breeders but its just a word, whats the point in wasting the time explaining it. Just my opinion

the reason i started explaining it to other people is because i myself did not know that 'teacup' was an incorrect term until after joining YT. i had no idea that looking for a small size dog was a bad thing.

after joining YT, i learned a lot about yorkie size/health ...etc.

and hearing people's experience with sick dogs scared me, and i wanted to try to tell others that they should first and foremost pay attention to the health of the puppy, not the size.

[Fancy_Pants]

Originally Posted by LilMissy

I get asked this at least once a day. My new response is, "What's that"?

I like that!

I haven't had anybody ask (so far) if Fancy is a teacup. She is tiny only weighing in around 2 lbs 12 ozs. Fancy is 7 1/2 months old and everyone just assumes she is a young puppy that is 2 or 3 months old. Personally I think she looks older because her hair is changing colors. But so far everyone asks, "thats a yorkshire terrier, right?" (and then awww, she is pretty)

[oopsmyhalofello]

Originally Posted by yorkiepuppie

the reason i started explaining it to other people is because i myself did not know that 'teacup' was an incorrect term until after joining YT. i had no idea that looking for a small size dog was a bad thing.

after joining YT, i learned a lot about yorkie size/health ...etc.

and hearing people's experience with sick dogs scared me, and i wanted to try to tell others that they should first and foremost pay attention to the health of the puppy, not the size.

The receptionist at my vets office would even call her a teacup, I don't think that the majority of people we run int who questions us on that are the same as say, someone who was looking at maybe getting a yorkie puppy. If that was the case I would then explain a little more so they had at least the little bit of info I can provide. But someone walking buy who randomly asks just isn't worth the bother, their next question would probably be how much did she/he cost you. What i'm trying to say is that if you are able to speak with people about this topic and lead them in the right direction getting their own yorkie pup thats wonderful. I just don't bother with curiosity seekers.

[PANAMA69]

Well, I just to try to explain to people and give them all the speech lol, some people even get ofended thinking tha you know all thing, so what I do is they ask me or said oh is that a teacup? or omg a teacup!, I just tell them nicely that NO she is a toy, and they look so confused if they keep asking or saying it, then they get the whole speech

[capt_noonie]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Wow. Next time say, "why didn't you get a nano?"

Hahahaha that's very funny! I wish I could say that. I was literally LOL when I read your comment!

[JoshieBoy]

My dog is one pound over the standard guidelines in weight, so my dog would never be seen as a teacup. The word teacup does not offend me. To me the word teacup is a descriptive word use to describe Yorkies that weigh less than the standard guidelines in weight. I do understand why some people on this forum dislike the word. Bad breeders have use the word has a marketing tools to make people spend more money on dogs that do not meet the standard.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by JoshieBoy

My dog is one pound over the standard guidelines in weight, so my dog would never be seen as a teacup. The word teacup does not offend me. To me the word teacup is a descriptive word use to describe Yorkies that weigh less than the standard guidelines in weight. I do understand why some people on this forum dislike the word. Bad breeders have use the word has a marketing tools to make people spend more money on dogs that do not meet the standard.

That's just it! Small yorkies are not "less than standard" they are within standard in weight. Standard is 7 pounds and below. The YTCA sets the standard. So even a 1-pound Yorkie is still a "standard" size Yorkie. In other words, unlike many breeds, Yorkies don't have different sizes that are official. Poodles have three different official sizes, the standard, the miniature, and the toy. At one time, I had a hard time remembering which was smaller, the toy or the miniature, and the word "teacup" seemed very useful, because that referred to the smallest size, which indeed is the toy. A teacup poodle is the toy poodle, so theoretically, all yorkies that are within standard are considered by some a teacup, since all yorkies are considered in the toy classification.

[Nancy1999]

I just want to add that the reason I think this is an important distinction is that if people believe that there is different classifications of Yorkies, they will also believe that it is safe to breed the smaller yorkies.

[JoshieBoy]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

That's just it! Small yorkies are not "less than standard" they are within standard in weight. Standard is 7 pounds and below. The YTCA sets the standard. So even a 1-pound Yorkie is still a "standard" size Yorkie. In other words, unlike many breeds, Yorkies don't have different sizes that are official. Poodles have three different official sizes, the standard, the miniature, and the toy. At one time, I had a hard time remembering which was smaller, the toy or the miniature, and the word "teacup" seemed very useful, because that referred to the smallest size, which indeed is the toy. A teacup poodle is the toy poodle, so theoretically, all yorkies that are within standard are considered by some a teacup, since all yorkies are considered in the toy classification.

I was told that Yorkies should weigh four to seven pounds. Yorkies that weigh less than four pounds are teacups to me.

[JoshieBoy]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

That's just it! Small yorkies are not "less than standard" they are within standard in weight. Standard is 7 pounds and below. The YTCA sets the standard. So even a 1-pound Yorkie is still a "standard" size Yorkie. In other words, unlike many breeds, Yorkies don't have different sizes that are official. Poodles have three different official sizes, the standard, the miniature, and the toy. At one time, I had a hard time remembering which was smaller, the toy or the miniature, and the word "teacup" seemed very useful, because that referred to the smallest size, which indeed is the toy. A teacup poodle is the toy poodle, so theoretically, all yorkies that are within standard are considered by some a teacup, since all yorkies are considered in the toy classification.

Whoops, I made a mistake. I was told that Yorkies should weigh four to seven pounds, so I thought four to seven pounds was the weight standard for Yorkies. Thanks for the information. I know Yorkies do not have a weight classification like Poodles. To me teacups are Yorkies that are extremely small or smaller than the average size Yorkie. I use the word teacup has a descriptive word to describe Yorkies smaller than four pounds.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by JoshieBoy

I was told that Yorkies should weigh four to seven pounds. Yorkies that weigh less than four pounds are teacups to me.

That's probably a good breeding average, in other words, you probably shouldn't breed a yorkie over 7 pounds or under 4 (unless a male), but the YTCA sets the standard, as:

Weight

Must not exceed seven pounds. Yorkshire Terrier Club of America Official Breed Standard

Like I said earlier, since there is no official definition of the word "teacup", it's meaning varies from person to person.

[Mommy2Lacey]

Hmmm.....I wonder if my Lacey is a "miniture teacup"...JOKING
But I did get asked this. I just laughed and said no she's still growing.