As I'm still quite naive to many things, I appreciate the advice you gave to her...and that you noted there are health concerns in "teacups" or undersized Yorkies which is really important for people to understand or in the least be aware of...along with the difference of breeding for them as opposed to just having one 'come up small'.
Its sad so many "breeders" breed dogs that are too small for breeding just to produce "teacups".

That's where the problem is. They think the yorkie has the same standard of size as the poodle does. There is a standard poodle, a toy, and a miniature. There are many people who think that the yorkie is the same. A standard, a toy, and a teacup. And yes, many people believe they are a different dog entirely. What they don't realize is a yorkie is a yorkie, no matter the size.

The reason yorkies come in so many sizes is because when the yorkie was first bred it was a much larger breed and was bred down in size over the years by breeding 2 runts of litters together to produce a smaller breed so even now yorkies of the same litter can be different sizes.
Years ago what is now called a 'tea cup' would of just been called the runt of the litter which most people did not want as it was associated with health problems so as you can imagine breeding two runts together was prob not a good idea and could be where the breeds health problems come from today.
Breed standard of a yorkie is up to 7 pounds but thats just for showing yorkies.
I have had yorkies from 6 pounds up to 18 pounds.:D

Am I right or wrong here...or does anyone really know?
I'm just trying to get it figured out, out of curiosity.
It's hard to figure out what is fact and what is not and honestly I'd prefer to get research from the country of origin rather than here...but either/or

That in England the Yorkie is an averaged 6-8 pounds, until recent years when it was changed 4-6 pounds, and the breed standard there is slightly larger than here?>height and weight? That previously even with downsizing of the originating breeds, Yorkies were still intended to be around 10# until the registration began and people with smaller lines had their dogs promoted as the breed standard?

So what used to be considered a "teacup" was a standard size Yorkie now here and what is called a "teapot" now was the standard prior in England? :confused:
I think I just confused myself here! :rolleyes:

:eek: Your not the only one confused :D
I would say most yorkies here in the uk are of the larger size as we dont very often see the under 4 pound ones here but do see a lot of yorkies lets say the size of a westie.
As far as i know kennel club breed standard is the same in the uk and usa being must not be over 7 pounds to be able to show.
Yorkies were first bred to kill rats so had to be small enough to get in to small places but big enough to kill a rat as far as i can remember up to 30 pounds when they first started breeding them, they were dogs of farmers and property owners but when the wives of the property owners saw they were cute they wanted them as cute pretty pets so the fashion changed and they were bred down in size and no longer used as ratters.
There is no proven history of where the yorkie came from but most agree they came from Huddersfield Ben who was born 1865 and died in 1871.
Some records show that yorkies were given different names back then and showing had different weight classes but none were over 12 pounds but if you ever see a painting of ben you can see he is well over 12 pounds in weight yet he was shown so its hard to know what is the truth. :)

Some links both with different ideas http://www.ytca.org/history.html
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/breeds/yorkies.html
http://searchwarp.com/swa292663.htm

Good response and I will say exactly that the next time I'm asked. Sometimes people just surprise me and I'm not always quick on the reply. Your reply to them is perfect...and a good way to open the door to get clarification on exactly what they are looking for and to help them understand some of the perils of having an extra small Yorkie.

My female Yorkie (also my first Yorkie) is 17 months old and weighs 2.5 pounds. When I got her she was 11 weeks old and was the same size as her 2 brothers and sister. Her Dad was 5lbs and her mom was 6 pounds. This is my first Yorkie and we love her so much. She had to have LP surgery on her back left leg in September. We took her to a Board Certified Surgeon in Pittsburgh and she did well with the anesthesia. The surgeon tested her for Liver Shunt which she does not have before the surgery along with some other blood panels. He said she was just a small Yorkie. I wish she was bigger I worry a lot about her. She is a great little dog and she loves everybody:) I would love to get another but I am afraid if it is much bigger then her she could get hurt just from playing around. I do believe that the "Teacup" term is "WRONG". And selling them for more money is wrong also. I would give a dog away if I knew for sure it was going to be loved for its entire life. All that matters is that it is loved and cared for all of its life:)

Oh you are in England! My ex-husband is from there and it was his family that started the whole Yorkie history interest for me, I've always loved them had them in my family as pets, but didn't ever really question their history...I wish I remembered her name bu his grandma's friend was a breeder there really into their history, anyways she passed on a lot of information I haven't seen here or haven't had many people agree with here so I've always wanted to talk to somene else across the ond and see if there was just a different perspective there or what not!

Thank you so much for your comments...I've noticed a lot of what you said too but I'm still in the early processes of learning so I'm hesitant to hold much stock in anything yet...

It is so wrong and unethical for someone to breed a yorkie trying for these designer dog labels they come up with for the mighty $$.

I don't think most have an idea how small a 4lb yorkie is my rescue savannah is 3.6lbs.

from the tip of her nose to the back she is almost 12" long and height to the top of her head is about the same her little legs are about 7" off the floor.

She is a bitty little girl and its been a big adjustment for me getting used to her little size and i have no small children.

I hate to get on my soapbox constantly but the person who had her bred my little girl twice :mad:

first time she had 2 puppies 2nd time 5 and she went into seizures...had to have a csection and you can guess why this lady was dumping her...the mighty $$$ and risk of having to spend it on another csection.

She gave me open paperwork and yep about 5 times pretty much told me she could probably have a few more litters...I held my cool but told her firmly that i already had plans on having her spayed since I am a one yorkie mama and just need a baby to love on after losing my precious binky.

Those searching for a puppy should note this life this poor little girl had

crated most of her 4 years and when handled it was roughly and she's made amazing strides in 3 weeks here.

If I was in search of a puppy I'd be asking about the parents and be hoping the were 5+lbs and hope my puppy would grow up to be 5+lbs.

P.S. she also has luxating patellas and is bow legged in in front legs but I don't love her any less

I also know with time and patience she will be happy and adjust but she'll still carry some of those fears and need an extra cuddle and encouragement for the rest of her life when something is not familiar with our daily routine.

Bless you! Some people are so sick! Ignoring both aspects of responsible breeding...the ethical treatment of animals and the responsibility of creating healthy pups...

Yes its all a bit confusing because the breeders of yorkies didn't keep any records so most of it is guess work :D

Yorkshire terrierhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...tle_tootie.JPGA Yorkshire terrierNicknamesYorkie, Walking Jewel, Yorkshire TerrorCountry of originEngland[hide]TraitsLife span13 to 16 years[show]Classification and standardsFCIGroup 3:Terriers Section 4:Toy Terriers #86standardAKCToy GroupstandardANKCGroup 1 (Toys)standardCKCGroup V, ToysstandardKC (UK)Toy GroupstandardNZKCToy GroupstandardDog (Canis lupus familiaris)
The Yorkshire terrier is a small dog breed of terrier type, developed in the 19th century in the historical area of Yorkshire, England to catch rats in clothing mills. The defining features of the breed are its small size, less than 3.2 kg or 7.03 pounds, and its silky blue and tan coat. The breed is nicknamed Yorkie and is placed in the Toy Terrier section of the Terrier Group by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale and in the Toy Group or Companion Group by other kennel clubs, although all agree that the breed is a terrier. A winning show dog and a popular companion dog, the Yorkshire terrier has also been part of the development of other breeds, such as the Australian Silky Terrier.
Both Silky Terrier and Yorkshire Terrier are often confused with one another especially when they are at their puppy stage or having the same clip. The easiest way to differentia them is looking at their body shape. From a side view, Silky Terrier is rather “oblongish” (its length is slightly longer than its height) whereas Yorkshire Terrier is more squarely proportion.
Yorkshire Terrier was developed from a combination of Scottish and English black-and-tan terriers, Maltese, and now extinct Clydesdale Terrier. From each litter the smallest dogs were selected for breeding, and gradually Yorkshire Terrier was “shrank” to the ideal size of what we see today.
Silky Terrier was developed in Australia from crossing Yorkshire Terrier and Australia Terrier, when Yorkies were brought to Australia in late 1800s. Although Silky Terrier gained a foothold in America after WWII, it’s far away from the most popular breeds in US and UK till this day. (Just a little info on why we see a size difference) *Note this info was gathered via-internet and byno means is my own thoughts!

Yorkshire terrierhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...tle_tootie.JPGA Yorkshire terrierNicknamesYorkie, Walking Jewel, Yorkshire TerrorCountry of originEngland[hide]TraitsLife span13 to 16 years[show]Classification and standardsFCIGroup 3:Terriers Section 4:Toy Terriers #86standardAKCToy GroupstandardANKCGroup 1 (Toys)standardCKCGroup V, ToysstandardKC (UK)Toy GroupstandardNZKCToy GroupstandardDog (Canis lupus familiaris)
The Yorkshire terrier is a small dog breed of terrier type, developed in the 19th century in the historical area of Yorkshire, England to catch rats in clothing mills. The defining features of the breed are its small size, less than 3.2 kg or 7.03 pounds, and its silky blue and tan coat. The breed is nicknamed Yorkie and is placed in the Toy Terrier section of the Terrier Group by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale and in the Toy Group or Companion Group by other kennel clubs, although all agree that the breed is a terrier. A winning show dog and a popular companion dog, the Yorkshire terrier has also been part of the development of other breeds, such as the Australian Silky Terrier.
Both Silky Terrier and Yorkshire Terrier are often confused with one another especially when they are at their puppy stage or having the same clip. The easiest way to differentia them is looking at their body shape. From a side view, Silky Terrier is rather “oblongish” (its length is slightly longer than its height) where as Yorkshire Terrier is more squarely proportion.
Yorkshire Terrier was developed from a combination of Scottish and English black-and-tan terriers, Maltese, and now extinct Clydesdale Terrier. From each litter the smallest dogs were selected for breeding, and gradually Yorkshire Terrier was “shrank” to the ideal size of what we see today.
Silky Terrier was developed in Australia from crossing Yorkshire Terrier and Australia Terrier, when Yorkies were brought to Australia in late 1800s. Although Silky Terrier gained a foothold in America after WWII, it’s far away from the most popular breeds in US and UK till this day. (Just a little info on why we see a size difference) We do have two kinds in this class of breeds confused as a yorkie or called a t-cup The Yorkieshire is usally smaller then the Silky Terrier *Note some of this info was gathered via-internet and by no means is my own thoughts!

Was that about my and S's comments? :confused:
We were talking about Yorkies not Silkys...well I won't speak for her...I was...she is from England though, pretty sure she knows the difference too...
I was referring to the change in the Yorkie standards of the breed club there in part I believe because the AKC standards were smaller now their standards are smaller but prior they were larger and you see a lot more "teapot" Yorkies there generally speaking and you don't see nearly as many "teacup" Yorkies over there- until recent I believe from my acquaintances accounts "teacups" are seen in a more negative light there as opposed to the market craze here...anyways that's neither here nor there because I was also referring to pets, they are extremely popular and foremost a pet there being they originated there etc. and not so much the show dogs...but I did see a couple many references to the show dogs historically there also being much larger than here prior...it's all the same in both breed clubs now...I was just wondering if everyone over there had the same perspective I heard prior.

no It wast about your S comment, After doing some reading about why people use the trem t-cup or teaspoon, and remembering while I was at the vet the other day they have a chart on the wall with all breeds witch list a sliky and a yorkishier and the sliky is slighty larger, Witch can mislead people into thinking that infact a Yorkieshier is a t-cup.