OK! I got the "question" yesterday
 

We are camping..and , of course, we have all 3 furbutts with us. We were sitting outside last night and the pups were in there pen...our next door camping neighbors asked if their 2yr old grand daughter could see them...of course I said yes...Then the man (who is EXTREMELY nice) and his wife (?) started asking me questions about them, telling me that his uncle in puerto rico has one and he paid alot of money for him/her...He asked what I paid for my three so I told him,...I thought his eyeballs were going to fall out! not because of what I paid for just one but (I'm sure he was adding) what the cost was for all three of them. THEN came the question............(from the wife(?)...so these are teacup yorkies...well...I won't go into everything that I said (I was nice! :p )
LOL...I must have talked for 30 mins about all those "words" used to describe yorkies...lets just say that they were probably sorry they ever asked me that question. :D

haha well they will know better next time about using teacup and learned a few things while you were talking about it!! lol

Harley is barely 4lbs and I'm constantly asked the teacup question. I try to politely explain that some breeders make up that term to make more money from people, and I explain that the breed standard is 4-7lb. I also make it clear that there are some breeds where miniature or teacup is actually a breed (such as a minuature poodle). Most of the time we continue to chat and I teach them a bit about the breed.

The other day we went for a walk and I had to explain it to three different groups of people who stopped to say hi to Harley.

Please don't get mad
 

I do not want to start a war. As you guys may know I am still new to the life of yorkies. Toby is only 6 months, so I am still learning. I do have a question though. How come it is not okay to call a tiny yorkie a teacup, but it is okay to call a larger yorkie a teapot? Are't the terms basically based on their size. I have been wondering this for some time. Can someone please explain because I get the teacup question all the time about Toby and just do not even know what the correct way to answer is.

Never be afraid to ask :) Personally, I think the biggest difference is that the word "teacup" is used by poor breeders to describe a "desirable trait"...extra small, for which they want more money....People who are knowledgeable about the breed object to the word because of where and why it is used. There really isn't any such designation...Yorkies are to be between 4-7lbs, those which are extra small often face health consequences and should never be considered more "expensive" than any other yorkie. By contrast, we seem to use the word "teapot" on here (YT), I've never seen or heard it used elsewhere, to describe larger than standard Yorkies (i.e. those who are over 7lbs...many may actually be throwback dogs to the Yorkie's original size which was ~15lbs) Most breeders won't use the word "teapot" because the larger dogs aren't often "desired" and therefore the breeders don't charge more money for them. So, in a nutshell it seems to me that the word "teacup" is considered "bad advertising" and "promotion of ignorance" about the breed, where "teapot" is a term of endearment for those whose dogs don't fit the "standard" but are well loved members of the family and often still full-blooded Yorkies. Hoping this was clear...

You did your part in the daily fight. Good girl! :)

I will give this a try though not being a breeder or a longtime member here, I can't put it as eloquently as the reputable breeders & other knowledgeable members can:

"Teacup" has become a pejorative term in small dog breeding as so many irresponsible breeders & puppymills use that term to market & sell at high dollar amounts extremely tiny, fragile, even unhealthy dogs(or dogs predisposed to poor health) created from thoughtless breeding of defective Yorkies back to other defective Yorkies, almost none of which are tested prior to breeding to see whether or not they have genetic deficiencies they could pass along to the puppies. Some of the diseases are luxating patella, hydrocephalus, tracheal collapse, or other terrible medical conditions that cause the puppies pain, misery & suffering & cost the owners heartache & thousands upon thousands of dollars in vet expenses.

Teacup puppies & sometimes older tiny dogs are often highly susceptible to death from hypoglycemia & many teacup puppies are sent home at 6 - 8 weeks old - as fast as the breeder can get them away & before they show many symptoms or get ill. Owners go to work, to sleep & leave the pups alone & their blood sugar drops & they can die - some do. So breeding for the very tiny size is highly undesirable for the good of the wonderful Yorkie breed and the people who love them.

Lmao...

Went to the pet shop Pets at Home. Had my two girls with me. She was carrying a yorkie boy. I commented on how cute he was she said "yes he's a tea cup". What Can you do !!

Sadly, I guess you can't say, "I'm so sorry". I hope she's not.

I had a lady that I showed pics of my baby ask me how much she cost. I'm knowing she doesn't like dogs so when she added in she may get one for her little girl I knew she was just trying to be nosy. So I told her how much, which I don't normally do, and she screams OMG. I said she has 2 more, want me to call her? She says Oh no, my daughter scared of them. UGH hmmmm maybe I shoulda said BUT IT'S A TEACUP. rotfl
I will take your sweet camping neighbors over this chic any day.
Bet the babies loved being outdoors.

"Teapot" is a term that was coined here on YT....it really isn't used anywhere else. We just thought it was a cute term to describe our larger-than-standard Yorkies.:D

I guess the really sad thing about so many people wanting to know if our dogs are "teacup" Yorkies is that it shows how very good the puppyg mills, pet stores and backyard breeders are at spreading this lie all over the country. Anytime you google something about the Yorkshire Terrier or any small dog breed there they are selling their "teacup" Yorkies, Maltese and "designer" dogs. The other thing that really riles me is that there are a good many people who have been duped into spending well over $1000.00 for a pet quality runt and they think they have something golden! They are still in the dark about what and who they are dealing with.

The term definitely denotes a tiny little toy of a dog that appeals to so many women! It is one of those marketing terms that speaks volumes to those clamoring after the littlest dog they can find. They are drawn to ads using that that term like flies to honey.

Oh hun, don't be afraid to ask questions, most people on here are kind and only wish to educate:)

I think it's because "teacup" is associated with breeding small females, horrible living envirnments, and lack of care for the puppies JUST for gross monetary gain on the part of the "breeder". I get asked if Ziggy is a t-cup and I try to educate where I can, the public is ill informed. I think if the name had no connotation to the ill treatement of animals, there would be no problem. There are "teacup" piggies and noone complains about that, because there are no negative connotations to it.

Hope that helps:)