Doll Face...what's it mean?
 

Go easy on me, I know doll face is a trigger word up there but I live in Mexico and due to lack of education, buzz words, like teacup, micro, are not as offensive as up there but describe a small toy breed.

Our breeder does not advertise doll face. When he was showing me the puppies I wanted to see, I'd narrowed it down to two, the other puppy has a different mother than Pooky and his bridge was definitely much longer. Then my breeder said it, Pooky has a, "doll face," when comparing him to the other puppy. Pooky's nose is shorter, is that what it's all about or is there more to it?

Doll face is often a synonym for “teacup”. Unethical breeders use these works, because they don’t breed to standard, and hope to entice buyers with such words as they indicate a smaller Yorkie. Uneducated buyers often only understand one thing size. Like the word teacup, doll face has no real meaning because there’s no real definition, so it’s more like a buzz word. It’s important that puppy buyers understand the "standard" and the purpose of standard, even though they just want a pet. Words like “teacup” and “doll face”, do tell you volumes about the breeders who use them, and you should run the other way. The nose should be balanced on the face, but breeders do have some leeway with this, some say the distance between the eyes from corner to corner should be the same distance as the distance from the corner of the eye to the tip of the nose, like a perfect triangle. While many do like the shorter nose, it may come with more breathing problems, and I think this is one of the things ethical breeders should be checking out. I think it’s perfectly okay, for puppy buyers to have preferences, I do not think it’s okay for breeders to advertise using those words.

Thank you Nancy, our breeder does not breed for "teacup" results so I hope people will not feel the need to share their disgust for the word but the term doll face originated from somewhere. Does it mean he's petite, going to be more petite, was the smallest or runt of his litter in this case? I should have asked but the breeder just pointed out that Pooky's bridge was shorter. Perhaps this is what disqualified Pooky to be shown because his bridge was too short so the breeder was parting with him. He realized that I needed a little healthy guy and this was his most petite to offer, the "doll face"? It doesn't appear that Pooky will be anything under 4 pounds but in the healthy weight range, which is what I want. I do not desire an unhealthy dog.

Would "doll face" be the same as "teddy bear face"? I always wondered what people meant by "teddy bear face".

^ This ;)
This is what a breeder is trying to sell you when she says she has "doll face" yorkies:
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps852aad8b.jpg

VERY (abnormally) small yorkies may have rounder faces,big bulging eyes that have a bigger gap between them,the muzzle is shorter and their tounge hangs out permanently etc
They call this "doll faced" because it´s "cute",but in reality its usually a sign of sloppy breeding and health issues to come due to the dog being extremely small.
Some yorkies are naturally tiny and have standard sized parents,it happens,but when tiny yorkies are bred on purpose,they tend to have odd looking faces and all kinds of issues.

Like I said, because it has no definition, it just different people opinion and what the word means to them. I’ve read that some people think the word means face like a doll, tiny smushed nose and wide set eyes. Others say, it means fine boned face with a shorter muzzle. Then some people try to explain how teddy bear face and doll face are different. To me, teddy bear face looks like doll face, but with a thicker coat. Pooky woundn't be disqualified with a too short bridge, the standard says that the "muzzle must not be too long." Breeders can decide on face preferences. Breeders usually like to show dogs with a little height just because they show so much better.

Pooky's breeder, in 2010 won best of show yorkshire breed on the national level here, actually told me that Pooky really has a beautiful face that could be shown but I'm not interested at all.

This is why I said go easy on me, I really didn't want a lecture about what it means up there and how bad the breeders are because this doesn't apply to me or my breeder. Pooky doesn't have bulging eyes, clearly not underweight, but he did have a shorter bridge than his 1/2 brother.

For the rest of us wondering about this, I did a little surfing that I think satisfies my wondering...doll face is NOT always a bad word and there is definitely definition to the meaning:

from ehow:

to satisfy those opposed to the term "doll face":

I think so, found a response that I posted above. :thumbup:

that is awful! :eek: and they won't live very long, so sad. :thumbdown

I happen to prefer the "doll face" look. To me it just describes a face that has a shorter nose. My Pixie has what I would call the doll face look but her show breeder wasn't breeding for tiny's. Pixie is about 4.5 lbs but needs to lose a little weight. So she is not a tiny. I know it is something many unethical breeders use to sell their dogs. In my opinion, as long as it is a reputable breeder I see no problem getting one that happens to also have a doll face. Pixie without the topknot has what I consider a doll face. (It's not as obvious in pictures). Roxie who is from the same breeder is 6 1/2 lbs and has what I consider the typical yorkie face.

OMYGOODNESS!!! They are so CUTE I could cry!!!!! I really tried so hard to find a good breeder that wouldn't sell me a sick dog and paid a pretty good price for him here. This forum is helping me realize that I did a good job. When there's a language/educational/standard barrier, it makes it a challenge. I need one that I can tote with me everywhere, I know they have terrible separation anxiety and I have back problems so he needed to be at the healthy low weight range.

How tall are yours? They're just perfect!

I'm sorry, I didn't realize my post sounded that way. It hard for me to explain something and not sound like I'm lecturing. You had said your breeder didn't advertise for that and that's all that I'm against, if a breeder is verbally describing a face and uses the term, that's up to her. I was just trying to explain it means different things to different people, but since your breeder said it means that the bridge is shorter, I would think that's exactly what she means by the term. I agree with your breeder, Pookie does have a beautiful face.

You're sweet Nancy, thank you. :animal-pa

It's hard on a forum to really know how people are trying to come across. :angel:

Also, these pups with the so called "Doll Faces" & "Teddy Bear" faces have a higher risk of having and/or producing pups with Chiari Malformation as they usually have a much more square head. Due to this type of breeding is why we are seeing more & more Chiari in the Yorkie breed as compared to yrs ago when this was not the head/face that was being bred for.