I was trying to joke but since we are going with the attack......... any yorkie under 7 pounds is standard so a 2 pound yorkie is just simply a standard yorkie no other word needed. Reputable breeders will not be associated with the word teacup period no need to argue about it. Breeders who breed for tiny yorkies only care about the size not the health that is why many say they are sickly. Any one who has a passion and care for the breed hate the word teacup. The word shows that the people using it are significantly uneducated about the breed. I sense some jealousy of us with the bigger yorkies that are more like the originals :rolleyes:

I hope nobody gets offended in this wonderful community. I am still new here without too much expertise. I enjoy reading the posts(especially during this gloomy pandemic situation).

I don’t think anyone in this thread have any bad intention. I guess the word teacup means different to different people. We all joined this YorkieTalk because we love this breed and I trust that we all mean well.

I was not being "snotty" nor was I inferring that you were stupid.You are hearing a tone that is not there. It is called educating new people that "may" read this thread on the yorkie breed. Standard size to "show" is not to "exceed" 7 pounds.
Poodles come in 3 sizes Toy, Mini and standard.
Yorkies are not classified as Poodles are.

A yorkie is a yorkie no matter if it is 17 pounds or 2.5 pounds. It is not people with larger yorkies like my 12 pound rescue boy or my now passed 17 pound girl that do not like the "term teacup". The term "teacup" is used, no pretending bout that, the "fact" is, in the yorkie breed there is not a "teacup" yorkie.

Because there are unscrupulous breeders that deliberately breed for smaller yorkies and refers to them as "teacups" so they can sell them for up to $5000. does not mean because a breeder "describes" their litter as "teacups" does not mean that there is a category class of yorkies that are "teacups".

I am addicted to the yorkie breed, have had them going back to the early 80's when they were not as popular as they are today. I adore the breed, size does not matter to me.

And I did not imply tiny yorkies are sickly yorkies.
This forum is for helping, advising, suggesting, sharing ones experience and educating people on the yorkies breed.
I am sorry you are a sensitive lady and read into what is not there.

Welcome again :). Because you are new to the world of yorkies you should know a yorkie is a yorkie no matter what their size may be. There are many reputable breeders that breed to better the breed, they breed for standard size and yes there may be smaller pups in a litter but a reputable breeder will not refer to it as a "teacup".

I have seen yorkie dresses and other clothing that are marked size teacup, because a label on a dress, sweater, coat has the word "teacup" does not mean there is a classifiction of yorkies called teacups. If your baby ends up weighing 3.5 pounds it is "just" a tiny yorkie.

Multiple yorkies are soooo much fun to watch them play and just enjoying life.

Yorkies are like potato chips, you can't have just one lol ;)

Again. I am not offended. I get what you are saying about Breeders. I do. However. I also understand HOW the term Teacup came to be.


And there IS a lean toward, with some people here, that small Yorkies, those bred to Standard, they do NOT have to be Conformational Show Dogs to be bred to Standard, ARE SICKLY.



My sticking point is why some have such issues with a work that covers the really tiny bred dogs.....and no, not all that breed that size are bad people or doing anything wrong. Some are breeding healthy dogs within the Standard for the Breed.

Ha Ha Ha I am glad you through the joke in at the end!

It's not "why" ppl have an issue with referring to tiny yorkies being called "teacup". The issue is a yorkie, regardless if it weighs only 2 1/2 Lbs is not classified as a "teacup". That name was made up by unscrupulous breeders that breed for tiny dogs because that is what ppl want, tiny dogs, so breeders use that word to charge big bucks for a tiny dog. And yes, many of these tiny dogs are very fragile due to size, some are sickly due to unscrupulous breeders (AKA as greeders) not researching the genetic back grounds of their mating pairs several generations back to ensure there were no genetic issues that would be passed down to future litters.

Reputable breeders would never breed for tiny yorkies, if they had a litter of smaller dogs they would not refer to them as "teacups" because there is no classification as "teacup" with the yorkie breed.

It is not me, nor anyone that has bigger yorkies getting annoyed when hearing or seeing anyone using the word "teacup" it's misrepresenting the breed. It is fact, a yorkie 2 1/2 Lb is classified as a standard yorkie but, any yorkie under 5 Lbs cannot be used in a AKC show ring that is the difference.

Uneducated people not knowing the yorkie breed will continue to refer to them as "teacups". If you refer to a tiny yorkie as a "teacup" you are misrepresenting the breed.

Just to add, YorkieTalk has a joke name for bigger yorkies, they are called in a "joking" way "teapot" yorkies. I do hope you do not now refer to any yorkie over 7 Lbs as "teapot" yorkies ;)

Hi, Marna. I hope you won’t be offended if I address this particular point, not as a person with much yorkie experience but rather as a person with years and years of experience in animal rescue. There is a valid reason so many people have issues with a “word that covers the really tiny dogs.” The reason has nothing to do with loving dog owners who call their dogs “tiny” or “below average in size” or even (in the beginning, anyway) “teacup.” The issue arises when unscrupulous breeders and sellers appropriate a cute and innocuous word to mislead others. And that’s what happened with the word “teacup.” Unscrupulous breeders and sellers started using the word to mislead the public about all kinds of dogs (not just yorkies) and about other animals, too (believe me, there is no such thing as a “teacup pig.”)

Unscrupulous breeders and sellers, unfortunately, use this particular word for profit, without consideration for who they are harming. They purposely try to breed smaller and smaller dogs, because selling them is profitable, even if a fairly large percentage have deformities and congenital medical issues. They also mislead buyers with promises that pups will “stay tiny,” even though they know or should know that a fairly large percentage of the pups will grow larger than promised. Many of the pups of these breeders don’t survive, many of the pups who do survive suffer, and many of the pups end up being dumped by their owners because they have issues or because they grew “too big.”

Is all this the fault of the word “teacup?” Of course not. But when a word is used too many times in a harmful way, people should stop using it. That applies to any word used in a harmful way. Think of all the words used, in the past, to describe groups of humans that are not used anymore (or are not supposed to be used anymore) because of the harm they caused.

In all honesty I was trying to joke about it. I’m not a fan of the word and I fear when people use it that they make it seem ok and then people think buying from breeders advertising teacups is ok and it’s just not and they more then likely are going to get a sick pup. I really do love this breed and just want to help educate people about it.

The only breeders who use the word teacup are bad breeders so if you use the word people will think it’s ok and normal and then buy from those breeders using the word and then we keep bad breeders in business. You absolutely will not find a good breeder who uses the word. Those breeders advertising teacups put the smallest dogs they can get together ignoring any health issues. They also use females under 5 pounds to breed which is extremely dangerous. Use the word if you want but when around other educated yorkie lovers it makes you seem like you don’t know much about yorkies. Reputable breeders do get tiny yorkies occasionally just like they occasionally get bigger yorkies and those in most cases are healthy.

Well you kinda get obsessed with the size thing so I figure it had to be jealousy. :)

I think we need more people like you to educate people.. We really don’t know sometimes how things are as most of us are pet owners(consumers?) I had someone explain about vegan(ism) and how horribly animals are handled and killed in meat industry, and the meat like beef contains the stress hormone of cow(?) and can cause problem for human consuming it... I could not finish watching the movie they recommended due to graphic images. I think it’s similar in a sense that we don’t see or fathom how puppy mills and unethical breeders handle the animals. And it’s hurtful for people to see that people portray tiny puppies as teacups and promote it as some of you really know that thru educating yourself. After going thru YT postings, I see that we should be more responsible when owning a pet especially during pandemics... more people buy and rescue dogs during this time. I see many in our neighborhood with puppies during this pandemic situations. And I assume there are many good breeders and rescue organizations out there but some people will always try to take advantage of the situation and sell unethically bred teacup puppies for profits. I just hope my Sophie came from ethical breeder. And I know I will now wait for my second puppy from a registered breeder, not rush into things....

Here is what you are not reading in my post. I do not call them Teacup. But I get why people do.


But. I also know that what I call reputable, is a breeder that breed the breed they are breeding as close to the STANDARD FOR THE BREED as they are able.


Breeding dogs too large, is as bad as breeding too small.... Many Yorkies are OVER sized for Carin Terriers.....

I have heard that for years....no, it is not a term I use.