"teacup" yorkies...
 

From what I have heard - there is no such thing as a teacup yorkie - breeder breed them smaller and call them that as that is what many people "want"... I was at a New Years party and I had my camera with me and some girls were looking at pictures of Kimmy.

Miss Kimber is 2 pounds 8 ounces at 16 weeks old. They considered her "big" and one girl said her friend has a teacup yorkie. I said there was no such thing and that her dog couldn't be much smaller than Kimber at this age. She said that at 8 weeks she was feeding her yorkie tubes of honey...

I didn't get into it because I didn't really know if that was true or okay or not so I just kinda teetered off the subject with this girl (as I dont really know her)

The breeder estimated Kimber will be between 3 and 4 pounds fully grown. I'm hoping for four pounds.

Any thoughts?

my guniea pig is 4 pounds i cant see having a dog smaller than your baby running around
i just dont get it esp with these young girls poor thing is prob part of her outfit
when brownie was a pup(8weeks) i was told he was HUGE he was 2 lbs lol
i guess people expect quarter size

No kidding!
I don't consider my baby large by any means, but I would never want her any smaller than what she is! This girl said her friend could put her in her shirt pocket. I was going to get into it but I decided not to....

I know. People always comment that Cali is a teacup...........I've gotten into big debates about how there is no such thing. Now, I just smile and say, "No, she's just a puppy". Which she is. She's only 11 1/2 weeks and she weighs right at 2 lbs. But I am really hoping she gets to be about 5 lbs. She's so tiny now, and the broken leg just proves that the smaller the dog, the more potential for problems. I want her to get a little more sturdy. I couldn't imagine a full grown dog at the size Cali is now. I'd be a nervous wreck. The only reason I'm not now is because I know she is still growing.

Exactly!~ I don't "want" Kimber to be disturbingly small - it freaks me out! This girl was all like "oh she's big, my friends is so small in fits in her pocket" and I'm like "oh - when it was a puppy?" and she's like "no - it only weighs 2 pounds, it's a teacup" and I'm like "there's no such thing as a teacup" and she's lke "that's what hers is, she had to feed it tubes of honey when it was a puppy"

In my opinion a good breeder wouldn't let that young/small of a puppy to go if it required feeding by tubes of honey only? I keep karo syrup for low-blood sugar, not for FOOD!

You're right though - why bother getting into it with someone eh?

Tubes of honey is crazy. I think that girl didn't know what she was talking about. Lets hope that is the case.

When I first saw Cali, I thought she was small but figured by the time I picked her up, she'd be a lot bigger. Well, I got her at 8 weeks, and she was so tiny that I was alarmed. She only weighed 1lb, 3 ounces, and I swear I had never seen anything so small. She actually looked just like a kitten from behind since her ears were sticking straight up. I can tell that she has gotten a little bigger since then, but still........I know I don't want a "teacup". No offense to those with smaller babies, I just don't have the energy to stay in a constant state of worry. Maybe if it was just me, no kids, and I was retired.

Could be that she did not have the whole story or knows NOTHING about yorkies and other little dogs. I mean I could tell a friend of mine that my dog is a teacup cuz a breeder said that to me and that I had to feed it honey. A person could walk away telling other people, oh yeah the dog only eats honey out of tubes bc its just a teacup, its soo small. But in reality I didnt get into what I actually FEED my dog!
My guess is this girl doesnt know that much about these dogs at all! When I first started learning about Yorkies before I bought mine, I thought there were toy, teacup and standards... I didnt know what those terms meant. I did my research and found out that there is no such thing REALLY as a toy or teacup yorkie, that the term is just a term for a smaller baby! My Dexter is 4.5lbs, and my Fletcher is 7.5 lbs. They are brothers from the same litter, both the same age (obviously) and people ask me all the time why Dexter is sooooo small! I asked my vet, and she said that Dex is normal, she said Fletcher is a GIANT yorkie! hahaha (she was kidding, she said fletcher was a bit above normal for the usual standard breed and Dex was in the normal weight range, thats it)

At one point i thought i wanted a "teacup" sized yorkie, but now that i have bella ( she is 4 pounds) i couldnt imagine her being any smaller. i am in a constant state of worry with her at 4 pounds, 2 pounds and i would probably give myself a heart attack. :) Besides, i loveee that i can play with her and not worry about breaking her all the time. i still think 4 pounds is very small, but of course in my eyes she is perfect!!:animal36

No offense taken (I own a small one), but you say maybe if it was just you, some breeders won't sell a tiny one if you have small kids. One breeder gave me an extensive questionaire and my daughter is 17. Regardless of size, you need to have the energy to take care of these babies. They are very energetic as they grow and need lots of playtime and attention. Constant worry comes with any dog 5lbs and under, no matter what anyone says. They run, jump and bump and can still hurt themselves. So if your baby stays small, you will have to make some "adjustments" within your feelings about teacups.

Your very right - I guess when she got defensive about me saying there is no such thing was due to the fact that that is what her friend told her. I'm sure she went and told her friend after that I said that.

I don't consider Kimber very small. I don't really care what size she is either - if she weighs 4 pounds I of course will worry about her all the time - but I think I would worry the same about if she were 7 pounds. I just think it's weird when you show people your 2 pound PUPPY and they say that she is BIG!

I got the pleasure Christmas day, to tell a "Vet Tech" there was no such thing as a tea cup yorkie!!! LOLOL. I'm still laughing about that cause this girl acts like she knows it all with dogs.

Yea, and the girls in the pet store think they know it all too, I've corrected them several times. :rolleyes:

hahah too funny!

See I knew there was not such thing but I wasn't going to bother fighting with this girl as it was her friends dog. If it were the actual owner of the dog I'm sure we wouldhave gotten into it.

I get asked all the time if Momiji is a teacup.
My breeder didn't sell her as "Teacup."
She said Momiji will be smaller size, maybe 4 to 5 pounds.
I wanted healthy yorkie and I figure 5 pounds will be little small but good enough.
Well, she is 16 weeks now and she isn't 2 pounds yet.....
She has a healthy appetite and I feed her well, I think...
I didn't want teacup yorkie but I think I have a "teacup" SIZE yorkie.
I love her to death and no matter what her size is I will love her the way she is!!!
BTW, how much should I feed her??
My vet said about 1 to 1 1/2 table spoon full each meal and that is what I'm doing. (Between meals, she gets some treat when she performs my command like sit or come.)
Am I feeding her too little or too much??? (Again she is less than 2 pounds)

I've resorted to the same. I gave up on trying to "educate" people on "teacups" when they all think they know more than me.

edited: My Ferdinand was 1.6 pound when we got him at 8 weeks old. He's now 7 months old and weighs just over 3 pounds. When I got him I wanted a smaller pup, not a "teacup," but as I learned more about the breed I wish he would get a little bigger.

I wouldn't have to make any "adjustments" because I have no problem with the tiny yorkies. I just wouldn't KNOWINGLY search for a tiny puppy knowing the challenges they face being so small. If Cali turned out to be smaller, obviously I wouldn't have any choice but to accept that. It's not like I'm going to get rid of her because she is little. I know some breeders won't give you a tiny if you have small kids. But I know that there are plenty of people who have tiny babies, both fur and skin. Somebody is selling them to families with small children. Including my family. What I find ironic, though, is that my children have been great with Cali, and that the person who actually dropped her (resulting in her broken leg), was a grown man. So, what does that actually say? And I have always worried about any pet that I have had, big and small. But nothing like I have for Cali. And that is because she is a tiny, fragile dog. Love her to death, but it is what it is.

I really like that 4 lb size. They are still small but not so fragile. That is the size I am looking for in My next one

I wasn't looking for a teacup either - and the breeder did not advertise them as teacups. My dad purchased Kimber for me as a gift ( I got her 2 months after my birthday - she was born 3 weeks before my birthday) and I would consider her small. Whether she is 3 pounds or 7 pounds I will love her SO much - she is just too perfect (apart from the trouble I"m having with her inconsistent potty training). I just hate when people buy them as an accessory and what the smallest puppy possible without thinking about the health of their dog. Then they consider my dog "big"! Ever annoying...

As for meal sizes - everything read told me to feed her 4 meals a day until about 10 months and then switch to 2 meals a day. The breeder and a lady I know said to let her graze - I highly recommend grazing but WATCHING to make sure they actually eat. I have food dishes in my porch and bedroom - I will take her to them and feed her by hand if I notice she's hasn't been eating a lot that day. Sometimes she'll disappear and come back chomping and I'll freak out thinking she's found something but it will be her food :) From what I know and have heard most yorkie's wont over eat - you have to make sure they eat enough :)

As for feeding, I just put dry food out and let them eat when they want. Unless you have a dog that gorges themself, I would just leave food out all the time. Mine also get a tablespoon of canned food in the morning and evening.

As for teacup vs toy vs standard, the standard is 7 pounds or less, and they are in the toy group. Toy is not a size, it is a grouping.

Kimbers Mommy

You were wise not to try to explain, the girl was just repeating what she had been told. there are people out there that would swear that their yorkie is a teacup because the breeder told them so, and they paid high dollar for it because it was sold as a "teacup" and they don't want to hear any different..

We know what we want to know.

I agree, and I think it's mostly so they can brag that they have something unusual. It's not the dog they care about it's the attention for themselves. There have been people on here that had a fit when their dog got to a whopping 4 pounds, they wanted a tiny one.
:confused: :confused: :confused:

IMO a four pound dog is pretty dang tiny.

Exactly - I was researching breeders and as soon as I saw "teacup" in their name I wouldn't even visit their website. I'm so glad it wasn't the actual owner there!

LOL..You should have said any dog that can fit into a shirt pocket is not a dog...maybe a mouse or a hamster!:D

People always ask me if Izzy is a "teacup". I tell him no he's just not full grown yet. I almost got into it with someone over this and just let it go. Some people dont know and have not done any research.:rolleyes:

Very true - Kimmy is only 17 weeks right now, and she's small - but she's a puppy! I don't like when people are all like that - I dont know how to explain...

I don't get into it with people, if they just have a casual interest in yorkies. I just say, "Naw, she's just a runt!" :D

My 1st sentence stated no offense taken from what you typed, but you seem to have defended yourself in what I typed. I wasn't trying to ruffle feathers, like you said, it is what it is. Yes, someone is selling them to families with small children, it's a money thing. We all know this, you can kinda figure you are getting a tiny one when you pick up your puppy. What I was implying is that now precautions have to be taken whether it's an adult or child around. You should worry about any pet, I was speaking up for the tiny ones. It's good your kids are good with you little one, that wasn't my point, but it's neither here nor there. We get them, we own them and now we have to watch over them a little more. There's always comments made about people who own tinies. Comments are made, feelings are expressed. l know that I will always stick with the smaller ones. Here's hoping your little ones leg is ok.

My boy is about 3.5lbs and if he were any smaller I wouldn't pick him up (afraid he'd fall apart)! He is super tiny to me.............

Thanks, my Momiji has healthy appetite and only time she didn't finish her food were maybe twice or three times when she had diarrhea.
That is why I am afraid to leave food for her all the time. (My last 2 yorkies were the same, never leave their food behind. Good appetite so they were little over weight...)

Okay, I understand what you are saying. But I must say that when you are new to the breed (as I am...this is truly a lesson in progress), you don't really know what would constitute a "tiny". At least I didn't. And speaking to some current Yorkie owners, I was told that a few of their puppies that were 2 lbs at 12 weeks grew to be 7, 8, 9 lbs. So you don't always know. I'm not against the tiny, not against the "tiny Moms".

Thanks for keeping Cali's leg in your thoughts.