Teacup Yorkie Help

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by psugorilladdr

Sorry that you got taken by the "teacup" ... My breeder wouldn't even guarantee a weight. I did get to see both parents, and I kinda had an idea, although I know that means nothing... but,
I agree, both of my yorkies are 5 lbs, and they are tiny. When I bought Zoey the breeder had 2 1/2 lb male yorkie, and you should have seen it! It was so tiny, I would have broke him. My bf could put his pinky and his middle finger around the tiny thing. I can't believe they used him to breed. I used to want a so called "teacup" too, until I see that little one. If you ever got tangled up with him (which seems to happen a lot around here sometimes!) and stepped on him, I think you would break him. Just be happy that you have a healthy baby, but I seen that you love her just the same, and thats all that matters!

Seeing the parents doesn't even give you an idea. You must be familiar with the line. Obtaining a better idea would be the ability to see the Grand Sire and Grand Dam and even then if the puppy is closely line bred, anything can happen. The only thing you can guarantee with this wonderful breed is they can make a liar out of you each and every time.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

Seeing the parents doesn't even give you an idea. You must be familiar with the line. Obtaining a better idea would be the ability to see the Grand Sire and Grand Dam and even then if the puppy is closely line bred, anything can happen. The only thing you can guarantee with this wonderful breed is they can make a liar out of you each and every time.

It is a misconception that beeding a small male will give you small puppies. Genetics is more the deciding factor.

[psugorilladdr]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

Seeing the parents doesn't even give you an idea. You must be familiar with the line. Obtaining a better idea would be the ability to see the Grand Sire and Grand Dam and even then if the puppy is closely line bred, anything can happen. The only thing you can guarantee with this wonderful breed is they can make a liar out of you each and every time.

Yeah, I guess I never realized until I joined this forum that people advertise "teacups" so much! I was lucky and bought from a breeder who gave me all the lines information. It wasn't until I bought my 2nd Yorkie that I seen that some people aren't as open about sharing the lines of their Yorkies. Which puts a red flag up for me, am I wrong? Breeders should be open to sharing lines shouldn't they?

[doortego]

I know exactly how you feel. You wouldn't trade your baby for the world but it ticks you off to know that you paid extra for a "teacup" and didn't get it. You are certainly not the first to do so and I doubt seriously if you will be the last.


The only way to be certain you are getting a smaller one is to buy it after maturity. My puppy was 13 oz. when I got her & I was told she wouldn't be over 2#. I didn't really believe she would be that small but still I paid extra money for a standard sized 5 pound Yorkie. Of course, I would never let her go either but do feel like I was taken advantage of in my ignorance.

It is sad to say but unless you spend a lot of time and effort in your puppy search and can deal with a breeder that you personally know you can trust, you can't believe anything they tell you. Even if they show you the parents & the rest of the litter, it may not be their parents or their siblings.

I am horrified to think that maybe I took mine away from her mother at much too early an age, just so they could sell her as a tiny. The vet questioned her age because of the stage of teeth eruption, or actually lack thereof & if the size charts are close to accurate, going by her puppy size she wouldn't have been over 2#.

But the money is long gone & what I've spent on her since is certainly more than I paid for her & she has been relatively healthy so I am indeed fortunate in that. Other than the fact that she had coccidia when I got her, she is fine.

[GurleyGirl]

I have four tiny yorkies... two of them I purchased when they were a little older... My Jasmine at 7 months old... and my Butch at 4 months... sometimes you can tell by the feet/paws whether they will be little.

It's hard to tell from a pup what size they will be... and most breeders cannot guarantee the size.

Now this is small... see my Bitsy's pup...he will be 4 weeks old on Wednesday and weighs 4.4 ounces!! He looks like a hamster next to the other pups....

Best of luck with your pup.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by psugorilladdr

Yeah, I guess I never realized until I joined this forum that people advertise "teacups" so much! I was lucky and bought from a breeder who gave me all the lines information. It wasn't until I bought my 2nd Yorkie that I seen that some people aren't as open about sharing the lines of their Yorkies. Which puts a red flag up for me, am I wrong? Breeders should be open to sharing lines shouldn't they?

It could be a red flag, only because the breeder may not know every dog within the line.

I do know that reputable breeders can tell you about every dog within the pedigree. Especially show breeders, they hand pick and breed their dogs because of desired traits to improve their lines. And their pedigrees carry generations of Champions of some of the most notable established kennels

[xbeebeex]

Originally Posted by red98vett

That's pretty common....Unfortunatly lots of breeders say what people want to hear but it doesn't make it true ...but it's too bad the breeder led you to believe there were such a thing as teacups - but there isn't. It's just a word to describe a smaller yorkie and often used to get a higher price. Simonandhallie gave you a good link to read...and in the future if you ever do decide to get another - just watch out for those 'teacup' breeders....

As long as your yorkie is healthy that's what matters.

I have to agree..as long as u have a healthy pup thats all that matters

[psugorilladdr]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

It could be a red flag, only because the breeder may not know every dog within the line.

I do know that reputable breeders can tell you about every dog within the pedigree. Especially show breeders, they hand pick and breed their dogs because of desired traits to improve their lines. And their pedigrees carry generations of Champions of some of the most notable established kennels

Good to know. I know when we raised dalmatians my mom and dad could name the lines wayyy back when they people would ask. I would have never bought Zoey, had I known before hand about the lady. She was in it for the money, and had so many breeds and kennels, she had no idea what lines was what... I asked her and she said ummm... I dunno, and dug in her papers for 20 minutes before finding anything... Irritating. Then I seen the situation that my girl was living in, and had to save her life.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by psugorilladdr

Good to know. I know when we raised dalmatians my mom and dad could name the lines wayyy back when they people would ask. I would have never bought Zoey, had I known before hand about the lady. She was in it for the money, and had so many breeds and kennels, she had no idea what lines was what... I asked her and she said ummm... I dunno, and dug in her papers for 20 minutes before finding anything... Irritating. Then I seen the situation that my girl was living in, and had to save her life.

Ah! So you forgot, how your mom and dad handled the breeding. Every breeder should do it that way. Not only naming the dogs, but discribing their traits, temprement, color, size, structure, etc.

[psugorilladdr]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

Ah! So you forgot, how your mom and dad handled the breeding. Every breeder should do it that way. Not only naming the dogs, but discribing their traits, temprement, color, size, structure, etc.

Yeah, mom and dad are my smarties! I unfortunately went and picked them up on my own. Can the way they are raised have a HUGE effect on temperament? Seems like my female I got from the "hell hole" doesn't have the chill factor that my male has. It's taken almost a full year, but she's kinda getting it. She's so much more mellow than at first. I always tend to tell myself that it was the way she was raised. Never socialized, never touched grass until I bought her, never left the cage, etc. On the other hand my male was raised with kids around, played with daily, ran outside, etc. Can things like that effect temperament drastically? Or am I just coming to my own reasonings on the issue? (I know this is way off track to this post!)

[maybeiloveyou]

Originally Posted by psugorilladdr

Can the way they are raised have a HUGE effect on temperament? Seems like my female I got from the "hell hole" doesn't have the chill factor that my male has. It's taken almost a full year, but she's kinda getting it. She's so much more mellow than at first. I always tend to tell myself that it was the way she was raised. Never socialized, never touched grass until I bought her, never left the cage, etc. On the other hand my male was raised with kids around, played with daily, ran outside, etc. Can things like that effect temperament drastically? Or am I just coming to my own reasonings on the issue? (I know this is way off track to this post!)

Yes it can! Temperament is inherited to some degree, but often times the way they are raised plays a big part. You can see the difference between dogs that come from a loving breeder and dogs that come from a puppy mill.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by psugorilladdr

Yeah, mom and dad are my smarties! I unfortunately went and picked them up on my own. Can the way they are raised have a HUGE effect on temperament? Seems like my female I got from the "hell hole" doesn't have the chill factor that my male has. It's taken almost a full year, but she's kinda getting it. She's so much more mellow than at first. I always tend to tell myself that it was the way she was raised. Never socialized, never touched grass until I bought her, never left the cage, etc. On the other hand my male was raised with kids around, played with daily, ran outside, etc. Can things like that effect temperament drastically? Or am I just coming to my own reasonings on the issue? (I know this is way off track to this post!)

Socialization is very important. By the breeder, by the dam and interactions with siblings, other dogs and people. How often they are handled, what situations and noise you expose them to, etc.
There is also the fear factor periods. 8, 12 & 16 weeks, when you must be careful to keep their lives as close to normal as you can.

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by GurleyGirl

I have four tiny yorkies... two of them I purchased when they were a little older... My Jasmine at 7 months old... and my Butch at 4 months... sometimes you can tell by the feet/paws whether they will be little.

It's hard to tell from a pup what size they will be... and most breeders cannot guarantee the size.

Now this is small... see my Bitsy's pup...he will be 4 weeks old on Wednesday and weighs 4.4 ounces!! He looks like a hamster next to the other pups....

Best of luck with your pup.

OMG. Mine weighed that at birth. What did this one weigh at birth? did you have to hand feed or was he able to nurse?

[yougetthesmiles]

welcome to YT!!!

Some breeders will jack up the price and tell you that it's a "teacup" just to make a few extra bucks. No replicable breeder will call there "tiny" yorkies a teacup cause there is no such thing.

Glad you found the board, I know you will love it here!!

Now let's see some pics of your lil furbaby!

[cariblonde]

im sure your baby is beautiful anyway regardless of size. sorry you got stiffed though. gizzie is 9 months and only weighs 2.5 lbs and i wish she would weigh at least 4 lbs due to health reasons. those tiny ones require alot of extra care. i cant let her jump on the couch and she sometimes gets hypoglycemia which is soooo scary i have to syringe feed her karo syrup to stabilize her. 5 lbs is still small and im sure he/ she is gorgeous