Mini, Toy, and Teacup - how small can dog breeds go?

[IvannaPuppy]

Living in a city, I have noticed that there is a real movement toward smaller and smaller dog breeds. The tiny breeds just seem to keep shrinking. Teacups seem to be the hot thing for the last few years and some of these dogs make good old chihuahuas seem like great danes.

Do you think that twenty years from now we'll all be carrying dogs around in our shirt pockets (instead of in our purses like so many women in cities do now)?

How small can they breed these dogs before they become too small to see with the human eye?

:D

[Bianca]

:mad: I don't think that dogs are EVER ment to become that small, but that is what these breeders are trying to produce. It's even worse than the designer breeds because once you get to a certain point you can not make the dog any smaller withought seriously damaging the poor dogs health and quality of life. How cruel can we humans be? Why do these people need to have a dog in their purse? What are dogs supposed to be? Fashion accesories or friends? If we continue to create smaller and smaller dogs then there will be consiquences! These people have to learn that don't they! The origional small dogs were the terriers and the spaniels, breeds developed to be, in the terriers case, small eneough to go to ground, or in the spaniels case, small eneough to be economical. But all these dogs had to be able to work, and be good at their jobs. Then the upper class got hold of them and decided to turn them into fasion accessories! And we now have a repitition of those days, with the tiniest of breeds not being small eneough for these stupid people, they have decided to create the latest "fasion trend". It has become a competition realy
"My dog is the smallest"
"no mine is two mm smaller"
How pathetic can it get?:confused:

[toppers]

The english kennel club are trying to make changes. I have mini dachshunds and was always concerned about the mandatory weighing at shows. They had to be less than 11lbs/5kgs. Now the kennel club have sent a letter to all dog clubs that they will no longer have mandatory weighing at shows for mini's. ABOUT TIME!!!!!!!!!!! But you can't change people - I've had some people phone up about pups wanting to know their measurements and weight before they'll even view them.

[mabenido]

Here's some food for thought.. The AKC doesn't even recognize "teacup" as a legitimate size. There are recognized toy and mini breeds, but a teacup is just something that a few irresponsible breeders made up to make the dog sound appealing.

I have two toy poodles, they weigh 6.5 pounds each, and that's about as small as a dog should be. When people refer to 'teacup' what they are really talking about is a toy breed that has been bred smaller and smaller until they are an unnatural size. I would imagine those dogs have lots of health problems. Any breeder who claims to breed 'teacups' should be shut down.

That's just my two cents!

[Carol]

Yes I agree, that they are being bred to unnatural sizes and very bad health.
I wonder how a vet feels every time they have to operate on these tiny frail little things with such unusual sinuses and small organs etc.
I know that lots of these cutesy little Designer Dogs do not live to be as old as purebred small dogs (which live to be close to 20) because of health problems and injuries.
Down the street from me is a 20 yr old purebred poodle who looks to be about 14-20 lbs. He has had hip replacements and is blind but still is walking and going outside for potty duties. He was obviously a well bred dog with great ancestors and he ended up in a loving home where he got the best of everything, including terrific vet care.
My brother's shih tzu lived to be 18 and had a good life because he was from a good breeder.
I do not see dogs this age very often. But considering how we pamper our pets when they are small and medium size dogs, they should all live to be at least 20! But it takes good breeding, good diet, and the best veterinary care.
Oh yeah, and a "forever home" full of love and security.

Pretty soon you will be able to buy a miniature dog that will fit into little carriers hanging from your pierced earrings.

[May209]

Ha pierced earing.. Thats funny!!!! I love to see dogs live out a nice long life. But your right you don't see it very much. Love life is something that needs to be celebrated.

[skippygurl00]

I dont know too much about tiny breeds...isnt a teacup just the runt of a litter?

[toppers]

I was at Crufts dog show to see the daxies the other week and what did the judge have on the table? SCALES. Apparently if your Mini-Daxie is fit, healthy, well bred but weighs over 11lbs/5kg it is discredited, even though the kennel club have banned scales for the mandatory weighing of mini daxies at shows, judges can bring their own. My Daxies are healthy and muscular, we all know that muscle weighs more than fat so my fantastic looking male daxie can not show unless I stop exercising him and let him waste away his muscle (he weighs 5.1kg). Some of the Daxies on display were skinny, scrawny pathetic specimens, some were tiny but fat (the fat hides bad structured dogs) When we got our first Daxie we considered a show quality pup but isn't the smallest, weakest one not the best specimen?
I choose healthy over tiny any day!

Hey Marlena I had a chocolate toy poodle called Ben when I was a young gal.
He used to come with me on my paper round! I went on a bike and he ran along side.

[shell]

I also prefer healthy over "show" quality... not that I can show my mutts anyway. All I know is that what I look for in a dog is one that can keep up with me when I Ride, bike, hike, rollerblade, etc...

[LadyAndTheTramp]

I dont know too much about tiny breeds...isnt a teacup just the runt of a litter?

yes that's right and then byb will breed to another runt and then call them teacup...full of genetic health problems...its strictly for profit! :mad:

[Carol]

As long as people buy them they will keep producing them.
I could not afford the vet bills for one of these creatures.

[chrisjonesxx]

Shell,

I could not agree with you more. I have been to a couple of dog shows for my breed of dog (Cavalier) and do not intend to go to another. The show dogs that were on display were very fine specimens - good looking, well groomed and so on, but gave me the impression of being very precious, i.e. pampered, spoilt and dainty, wrapped in cotton wool. By comparison, my dogs are vigorous, run every day on the beach and get wet, sandy and very untidy. But I believe they could not be happier.

I appreciate that there should be standards, (and the judging and winning of those standards is attractive and important to many) if the integrity of a certain breed is to be maintained.
However, with better health care, diet and all-round attention, it seems to me that some breeds are getting bigger (just like humans) as years go by and the standards set by the Kennel Clubs have not changed over decades. Most of my Cavaliers dwarfed the show dogs. I disregard specifically bred 'teacup' and 'ear-ring' dogs from this scenario.

Anyway, I want my dogs to be dogs, not specimens.

[shell]

Thanks. Dogs are meant to be companions. They can't really be that if they're so delicate that they need to be stored in glass display cases to "avoid breakage". And have you ever come across a dog that does not want to be around people?

[toppers]

I was reading the published judges notes of a recent show and the judge had mentioned several times how the daxies were not confident. Any wonder? The daxies you see at shows (I'm talking mini daxies) are so small and delicate I don't think they could hunt a stoat!! Are show dogs really a good example of what a mini daxie should really be like? They are supposed to be muscular hunting dogs, yet all the mini daxies I have seen at shows are pathetic!! They have to weigh under 4.5 kg or they will not earn a place. Is this healthy? The judge kept mentioning how he'd like to see more muscle on these dogs but muscle weighs more than fat and these dogs would probably tip the scales if they built up a bit of muscle!!