Teacup Dogs
Teacup dogs has been erroneously referred to as a Toy dog category or vice versa. A Toy dog is a small breed of dog under a specific height (shoulder height at standing) and weight according to its breed. These criteria are recognized by world-wide dog registries and associations. Whereas Teacup dogs are not recognize by any world-wide or reputable registry. Therefore Teacup dogs do not have an official or approved standard to determine its size. It is only understood that Teacup dogs are comparatively smaller sized dog breed than Toy dog breed. It has been known that a Teacup dog could be as small as 3 inches tall at standing shoulder height. This is believed to have been introduced into this “category” in the mid-19th century.
It is assumed that these dogs are usually stunted and impeded in growth. The theory is that the method of achieving this type of small dogs is by stunning them and through selective breeding. The method used by breeders usually is to starve the puppies during their “second term” of major growth which is about 3 to 8 weeks, to stunt their growth. This greatly contributes to Teacup dogs health problems.
Breeders also started using stunted or runt to breed this type of dogs, so that they can achieve smaller breed of “toy” dogs. Generations after generations of intentional selective breeding this category of runt, produced dogs of smaller size breed and they categorized it as Teacup Dog. They are usually frail and have underdeveloped bodies. There are no actual designation for Teacup dogs, but it is understood that its size is so tiny that it can fit into a teacup. For that, it could have been coined and widely used for this category of dogs to be called Teacup dogs.
Teacup dogs are known to be health prone. The general health problem that these Teacup dogs have in common are hypoglycemia (abnormally low level of glucose in the blood), seizure, blindness (due to inbreeding, recessive genes becomes prominent), skull with open soft spot (commonly known for Toy breed puppies which usually closes up when the dog matures), heart problem, digestive problems, respiratory problems, incontinence issues (due to its very small bladder) and a lot more to add to the list.
This Teacup dog is genetically not a fit breed of dogs. However being small with its cuteness, there are demands for this “category” of dogs. So small and having delicate health usually with life threatening issues, Teacup dogs are said to be of high maintenance medically. Being extremely small, their bones are not strong and frail. Care and handling is of utmost important as they are not like the usual dogs that we normally have at home, not even close to Toy dogs physically, they cannot over exert. Therefore any potential Teacup dog owner needs to know some background knowledge about this category of dogs before deciding owning this breed of dog or thinking of taking one home.
The lifespans of a Teacup dog is expected to be similar or much less shorter than a Toy dog due to its inherent health issues. It could weight as low as 2 pounds.
Owning a Teacup dog equates to cruelty to animals, especially dogs. It is inhumane. The Teacup dog lives a perilous life, not a blissfully, joyful one. My plea to dog lovers out there is to never own a Teacup dog. When you don’t own a Teacup dog, you discourage breeding and selling. This will help to weed out this cruel practice and agony.