 Barked: Sat Jan 22, '11 3:48pm PST |
 | |  | | Teacup is nothing more than a marketing term. Same as "Tiny Toy" and "Pocket size". I'm not sure who the first person to use the term was, but it's used a lot by backyard breeders and puppy mills to describe any small dog under standard. And by some just to describe any small dog. (Seriously. I once had a woman tell me her 10 lb chihuahua was a teacup. I had to leave the room because my tongue was nearly bleeding from trying to bite down to prevent my laughter.) I understand that most people mean no harm when they say their dog is a "teacup", but having seen what such purposeful breedings can do to the small breeds I love, I don't like it. It's probably one of my biggest pet peeves in fact. (A certain yorkshire terrier that was FAR beneath standard comes to mind. Poor dog was probably one of the most unhealthy dogs I've ever known.) Most "teacups" are runts... sometimes bred from other runts... sometimes bred from runts before even that. To get the smallest dog possible. Obviously, such a practice is something you wouldn't see a responsible breeding doing. I think a lot of normal people, though, just use the word unknowingly. Or like was already mentioned, as slang. To describe a really tiny dog. But technically, no, there is no such thing as a teacup dog. A 1 lb pomeranian is merely under the standard. And not by much, when you really think about it. 
Don't discount 3 lbs, it is included in some breed standards. Breed standard for a pom is 3-7.
Well, yes... but in small breeds, you don't wanna breed a really small female.Edited by author Sat Jan 22, '11 3:51pm PST
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What really cemented that thought into my head was one time I was visiting someones home and this TINY chihuahua puppy came running up to me. Honestly, I thought it was a gerbil at first...
