 By Gareth Norton
  A teacup is a small drinking vessel.
Many people when they first start looking to buy a Yorkshire Terrier become a bit confused with all the 'different types' ('teacup', 'baby doll face' etc.).
So what is a Yorkie really?
A Yorkshire Terrier is a very small dog! (A very special little dog though as many owners would testify)
The Kennel Union of South Africa breed standard is quite specific when it says that a Yorkie's weight is up to 3.2kg. There is no limit to how small it may be.
Many 'Yorkie people' are of the opinion, however that anything less than 1.8kg is no longer within the breed standard. A Yorkie with a weight of between 1.8kg and 3.2kg is therefore considered standard, but not in South Africa!! In South Africa, when a 'standard' Yorkshire Terrier is being offered, it is often larger than 3.2kg, they have been known to grow even larger than 8kg. That is not standard according to K.U.S.A.
In the same way that there is no classification for Yorkies above the 3.2kg mark, there is also no official classification when comes to Yorkies smaller than usual.
The terms 'teacup', 'miniature', 'pocket size' could literally mean anything!! As these terms are not classifications they should be understood as descriptions.
 So what is a teacup?
This is the general, unofficial understanding of these terms:
Remember many young puppies
are able to fit in a teacup! ;)
These are very very small dogs! Care should be taken, when choosing your puppy, to get a healthy and strong Yorkie.
As you may have seen on my website I mention the term 'short and stocky' when describing my dogs, this is important because you can have a very light weight dog, called a 'teacup', that is long and spindly.
Note that there is no height specification for the breed.
The best you can do to understand the size of the dog you purchasing is to go and see the parents for yourself and to ask the breeder questions about how big he thinks the puppy will get etc.
Remember though, no one can guarantee the size a dog will grow to, as small parents can have big pups and vice versa.
Should I buy a 'teacup'?
The smaller the dog the more expensive it tends to be, it is not something someone should have to save up for over a long period though! Why? 'Teacups' are expensive because of the special care these often fragile creatures need( see Health). If you need to save up for an expensive 'teacup' you may very well find that, if something were to go wrong, you won't be able to afford the vet bills either.
It can be quite stressful having a small dog especially a 'teacup'.
Make a wise decision and avoid the heartache!!
Also see: What about Ethics |
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