Posted by Paula on March 23, 3903 at 09:20:16:
Reposted from http://www.geocities.com/shewawas/anikteacup.html:
What Is A Teacup?
A Responsible Chihuahua Breeder Discusses
the term:"TEACUP"
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WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT TEACUPS?
"Ch. Anika's Feliz Magic Royal Arthur"
Pictured here, he weighs 2 and 3/4 pounds
There are many "Private Agendas" on the internet,and in the dog world,in particular. The term "teacup" seems to be one of these agendas. With More than 40 years experience as a top breeder and handler of both coats of AKC chihuahuas,here at "Anika's Chihuahuas",we feel alot of mytholgy exists and has intensified due to the "Taco Bell" commercials. There is no such term "teacup" used by AKC referring to any breed,it a form of "slang",often used by people,often as a sales tool,and or by indiscriminate puppy salesman! Therefore we will discuss the concept of "teacup" here...
THE IDEA OF A TEACUP IS A "MISNOMER":
As a responsible breeder, being on the "net" for almost three years now, I get alot of questions about "how to find and or breed a teacup Chihuahua". I've seen a few web sites and petstores that tout their availablity!
"Teacups for sale". This term is even used in other toy and minature breeds!The other thing people ask for it"the runt",thinking they will, invariably, turn out"teacup" size. Both of these ideas on size are mis-conceptions. Size ofany dog,of any breed,at maturity,is genetic and usually is guaranteed by age 2 years old. Size is also qualified by condition of the dog, absence of parasites,normal weight for its age and bone,in the presence of proper nutrition and care, and general health factors. Therefore,if you are set on "getting a teacup" you are inevitably asking me for a two year old dog.
NO ONE can tell you if a 6-10 week old puppy can become a teacup sized dog.
ESTIMATION OF CHIHUAHUA WEIGHT...
See:Anika's Chihuahua Weight Chart
The above chart,found on my web site can give a rough estimate,when used with a champion bred puppy with an accurate birth date.
Many puppymillers and commercial breeders fake their puppie's birth dates so they can market them more effectively as ? "teacups,tiny toys" etc. Deceptive as this may be, often a person buys and falls in love with their "teacup" only to see it grow to a size range of anywhere from 7-16 pounds. By the time you realize that the dog is HUGE you can not gain any recource and love the dog too and don't return it out of guilt. Pet breedings are a "mixture". There is no consistency in the breeding that pet breeders do and the puppies are ugly ans outcossing makes largerand larger offspring wuth each new generation! Therefore, these figures in the weight chart can be compromized, in other words, not predictable,and influenced, as well,by other factors, such as growth patterns within a bloodline,or lack of one,(ie. genetics again!) and condition of the specific,individual dog. You may also notice these commercial dog factories make no mention of AKC paperwork nor champion pedigrees.
"Ch. Anika's Magic Royal Benjamin"
Pictured here, he weighs 2 pounds and 9 oz. full grown weight. He ives in Woodmoor California with My Chau Vo Campbell & family, where he is adored!!
Someone who truly loves the extremely tiny,(yes there are some extremely small chis out there,occaisionally) must be ready to get a slightly older Chihuahua,to insure the size as "tiny tiny" as they wish. They must also be ready to "child proof" their home and family with the precautions of a new small critter(similar to a baby) who will over take their lives and change them forever! It's not much of a sacrifice, to wait for a mature puppyor young adult chihuahua to be avialable, since the Chihuahua stays young untill a ripe old age,living usually to age 15,or over, and actual puppyhood is only a few weeks. If there is any breed where being a puppy is insignificant to purchase,it is THIS breed,The Chihuahua!!
SELLING TEACUPS: WHY WE DON'T:
" Anika's Mystic Prissy Bear-L"
Pictured here, she weighs 4 and 3/4 pounds and had a c section for one puppy - She is retired and living as a pet with Dr. Celeste Waters In Loma Linda California. Celeste hasa new litter from our line and is very very proud of her new babies!!
Most reputable breeders would never take the risk of selling such a tiny dog anyways. In my experience,the tiniest of my dogs here have stayed with me, out of necessity,untill atleast 5-9 months. Not only because I have taken extra time to find a special person for them, willing to devote alot of care, extra expense and time to them. As well,this size of dog is prone to crashes and sugar spells and is often not genetically sound enough to endure the pace of an average lifestyle with a regular family. Families with small children will need a larger boned dog than the tiniest of Chihuahuas.
Anika's Mystic Tx Walker-L"
Pictured here, he weighs 4 and 3/4 pounds and I own and show him
Thank God we do not get very many of these type of Chihuahuas, but they do occur here and there. Most of the time, they can not be left to run around the house as normal puppies can, they are truly "play-pen-bound animals".
WHY YOU CAN'T "BREED TEACUPS":
Although totally adorable,and often conformation-perfect,these tiny ones can not and never should be used for breeding! In fact it is almost impossible to predict the size of any set of Chihuahua puppies, depending on the sizes of their parents, no matter how much you have bred Chihuahuas!! Sad but true, a teacup female is to a breeder "a dead end street" for the bloodline! A Wize breeder will make sure their small females are bnot used for breeding, but spayed. However,these tiny females are much sought after,as striclty pets, and do bring much more money when one is finally available. Most of the time we hold on to them as long as we can, in the hopes they will grow to breeding and showing size. The time, expenses and extra care involved, also the so few that do make it to maturity, for all these reasons, the dog is going to cost more money, up to 2-4 thousand dollars for a female in good health.
"Anika's Felicity Piper-Razzi"
Pictured here, she weighed 2 pounds and 2 oz at one year of age. She now lives in Clemmons,North Carolina with Mrs. Bean,and family, as a pet, co-owned.
Teacups dogs sizes range from one and a half pounds to maximum of three pounds "fat" at adult weight. The male teacup sizes are difficult to use for breeding and throw daughters who are also not good for breeding. (when you try to breed a small female it will usually die on you).When line breeding to these sizes one easily can get a reverse line where females are teacup and males are huge. This is not desireable either. Often the gene for size skips a generation, too, producing larger offspring than the parents. The tiny female could actually die from carry a large litter of too large pups, who take after their grand parents sizes. Therefore one is much better off with a 4 to 5 pound male,and even these produce really tiny offspring! Most show breeders will not use any real tiny parents, male or females for show breeding.
WE BREED TO THE AKC STANDARD,NOT ACCORDING TO FADS....
Our original goal was to breed show chihuahuas.We have been members of The "national parent Chihuahua breed club",The Chihuahua Club of America,over twelve years now. The CCA Club has even made its own statement,over this issue, of teacups,due to concern about potential exploitation of our priceless breed. The Chihuahua Club of America states:QUOTE: "For the purpose of showing and record keeping, the American Kennel Club includes the Chihuahua (along with 17 other breeds) in the Toy Group. Therefore, irrespective of their weight or physical stature, ALL Chihuahua registered with A.K.C. are considered to be a toy breed of dog." For all you surfers out there,there is also no such thing as a teacup poodle,yorkie, maltese etc etc., or any other breed!P> S> Other catch phrases like "applehead", "deer","reindeer","bambi","minature","toy T cup" are NOT accurate terms but are used by most unscruplous pet breeders. A reputable breeder will be showing their dogs under AKC rulesand guidelines which are very strict and costly but this makes all the difference in the world in what your pet will lok and act like as an adult.
BE CAREFUL OF WEB SITES SELLING TEACUPS!!
The Myth of The Teacup"
ANIKA'S TOP TEN LIST WHEN ITS NOT A TEACUP...
(1)Any breeder or commercial dog sales person who tries to tell you an exact weigh of a dog under age 2 years old.
(2)Anyone selling teacup puppies age 6 to 24 weeks(ie under 6 month sold).
(3) Any petstore selling toy breeds who says they are "teacup" anything!
(4) Breeders who state there are NEVER any teacups ever,these guys are lying too! :)we consider at chihuahua age 2 years at under three pounds "teacupped-size"
(5)Anyone who is reselling any toy breed for someone else.
Reselling a dog is clearly a statement that the dog is not "marketable" to the breeder and is a nuissance.
PETSTORES,BREEDERS OF MULTIPLE BREEDS OF DOGS, AND COMMERCIAL BREEDERS and BROKERS are usually resellers. Often they have lost their AKC privaledges and are passing off purebred dogs as registered with "CKC"(con kennel club a bogus registry-yes and they are con artists thats what it stands for!!) Not only do they not care to give the dog the extra specialized care it needs,usually, the birth dates can easily be mixed up, therefore the weight can not even be accurately estimated!(thats why they do it!)
(6)Any breeder who claims to never have any dogs with a defect,ie. sugar spells but has teacups.
(7)Anyone that says A teacup dog is a "birth defect" is also wrong,teacups can come out of two ten pound chihuahuas. It is a genetic fluke. They are little miracles, but they are NOT for just anyone!
(8) Someone who is willing to sell you a dog with no questions asked, gives you unfilled out AKC paperwork or no AKC paperwork, A RED FLAG!! and,or,does not have a written contract with a stated return policy on it!
(9) Anyone who breeds a litter without the pedigrees in front of them and a working knowledge of their dog's conformation(not just their size and color) and the conformation of the family members behind their breeding pair.
(10)Anyone who charges 200-300 for a puppy,as the cost of raising a toy breed is much more than this,with proper health care,registration fees and foods,etc. The cost of raising a tiny chihuahua singleton litter can be just as or more expensive than a litter of 10 hound puppies.!!:)
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"Justin and T.J."
Pictured here,They will be between 4-5 pounds full grown. I am keeping them for show. B>
PLEASE NOTE: "A Responsible breeder does not sell "pet quality" or "TEACUP" dogs for breeding,and nor sells show/breeding dogs cheaply."..... If you have bought a "TEACUP"from a pet store,then you have paid too much for nothing! We suggest that you ask yourself to whom you will go for help and questions. Pet store dogs (usually gained from backyard and commercial breeders)are purchased in lots at wholesale from puppymills and have a huge mark-up! Many times the dog you purchased for 800-2200 in a pet store was some negligent breeder's rejects, often purchased for 40-100 dollars,each,to be resold, to the unsuspecting public. As professional breeders,we are responsible for the dogs we sell for their lifetime! They are alittle more expensive than a poorly bred dog, and maybe we ask a few more questions than the petstore,but there is a big difference in the quality of the dogs. WE DO NOT SELL TEACUPS: we do occaisonally get a teacup sized dog every once in a while, often out of normal or larger(over 6 pounds) sized parents.
We will not let these tinies go to anyone we do not know really really well!