There seems to be a worrying trend at the moment for Tea-Cup puppies with so called 'boutiques' selling dogs for upto $5,000 with pictures of puppies sitting in tea cups.  These 'Boutiques' sell many different breeds (often 12 or more) at extremely high prices - say you can put in your colour requests and order and they will source you a puppy.  in the FAQ's  on just one website it states a $1,000 fee if you want to visit the dog prior to paying for it, they can be delivered straight to your door & if you want papers theres you guessed it another $1,000 fee.  Some boast free shipping when you spend over a certain amount. The worst part is the sale section where you can get a cut price puppy (still a lot more than it would cost from a responsible breeder).  Like any good retailer they also have a finest range where you can pick up an extra small $20,000 pup!!!! Whilst flciking through the clothes, bags, collars, treats etc. in the for sale section there's puppies for sale by mail order the same as the accessories.  oh and not a mention of health testing but a lovely warning to avoid 'trolls' in online forums who like to bad mouth them......

I'm sure you can guess the breeds but I was just wondering what are the dangers of breeding these extra small dogs many of which they are saying will not grow to be more than 2lbs when adult?  As silly as it sounds surely just their brains alone would probably weigh that much?

http://www.barkrescue.net/teacup.htm

They always seem to suffer from palsy, they always look scruffy, they always look miserable, they always look unwell, they are the result of man's stupidity and I consider owned by those who would be better off with a stuffed toy.

A teacup is a runt, the puppy that in the wild would never survive because it is too small and weak. By rearing these pups, and then breeding from them, more and more health problems are created as the dogs are just not strong enough to withstand a lot.

i think its usa that mainly have tea cups, including my breed, schnauzers which include party colours as well and spotted ones

Mandy - the article is not impressive, with some statements being totally untrue.

Therefore, it is possible to have puppies conceived up to a week or so younger than the puppies first conceived in a litter.  However, when the first puppies conceived are mature and ready to be born, labor starts and all the puppies will be born, no matter when they were fertilized. 

This part is a load of rubbish.  A bitch can be mated on different days to 2 different dogs, and carry pups from both dogs.  But the statement above would still be incorrect.

>they are the result of man's stupidity and I consider owned by those who would be better off with a stuffed toy.

Oh how true!  I got sick of people asking for so called "T-cups" years ago.  My accepted age for an owner of a small dog, got older and older, due to teenagers being the most usual enquirers!

But Jackie's post made me smile, as it brought to mind the man who wanted a tiny pup "for the kid to play with!"

I asked how old the kid was.  When told it was for a 5 year old, I suggested that the man should take his boy to Toys R Us.  :-)

> This part is a load of rubbish.  A bitch can be mated on different days to 2 different dogs, and carry pups from both dogs. But the statement above would still be incorrect.

I have wondered about that.
Birds lay eggs over a long period, sometimes weeks, but they all usually hatch at the same time - I saw something on TV about that not long ago. I am sure there must be a similar set-up in mammals as well, otherwise too many would be born totally unfit for life. I'm tempted to think that if a genuinely premature baby puppy is born, that's down to some abnormality, rather than different times of conception.

This part is a load of rubbish.

Agree the day the eggs attach to the lining of the horns is dependent on the eggs and the female nothing to do with the arrival of the sperm or the day that was injected. Eggs are released and become receptive at more or less the same time and those that are fertilised will implant and then start to divide to produce the finished pup.

Have wondered in the past why some pups are larger than most but think that may be a matter of nourishment in other words if the pups cord is twisted or in some other way restricted then perhaps the development will be slowed or even stopped causing the birth of a dead pup or the so called absorption. Or it could be the basic mix of the cromazones (sp sorry) each pup will get its own mix of those available and some will be programmed to be larger than others - those that are too small are a hiccup in  the system and probably would die if we did not intervene - it is the same with the human new born.

There's a breeder here in the UK who is campaigning teacup and toy Schnauzers, in part-colours too! I laughed my butt off when I saw and adult 'toy'...same size as my bitch, who is just bang on 13 inches, and considered a good size for the ring! The puppies all look unhealthy in my view, on her website there are pups from previous litters that look weak, runty, with dish-faces and eyes that are too far apart. It bothers me not because they're different, but because the breeder claims she loves the breed. Then why breed deliberately against it? Don't you see you're ruining the breed you 'love' and taking away every essence of it by breeding smaller, with no type, in the wrong colours, with no features representive of the breed. Not to mention, when anyone asks said breeder about her dogs pedigrees and the origins of these 'lost colours', they clam up and refuse to talk about it, only linking to various American websites.

Many of the smaller breeds the dogs that some class as Tea Cup ones are in the breed standard, but they see the American types on TV and think they are getting something special

Tea cups on Itv2 again NOW! Sickening!

Watching, please pass the sick bucket.

Love the way that 'responsible breeder' said that one of the pups had been vet checked for water on the brain and she said the vet confirmed he didn't have it, then 10 seconds later she said he 'only had it a bit'!!

Also she stood there and admitted they were like premature babies - don't know much about babies but I think they are generally in hospital for weeks in incubators!

>then 10 seconds later she said he 'only had it a bit'!!

I know! 

It should be forbidden to breed from the dogs that produce these problems.

and how can any pet shop say they source from reputable breeders. 

No caring person sells their pups wholesale so they can be sold on to people they have never met.