'Teacup' Maltese and Schnauzers

[quavec]

Okay, so my In Law family is in love with 'little' dogs. They have Bella - mini dachs, Ziggy - mini longhair, and Mya - maltese. They went cruisin on the web last night and found sites to 'Teacup' Maltese and Schnauzers and now want one of each. They are a great family. Love animals and take relatively good care of them (I say relatively because GMIL is a little 'iffy' but lives with them so they take up her slack). Here are my concerns:

3 kids and 3 adults with right now 3 dogs. Constant visitors (huge and close family) with young kids. Wouldn't these 'teacups' possible get trampled?

The whole 'Teacup' term worries me as I know some BYBs breed indiscriminately to make smaller dogs due to popularity (thanks Paris and Britney). The ydon't seem concerned over health issues.

They took ALOT of convincing to not breed Mya (she is really tiny) and Bella (now both are spayed) and still haven't neutered Ziggy (6 months) and keep talking about 'studding' him.

I've gone round and round for years with them on all sorts of issues and after exhausting myself, they seemed to have come around on some.

So, my question is this to all of you:

Are there reputable 'teacup' breeders out there? What type of health issues are related to breeding smaller - and smaller. And where can I find this info out if none of you know?

[lotsadox]

I don't really know what specific health issues there are with breeding too small, I just know that there are some. Let me do an internet search and see what I come up with.

[quavec]

I just found a site from what seems to be a rep. breeder on maltese. She lists all of the health issues when breeding too small. I have emailed it to my relative. I am surfing also but would still love input. Thanks Patrice!

'Teacup' info (Maltese) (http://www.majestymaltese.com/teacup%20maltese/index.htm)

[Courtney]

Carrol, I do know that dogs bred small are fragile, and can be weak. Anyone who breeds for small size won't be a good breeder, I think, and won't take in regard any health issues of the parents. I think doing a search online would find good stuff. let us know what you find. I don't get the small dog craze - I want BIG dogs!

[lotsadox]

I found this about Pugs, but would probably apply to all "teacups".

Besides the problems with breeding and whelping for females who are
bred, the tiny dogs have problems all their own in daily living. One
thing most tinies have is very delicate bones. With the standard sized
Pug, bone is often very thick and heavy, but when you breed down for
size, you give up on that strength in order to achieve
miniaturization. Fragile bones can be snapped easily. Also, reducing
the size of the Pug mouth from the very small size it already is (with
all the appropriate teeth still in it!) to an even SMALLER size, is
simply asking for dental problems. Most of the teeth are pushed into
unusual formations, and many times infection and decay result.
Infection in one of these tiny bodies can be deadly because there are
simply no reserves for the dog to draw from. Another problem for these
very small dogs is dehydration, especially when ill. Diarrhea could
easily kill a tiny dog, and you'll make more trips to the vet to take
care of it. One more thing to consider is underdeveloped organs in the
very small bodies. Pugs already have incidences of liver shunt, where
the shunt isn't fully developed, in full sized dogs. Do you want to
face the surgery required to correct this in a dog that's so small
it's really not more than a puppy?
The bottom line
All in all, at the end, you may well be able to find someone who
breeds mini or teacup Pugs. Remember this person is going against all
the guidelines about what a Pug should be. Do you feel comfortable
buying from someone who breeds like that? Do you think they'll stand
behind their health guarantee if they have one? Those are questions
you have to ask yourself.

Here's the link to the whole page:

http://www.hoobly.com/0/0/200115.html

[lotsadox]

Here's another with good info:

http://www.crossroadschihuahuas.net/id7.html

[Laurie' s Dachshunds]

I know Teacups aren' t really a "breed" It' s just very small dogs, I' ve seen sites that claim the carry Teacup Dachshunds. I wouldn' t have one
(a teacup) and I don' t recommend Mini-Dachshunds 'cos they are very easily injuried & I wouldn' t have 1 around little kids. I also don' t think Paris Hilton should be using her pup as a Fashion Statement!!! :mad:

[lotsadox]

BTW Courtney, I agree with you. While small dogs are really cute, I prefer a larger dog that isn't so fragile. JMHO

[oceangirls]

Those are all very good links and explanations of the problems. I think it would be very hard to justify buying a "teacup" after reading all that!!

Cassie at 10lb is about as small as I can handle, personally. :)

[quavec]

Well, I've been surfing all day and from what I've been reading (here and elsewhere), teacups are just not the way to go. I truly hope that all the info I've come up with will steer them away from that route. Truthfully, I don't think they need another dog. It is usually pretty chaotic with just there three (they all bark and get major zoomies when the kids are around).

Thanks for everyone's help and input.

[Patt]

To answer your question... There are NO reputable breeders that breed for teacups, just the ones that want to make big bucks from the unsuspecting public. Excellent links posted.

Personally I feel the home you are describing is way too busy for a teacup pet. Teacups are more suitable for adults that have nothing to do but dote on their "babies". This is the latest fad, hopefully for the pets sake it will go away soon. I would say teacup pets could have more then their share of health problems. So hopefully your in-law family has a couple thousand (not hundreds) of bucks and more to pay the vet bills they will likely have.

[Mama S.]

A former co-wokrer had a teacup (?) chihuaha that almost died more than once because she was so small they couldn't keep her blood sugar regulated. Why oh why do people think smaller is better??
Sandi