What Exactly is a Teacup Yorkie?
In a simple sentence, a Teacup Yorkie is a Yorkie that is quite small in size.
Delving beneath that statement and expanding upon it, I will explain some information surrounding the popular Teacup Yorkie.
Since Yorkshire Terriers are established with the AKC dog breed register, you may wonder if a Teacup Yorkie is also registered. The answer is no.
Teacup Yorkies are not their own breed. They are not pedigreed. They are only classified as Teacup because of their typical tiny stature.
The way a Teacup Yorkie even exists is because smaller and smaller “regular” Yorkies were selected to breed together – the results were smaller and smaller puppies.
Why did this happen?
Because the smaller the puppy, the more money the breeder could potentially get from the sale of that puppy.
It is no secret that a lot of people take one look at a teacup Yorkie puppy and are overwhelmed with the desire to have one.
I mean just look at this little guy below:
However, it is important to understand why they are in existence, and the resulting consequences of this small-dog breeding process.
Teacup Yorkies are known to be more expensive not only to purchase but to own and take care of.
Not to mention the extra labour that is involved.
You need to pay extra attention to your little Teacup. Why? They have tiny bladders and will therefore need to use the bathroom more often.
They also have tiny stomachs and therefore will not be able to eat as much as a regular Yorkie. Even though they will want to.
It will be tempting to give them treats just for being so adorable to look at, but you do not want to exacerbate the potential for digestive system problems in your dog.
You may notice your Teacup Yorkie has a hard time chewing hard dog food – what you can do is try and crush up some of their food, or add a liquid like warmed water to break it apart and make it easier for them to eat.
If you have just bought a Teacup Yorkie, you will want to have a reliable veterinarian with which you can trust to handle the needs of your Teacup Yorkie.
A visit to the vet soon after you’ve acquired the puppy is a good suggestion to consider. To make sure everything is in order and there are no present congenital defects.
Typically, the vet will give vaccinations at about two months of age. More vaccinations may be necessary at 4 months of age too.
If your vet does not do this automatically, make sure to ask them to do a check up on the dog’s ears for any build-up of mites or wax.
As I mentioned above, Teacup Yorkies have smaller bladders than regular Yorkies so if and when they make an “accident” inside the house or in the car, do not get angry. If anything you should expect it to happen – they cannot help it.
It may be obvious but I just want to mention this anyway: make sure they have constant fresh water in their bowl.
The Teacup Yorkie’s hair grows just like regular Yorkies and therefore will require regular grooming. You can do this by yourself if you want to.
I recommend watching and reading this. However, you can also obviously pay to have them professionally groomed.
Above I have highlighted some basic important information and factors to consider when thinking of attaining a Teacup Yorkie.
Please SHARE this with anyone who is interested in Teacup Yorkies.