Teacup Pomeranians
and
Teacup Puppies

Sure, the puppies are cute all dressed up in ribbons and bows, but just remember that the person who took that picture is trying to sell you a dog. And we all know, that the people who want to take our money can be very deceiving.

They are allowed to have nice websites. They can sound like animal-loving saints over the phone and of course, anyone is allowed to own a camera so they probably have a ton of photos of their teacup puppies all dressed up against cutesy backgrounds.

And why not? They get to charge twice as much for them. Trusting and unsuspecting people hand over money a lot easier when they're manipulated to do so with cute pictures.

And those same unsuspecting people will have no idea what they really bought... At least not for a few days, or weeks and maybe not even for a few months... until one day, it becomes painfully obvious that there is definitely something wrong with the dog.

Decent people, like you and I find it hard to comprehend the lengths that some people are willing to go to for a chance at our money. But believe me, it's the dogs who pay.

Buyer Beware.
I'm not saying everyone who is selling teacup dogs is using this one particular practice. There are, of course, other biological ways of producing tiny dogs. But buyer beware.

Anyone who is so willing to risk the tiny and fragile life of a 2-4 pound dog (half it's normal size), by breeding her is not doing it out of love. She is doing it to produce at-risk puppies with little to no regard for health, longevity or advancement of the breed -solely out of greed. And that, by any dog lover's standards, is deplorable.

Be extremely wary of anyone who is willing to risk so much for no other purpose than to sell you a product that benefits no one or nothing. It certainly does not benefit the dog or the breed.

These would be my questions to anyone looking for a teacup Pomeranian.

I couldn't possibly tell you how many horror stories I've read about and heard since setting up this website... not only about sick dogs, but also about the fragility of "so-called" teacup dogs. Even a teacup Pomeranian or two. (There really is no such thing, by the way, as a teacup anything, but for the sake of argument and so I don't digress from this point too badly, I'll let that point go).

Teacup Pomeranians are very fragile.
Just like regular sized dogs of any breed, your teacup will follow you everywhere, so they are under-foot all the time, just as any normal sized dog would be. But the difference is, when a tiny dog is accidentally stepped on, sat on or kicked, they don't always get back up.

Extreme Housebreaking Difficulties
It's also worth mentioning that trying to housebreak a teacup Pomeranian can be extremely difficult. Sometimes they can be house trained to a point, but for every teacup dog I've ever come to know, accidents happen on a regular basis.

How to Get a Healthy Dog!
To better your odds of getting a healthy teacup dog and a dog who stays small, you'll need to meet both parents of the puppy.

The breeder should be more than happy to invite your into her home. In fact, any good breeder would insist on it. She would never ship one of her puppies off to a random stranger in another state, especially a small and fraile teacup, for fear of it ending up in a place like the dogs in the video below.

If she does allow you in, but the dogs are not inside the home and being treated as pets, consider this person to be operating a profit-driven puppy factory. If she cares so little about her own dogs that they're locked in a crate in the shed out back. Why would she care about your dog?

When you get your teacup home...
To keep your tiny dog healthy and well once you get him home, my number one piece of advice would be to keep him off of all furniture that he himself could not jump onto.

But if the dog will be allowed on the couch or bed when he's fully grown, pet steps are absolutely necessary to avoid both short term and long term injuries.

We say necessary because even if your 'runt' grows to be the largest dog in breed history, which can happen by the way, pet steps have been proven to prevent injury AND the early onset of joint diseases in all breeds, including the conditions that occur over time.

According to the orthopedic foundation for animals, more than 41% of all Pomeranians are effected by patellar luxation! That is a staggering number of dogs and Pomeranians are actually ranked #1 for being affected more often than any other breed.

Patellar Luxation is a joint condition defined by kneecaps popping in and out of place. Painful to say the least and Pet Steps can help to avoid it.

Prevention is worth at least 2-4 pounds of cure when it comes to teacup Pomeranian puppies and all teacup dogs.
With all dogs, but especially the more fragile teacups, it's important to stay up to date on routine shots and to keep your dog on Heart worm preventative.

Maintain a good relationship with your teacup pomeranian by investing in a little house training insurance. An Indoor Potty Patch will make life easier for your dog and his tiny bladder and he won't need to worry constantly about disappointing you or getting in trouble when it becomes hard for him to hold it.

Don't be taken advantage of by careless breeders.
Before paying hundreds or even a thousand dollars or more for a teacup puppy, keep the following in mind.

A dog that could never be shown because it doesn't meet breed standards shouldn't cost more. Not that there's anything wrong with a dog who doesn't 'measure up' to someone's idea of what it should be. But combine all of that with a lower chance of living to it's full age potential AND a high likelihood of costly vet bills and your teacup might as well be an elderly dog with special needs - and elderly dogs with special needs don't cost more.

Get an iron-clad health guarantee.
If the breeder won't guarantee the health of the puppy for at least a year, consider that a huge red flag. Don't accept excuses. You can't pay vet bills with excuses and your puppy can't fight off illness with excuses.

Unfortunately though, in reality their guarantees are just like their websites and pictures, all smoke and mirrors. What the health guarantee really gives you is not the guarantee of a perfectly healthy puppy, but more like a promise to give you another puppy if yours should die or become gravely ill.

So which Breeders should you avoid?

These people do not have pets, they have breeding machines. These dogs are their incomes, their pawns. Chances are that these dogs do not even live inside the home... and if they do, they are not treated like pets who are loved and cherished, period.

To avoid supporting the industry in the video above, never purchase a dog long distance. If the dog is not in driving distance, look elsewhere.

Make sure that breeder is proud of and and willing to show off her own dogs including the parents of the puppy. If the breeder is unwilling to welcome you into her home to meet your new puppy or the parents of that puppy, she has something to hide.

Help put an end to the torture
Don't buy a dog (teacup or otherwise... and we hope otherwise) without making yourself very familiar with the industry that keeps them living in misery. Read our FAQ page or do an internet search about puppy mills. However you choose to get your information, please do the research. Spread the word. Tell your friends. Tell your family.

I really believe that if more people knew, puppy mills would go out of business completely, especially in the United States and other countries where dogs are treated as family.

The profile pages below will tell you all there is to know about the toy breeds that are currently being touted by breeders as teacups. There are links within every page to rescue dogs in your own area, maybe even a teacup or two!

Here are some of the other breeds that are naturally small and likely available for adoption at a rescue near you! Learn more about where and how to find adoptable toy breed dogs in your area.

Affenpinscher	Brussels Griffon	Japanese Chin	Miniature Pinscher	Papillon

Our Mission

Our mission is to help dogs... Because we care. Deeply. Please let us know if there's anything we could have done to make your small-breed-dogs.com experience better. Helping you means helping dogs.

We also welcome you to contact us if there are any other questions we can answer for you about Teacup Pomeranians.

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