Vet Confidential

There seems to be a trend towards very tiny dogs. Is this healthy?

There are fads and trends in pet types, just as there are for clothes, cuisines, and which part of your body to insert jewelry in.

Currently, very tiny or so-called “teacup” dogs are in vogue. These are extremely small versions of certain small breeds of dogs, such as Chihuahuas, Maltese, Pomeranians, and others. There are health and other issues with this trend, which are helpful to know about if you are considering owning one of these dogs.

What the heck is a teacup dog anyway?

It is important to realize that “teacup” dogs are not recognized as official breeds. That is to say, there is technically no such thing as a “teacup Chihuahua”, “teacup Yorkie”, or “teacup Maltese”. People may believe that they have obtained a special breed called a “teacup” this or that but in fact they have just bought a particularly small example of the overall breed. The term “teacup” is a descriptive term, and could be considered a marketing gimmick. In fact, most of these dogs are smaller than breed standards suggest, and are considered by true breed fanciers to be very poor examples of the breed. This is important because innocent people are paying very large sums of money for what they believe are very fancy dogs from an exclusive breed, while in fact this is not true.

The term “toy” has also been misused. It is important to understand the terminology to avoid being deceived. There are eight traditional dog breed groups, including working dogs, herding dogs, sporting dogs, terriers, hounds, non-sporting dogs, toy dogs, and miscellaneous dogs. Chihuahuas are an example of a toy dog breed. So are Yorkshire terriers, Pomeranians, Shih Tzus, Pugs and Maltese, among others. Therefore, there is no such thing as a “toy Chihuahua”, or “toy Maltese”, for example, since all Chihuahuas and Maltese are in the toy breed category. Similarly, the label “Imperial Shih Tzu” has been coined. This is a marketing gimmick, not an officially recognized breed.

Why does this matter? It matters because some dog producers are advertising their dogs as “toys”, “teacups”, or “imperial” and charging unknowing buyers enormous sums of money for these fictional breeds. If someone believes they are paying a premium for a special breed when in fact they have just purchased the runt of the litter, they have been victimized. I have seen these dogs being sold on the Internet for fifteen thousand dollars and more, so this is not a minor issue.

Unfortunately, seeing a marketing opportunity, some people have now begun selling “toy” or “teacup” cats, such as Persians and Himalayans. Taking advantage of the fad they see occurring with dogs, they hope to capitalize on it.

Some of the breed clubs whose breed has been affected by this trend are very unhappy about it. They feel that consumers are being deceived, and also that these dogs are unhealthy and reflect poorly upon the breed as a whole. Passionately focused on the health, welfare, and tradition of their breed, they are saddened to see what they consider to be caricatures of the breed, and do not want the public to confuse those who are producing these teacup dogs with responsible breeders. For more information, you can contact the official breed clubs or look for information on their websites.

It does not take any particular knowledge of medicine to realize that attempting to create the smallest dog possible is not natural or healthy. Simple common sense tells us this. Let’s examine some of the health issues that arise as a result. For simplicity, I will refer to all of these extremely small dogs, who often weigh less than 2 pounds as adults, as “teacup dogs”.

Teacup dogs have difficulty giving birth, and they often require Caesarean sections. This makes sense with their extremely small size. A puppy can only be so small and survive. Thus, with puppies not much smaller than their tiny mothers, they simply cannot fit through the birth canal and must be delivered surgically. Of course, some do not survive this.

Teacup puppies have severe problems with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). It is very difficult for them to maintain a normal blood sugar. They require intensive nursing by their owners, and even this often fails, necessitating hospitalization. I have seen teacup puppies in the hospital who require extremely high rates of intravenous dextrose (sugar) supplementation, and cannot survive off it. Some die even with veterinary intervention.  

Teacup dogs have very fragile bones, not surprisingly. They break their legs rather easily, and do not seem to heal normally. They can fracture their legs simply jumping off the sofa. A simple fracture that would heal in a normal dog with an inexpensive splint often will not heal without surgery and orthopedic implants. Some fractures do not heal even with surgery, resulting in what is called a “non-union’, meaning a non-healing fracture. These fractures are expensive and frustrating for owners, as well as painful for the animal.

They also have other orthopedic problems, one of the most frequent being dislocating kneecaps. These loose kneecaps (technically called “luxating patellas”) cause lameness and pain and often require surgery on both knees.

Other health problems reported with increased frequency in teacup dogs by veterinarians include hydrocephalus (water on the brain), liver shunts (abnormal blood vessels causing toxicity and death), dental problems, and open fontanelles (the soft spot in their skull does not close).

In addition, there are frequent reports by veterinarians of age misrepresentations by dog sellers in order to exaggerate the small size of the dogs being sold. In other words, by selling a 4-week-old puppy as 8 weeks old, the puppy appears to be even tinier. Veterinarians are able to determine this deception by examining the puppies’ teeth. Of course, this is not only deceptive to the buyer; it also puts the puppies’ lives at risk because they are too young to leave their mothers safely.

If small dogs appeal to you, you’re not alone. Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes are a big favorite of mine. There are plenty of small dogs to choose from, whether purebred or not, but there is no need for dogs to become microscopic. I think one Chihuahua owner put it best. Her Chihuahua is about 6 pounds, and she asked, “Geez, isn’t that small enough?”

Louise Murray DVM DACVIM

www.drlouise.com