i am so sick of seeing breeders calling chihuahuas TEACUPS anyone who has researched and knows their stuff knows that there is NO such thing as a teacup chi..there are only 2 kinds of Chihuauhua
long haired and short haired...STOP tryin to get people to think that these"teacups" are anymore special or valuable ...as a matter of fact the smaller they are the more likely they are to have problems...just call them what they are for crying out loud! long haired or short..STOP misleading people and then having the gall to call yourselves reputable breeders!

... i have 2 apple head chis..and some are called deer heads Because the head is so round, many people refer to it as an “apple” head or “apple dome.” when a Chihuahua has a different shaped head due to a much narrower skull, it is referred to as a deer head Chihuahua, resembling a deer. The problem is that while this does not affect the quality of the Chihuahua’s life, a deer head Chihuahua would not be show quality nor do they make good breeders since this trait would likely be passed on to other generations. In fact, in the world of Chihuahuas, this is considered a defect. Because some people think this is natural and how the dog should look, they will unsuspectingly purchase a deer head from a greedy breeder, only to discover the head is disproportional.

There are a lot of "breeders" selling "t-cup" yorkies and Maltese too. If people would do their research they would know not to buy from such breeders. Most of the so called t-cups are actually exactly what the standard calls for. I've seen "t-cup" Maltese puppies that are estimated to be 5lbs adults. The Maltese standard says "under 7lbs with 4-6lbs prefered," So any dog under 7 pounds is a standard size Maltese. The Chihuahua standard says "anything under 6" and the yorkie is also under 7.

I know for crying out loud! There called either Short-haired or Long-haired Chihuahuas! I agree that people should stop calling the that. Did you know that 90% of T-Cups aren't really purebred! Aussies out

Here's the problem... some of those "misleading breeders" actually THINK there is such a thing as a t-cup Chihuahua... They also think they can create a new breed by taking two purebreds and mixing them... the term "breeder" does not imply intelligence. They may not be trying to dupe anyone... they may actually believe what they are telling you... that is the REALLY scary thought.

This is common wording in ads for Shih Tzu also...some "breeders" sell undersized dogs as "imperial" or "teacup", claiming that the dogs will be only 3-5 lbs when fully grown. #1 - The breed standard is 9-16 lbs. #2 - what happens when and if that puppy winds up being a lot bigger than the buyer expected? Will the poor dog get dumped at a shelter because he isn't a "teacup?" #3 Small dogs bred to other small dogs often have health problems. A co-worker of mine claims to be an expert on Shih Tzu and always refers to her dogs as "mini's" or "teacups." She obviously has not done any research on the breed and is not the expert she claims to be.

The thing every buyer has to remember is that some breeders are excellent at what they do. Some are really cruddy. Just like with any job or hobby some people put their whole heart into things, and other people are doing it for completely the wrong reasons. It doesn't necessarily make them bad people - sometimes it does (because they ARE trying to scam people or stretch the truth) - but sometimes it's just someone who has convinced themselves that they know what they are talking about.

The BUYER needs to be educated - and if you run into a breeder that YOU know more than... it's probably not the breeder for you.

This is also why it's important that breeders do something with their dogs other than JUST breed. They should be a member of the dog or breed community and have other people to discuss their breeding program with and that will hold them accountable. It's make a big difference when you deal with a breeder who honestly cares what other people who are knowledgeable think. It's not about showing off - it's about mentally and emotionally showing up to the party at all.

We, as human beings, are quite capable of convincing ourselves of almost anything if we think it and say it often enough... breeders are people too... just like every other person in the world who make go off with only 1/2 the knowledge they need to do something...