Many people confuse a teacup toy dog with a regular small dog, but these tiny dogs are in a class of their own!
A teacup dog is a dog that is smaller than those classified as toy dogs.
For example, a toy Maltese is four to six pounds fully grown while a teacup Maltese is under four pounds.
Some breeders argue that there is no such thing as a “teacup breed”-that they are just small toys -and that the whole concept of the “teacup” is nothing more than a marketing ploy to charge exorbitant prices for puppies. However, many dog owners rejoice in the surging proliferation of these tiny dogs which, while requiring much more attention and care, also require a lot less space.
I can personally attest to the joys of owning a teacup as my tiny orange pomeranian, Marmelade, weighs in at 3 1/2 pounds. I didn’t specifically buy her as a teacup – my husband fell in love with her at first sight and she never got any bigger than 3 1/2 pounds!
You can see by her picture here how darn cute she is and she hardly takes up any room and is so light to carry around. She’s a great conversation starter too as most people flock to her and sometimes they even think she is a cat!
While Marmelade is a bit too big to fit in a teacup, I do know of a toy poodle that is so tiny she can fit in one! This little dog is so tiny, she can fit in the palm of your hand full grown and I often see her owners carrying her in their coat pocket!
Of course, you’d have to be very careful with a tiny teacup dog that small running around the underfoot!