Pocket Puppies?

Someone brought this topic up before, but I bring it up again because...

I just talked to someone who impulsively bought a "pocket puppy" from a newspaper ad.

(That was wrong on so many levels to start with)

But she recently found out it has some health issues, and wanted to ask me about "typical pocket puppies" and their long-term health.

Had she consulted me first, I would have showed her this recent article I wrote for my blog.

Please read this and let me know what you think on the subject.

http://www.geocities.com/drea_me_3000/po...

What should be done about Pocket Puppies in your opinion?

Cute and you'd buy one...

or inhumane and should be considered animal cruelty?

I personally think its cruel and would love to spread the truth about these dogs to wanna be pet owners to educate them before they buy a dog to help keep these BYB in business.

I'd like to know your honest opinions on this.

http://petcareispossible.blogspot.com

oh, and about the person who emailed me...

she said the "Breeder" told her the dog she bought had an imperial gene that made it that small... and that her adult size would be 2 pounds.

1. there is NO imperial gene
2. Imperial refers to purposly bred smaller Shih Tzus... this dog she said is a "teenie Weenie" Dauchund.

A puppy should not fit in your pocket. That's all I have to say.


Okay, one more thing...
These "breeders" are only making money. The dogs involved suffer on so many levels, and so do the people when they are lied to. We, people, used to profit off of animal centuries ago. Have we not smartened up? Are there really such barbaric and ignorant people still in existance? I think they should get some form of breeder laws up and running, because this thing must be stopped.

Any kind of breeding which results in health problems (such as with pocket puppies) is inhumane. These dogs generally develop neurological problems and internal organ problems. Unfortunately too many people see a cute puppy, don't bother to do any research before getting it, and end up having to coup with the problems down the line.

I just purchased a very small Yorkie yesterday.. and she is the runt of the litter, so she'll only get to 3.5 llbs most likely. I would never ever purchase a dog that was intentionally bred to be underweight. I just heard of a local breeder feeding their dogs gunpowder.. yes you heard right.. GUNPOWDER... to keep them small. wow. terrible huh?

The people who breed so called ' pocket puppies ' should spend some time volunteering at their local shelter.. Make them euthanize a bunch of unwanted dogs / puppies and see if they still feel like they can justify the badly bred dogs they continue to produce.

Anyone who wants a dog as a fashion accessory should not get a dog and I do view these "extra teeny" dogs as purposly bred as fashion accessories as no care has gone into breeding a sound dog.

yes they are verry cute but i would NEVER buy one. they are something that i am against, it's not fair that breeders would make dogs unaturally small just 2 sell them. They know they're going 2 have health issues but somehow they don't care. Breeders even do this to pugs, they shouldn't do that 2 b/c they are already made smaller b/c hundreds of years ago, they were much bigger & they already have health issues as it is.

I actually find them repulsive. They are pretty well always sick, malformed, misshapen things. Their should be laws against breeding dogs who are not proper examples of a breed. If owners had to spend the time and money showing and tittling their dogs before they bred them we wouldn't have this problem. Since all these 'breeders' are to lazy to do this they just want to make a quick buck and their dogs are not even close to any breed standards we wouldn't have this problem.

Props to you for educating people. These tiny dogs lives never begin well and always end far too soon

It is wrong on many levels in my opinion and the main one being these poor animals have to be bred down in order to achieve that size. If an animal is supposed to be bred to that size then fine so be it but too many people (breeders and not good ones) are trying to capitalize on people wanting smaller carry-on puppies because they are cute and you can bring them just about anywhere. What the uneducated buyer is not thinking of or maybe they just don't care is these animals can have major health issues. In the world of "disposable" pets which is another topic I feel is wrong,people think well if it gets sick I'll get rid of it or if the dog gets too big I'll get rid of it! C'mon people educate yourselves BEFORE you buy an animal-with the world being all on computer and more and more people relying on it to make choices do some research about any breed you like..find out what size it should be and what health issues can occur and remember that the smaller down bred it is the more chances of health issues and suffering that animal can encounter.

I honestly don't have anything intelligent to say tonight, I'm just a little burnt out.

But I do commend you for doing what you're doing. it's just too bad that your friend didn't seek your advice in the beginning, but do you think she would have changed her mind?

From what I've seen (here and at work) these type of people who seek these specifically type of dogs, do not listen to reason.

I hope that you can educate some people on here, that would be nice.
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Good point, DP. They really should be the ones to euthanize.

When I bought my Yorkshire Terrier at 8 weeks old, she was the runt out of the litter. To me she is little enough, not that I had any preference on size..I just wanted a Yorkie :) See, I don't understand why people want "teacups." There is no such thing! The breeders just breed runts with runts and jack up the price. It's absolutely TERRIBLE! I frown upon this and wish people would educate themselves better about breeders.

I think anybody that breeds pocket puppies should be charged with animal cruelty. Most people think they are buying something special and different. They have no idea that they are buying a walking pile of vet bills. Breeders (greeders) charge an outrageous amount of $$$ and continue to produce sickly undersized dogs!!! Before you purchase a dog please check the AKC standard for that dog!!! There is no such thing as a teacup dog!