All breed *standards have weight limits or height limits decided on by AKC and their national breed club. (*standard...a written description of the breed for showing purposes, a dog over standard does not mean it is not a pure breed) There are only 4 breeds recognized by AKC that have Toy as part of their name. They are Toy Fox Terrier, English Toy Spaniel, Poodle (Toy) and Manchester Terrier (Toy). The only other size differences in names are Giant, Standard and Miniature. So when you hear breeders selling Tiny Toy, Tea-Cup or Pocket puppies remember that is an adjective they came up with as a selling tactic. If you were to ask each of those breeders their definition of each, I would bet you would get different answers from all of them. Some breeders consider anything under 6 pounds a Tea-Cup. Another one would consider anything under 5 pounds the same and on and on. Then you have the ones that consider anything under 12 inches a Tiny Toy. Then you have another that says anything under 10 inches is and so on. Since these are adjectives made up by breeders any description applies according to the person defining it.
Now into the breeding aspect of breeds. Some will tell you they breed their smallest males to their bitches to get the tiny puppies. This might work if the bitch they are breeding to has small littermates, parents and grandparents. The same goes for the male. Now lets say the bitch is 5 pounds and the male is 3 pounds. Just looking at their sizes you would guess they would have puppies that weigh between 3-5 pounds as adults, but there are many factors you have to consider. First lets look at the pedigrees/family tree of the two.
What size are their sires and dams? Lets say the dams dam is 6 pounds and her sire is 5 pounds. Still in the standard but bigger then the dam herself. The sires dam is 7 pounds and his sire is 5 pounds. Now we have a dog that is twice the size of one of it's offspring. That would mean that the 3 pound dog can produce larger puppies because it is in his genes. If you had a chance to see the 3 pound sires littermates you would see he has a littermate that is 6 pounds and another that is 7 pounds. (**note..in these hypothetical breedings I am going with a line breeding, explained below)
What sizes are the littermates of those sires and dams? Ok, now lets say that the dams sire and dam are both 5 pounds and the sires dam and sire are 5 and 4 pounds. All are average size. Good right? Well, maybe maybe not. Lets see what sizes their littermates are. On the dams dam side we find 3, 6 and a 5 pound littermates. On the dams sire side we find 4, 7 and a 5 pound littermates. On the sires dam side we find 4, 5 and a 6 pound littermates. On the sires sire side we find 6, 6 and an 8 pound littermates. So with larger dogs on both sides you can guess they can produce larger puppies when bred together. If you look even one more generation further, you will probably find more big and possibly even bigger.
Breeders that can physically show you at least five generations of dogs along with their littermates and size can give an almost exact adult weight on puppies they produce. This however is if they are *line breeding to specific dogs in their lines. (*linebreeding...the breeding of two dogs that have at least one common ancestor in the first 3 generations of their pedigrees/family tree). If they do a total *outcross they would have less a chance of being as exact and they would be the first to admit it. (*outcross... the breeding of two dogs that have no common ancestors in their pedigrees/family tree). More breeders do line breedings to improve on specific traits and by doing so have more control on size, a lot of times though can bring size down to much for their own preference. Only when a breeder is trying to bring size back into their line or if they have a specific trait they want to improve on, then and only then will they do a total outcrossed breeding. So if you hear someone saying they do total outcrosses all the time to bring down size and or to have healthier dogs. It may sound good, but genetically speaking it is unlikely. They may get lucky every once in a while and get an outstanding small dog, but that dog then bred to another totally unrelated dog will bring in size and possible genetic problems.
Before going out and looking for that perfect pet, please be well informed and armed. Know what questions to ask and have an idea of exactly what you are looking for. Some breeders will guarantee size for so long, but know once you have that puppy home and have bonded with it you will not get a replacement or even your money back. You yourself know the same. If you do not care about size or color then it doesn't matter. If you are looking for a specific size or color, it is not fair to yourself or a puppy to get the closest you can get just to get something. When we settle, we emanate feelings of resentment and all living creatures feel those feelings. A lot of times we don't realize we are feeling these feelings, but my experience has proved to me they are there. I have raised a litter of puppies thinking I am treating them all the same. Once they are grown I see differences in attitude and characteristics. Part of that is genetics, but part of it is the way I treated them when younger. Only once I see this do I realize that I did hold that one a little more or maybe talked to it in a different tone of voice when I held it. All of us do it just like parents do with their children. Be fair to yourself and to your pet. Pets are for life so be sure it is exactly what you want.
Thank you for taking the time to read this
Lynne
