TeriM
March 28th, 2007, 04:13 PM
Sad but true :sad:
How Many Chihuahuas Have to Die For You To Get a Small One?
by Tracie Hotchner
The AKC just announced that the Yorkshire Terrier's popularity has sky-rocketed: the breed has just set a record by becoming the second most popular breed in the country (after Labradors). In New York, Yorkies have become the number one most desired pooch. But let this be a warning to you: as much as we all love little dogs and our hearts may melt at the sight of the smallest little pooches, if we keep asking for ever-smaller pocket dogs we may wind up like the Japanese: potentially causing misery and death for the rest of that litter.
According to this article (Japan, Home of the Cute and Inbred Dog) from the New York Times, they reported that the frenzied fad in Japan for ever-smaller "pocket dogs" (or tiny breeds with unusual colors like a blue-hued long-haired Chihuahua) has resulted in the birth and death of their defective littermates. In order for toy breeds like Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers and miniature Dachshunds to be on the smallest end of their normal weight, it means that unscrupulous breeders have to mate the runt of a litter with other unnaturally small examples of the breed. For example, the normal weight range for a show-quality Chihuahua is 2 to 6 lbs, but dogs under 3 lbs. generally cannot be healthy. The approved weight for a show-quality Yorkie is 3 to 7 lbs - for a miniature Dachshund it is 8 to 11 lbs., but by requesting dogs on the lowest end of the weight scale you are asking for trouble. In Japan, the demand for "micro-toy" dogs has resulted in litters of puppies born missing parts of their faces or paws, with bones that disintegrate or mental instability that results in madness. This genetic devastation is avoidable, since it is driven by consumer demand for dogs no bigger than the palm of your hand, and the greed of those "back-yard breeders" who produce the tiniest dogs with the largest profit margin.
In Japan, as reported in the New York Times article, murder-at-birth has become standard operating procedure for most of the birth-defective puppies in a litter - just in order to get one teeny surviving puppy for that high-demand waiting list. Economics drives the immoral breeders who would do this: that little puppy in Japan brings in upwards of $10,000.
Let us guard against falling into this pattern of faddism in our own country. We'd like to think that we would not indulge our craving for the tiniest possible dog if we knew it meant the destruction of the rest of his littermates - but let's not kid ourselves, people are people and Americans are as capable as anyone else of justifying what we want at any price - be it monetary or moral - and the consequences be damned. It's not like we have to actually see those birth-defective littermates born too small to survive or deaf, blind, pawless, spineless, and mentally crazed. That's just the price of doing business, right? Those teeny toy pups look so cute and vulnerable, who can resist them? And they fit in our shoulder bags so easily and weigh so little we can take them with us everywhere, tucked under our armpits.
Dr. Phillip Padrid, an internationally renowned veterinarian with the Family Pet Animal Hospital in Chicago, was recently speaking on "Dog Talk," the NPR radio show of which he is the official vet, about the medical crises that can afflict these tiny dogs. "I had a 2 lb. Yorkie come in with pneumonia and I could not access her breathing tube even with the human pediatric surgical tools I have," he said. "Her trachea was so tiny it was more like that of a bird. I feel terrible not be able to do more for my clients with these little dogs they love so much, but they are so unnaturally small that they have more medical problems - and as vets we are often at a loss as to how to treat them."
So the next time you see a small breed dog described as a "pocket" dog, rather than saying "Aww, how adorable," now you'll stop to think about how much suffering might have gone into producing such a tiny little pooch. If you want a very small breed of dog to carry with you everywhere, one way to make sure you are dealing with a scrupulous breeder is to be on the lookout for the giveaway word "teacup." There is no such thing as a "teacup" in the dog-breeding world: only an unknowledgeable breeder or one trying to take advantage of you would brag about that.
How Many Chihuahuas Have to Die For You To Get a Small One?
by Tracie Hotchner
The AKC just announced that the Yorkshire Terrier's popularity has sky-rocketed: the breed has just set a record by becoming the second most popular breed in the country (after Labradors). In New York, Yorkies have become the number one most desired pooch. But let this be a warning to you: as much as we all love little dogs and our hearts may melt at the sight of the smallest little pooches, if we keep asking for ever-smaller pocket dogs we may wind up like the Japanese: potentially causing misery and death for the rest of that litter.
According to this article (Japan, Home of the Cute and Inbred Dog) from the New York Times, they reported that the frenzied fad in Japan for ever-smaller "pocket dogs" (or tiny breeds with unusual colors like a blue-hued long-haired Chihuahua) has resulted in the birth and death of their defective littermates. In order for toy breeds like Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terriers and miniature Dachshunds to be on the smallest end of their normal weight, it means that unscrupulous breeders have to mate the runt of a litter with other unnaturally small examples of the breed. For example, the normal weight range for a show-quality Chihuahua is 2 to 6 lbs, but dogs under 3 lbs. generally cannot be healthy. The approved weight for a show-quality Yorkie is 3 to 7 lbs - for a miniature Dachshund it is 8 to 11 lbs., but by requesting dogs on the lowest end of the weight scale you are asking for trouble. In Japan, the demand for "micro-toy" dogs has resulted in litters of puppies born missing parts of their faces or paws, with bones that disintegrate or mental instability that results in madness. This genetic devastation is avoidable, since it is driven by consumer demand for dogs no bigger than the palm of your hand, and the greed of those "back-yard breeders" who produce the tiniest dogs with the largest profit margin.
In Japan, as reported in the New York Times article, murder-at-birth has become standard operating procedure for most of the birth-defective puppies in a litter - just in order to get one teeny surviving puppy for that high-demand waiting list. Economics drives the immoral breeders who would do this: that little puppy in Japan brings in upwards of $10,000.
Let us guard against falling into this pattern of faddism in our own country. We'd like to think that we would not indulge our craving for the tiniest possible dog if we knew it meant the destruction of the rest of his littermates - but let's not kid ourselves, people are people and Americans are as capable as anyone else of justifying what we want at any price - be it monetary or moral - and the consequences be damned. It's not like we have to actually see those birth-defective littermates born too small to survive or deaf, blind, pawless, spineless, and mentally crazed. That's just the price of doing business, right? Those teeny toy pups look so cute and vulnerable, who can resist them? And they fit in our shoulder bags so easily and weigh so little we can take them with us everywhere, tucked under our armpits.
Dr. Phillip Padrid, an internationally renowned veterinarian with the Family Pet Animal Hospital in Chicago, was recently speaking on "Dog Talk," the NPR radio show of which he is the official vet, about the medical crises that can afflict these tiny dogs. "I had a 2 lb. Yorkie come in with pneumonia and I could not access her breathing tube even with the human pediatric surgical tools I have," he said. "Her trachea was so tiny it was more like that of a bird. I feel terrible not be able to do more for my clients with these little dogs they love so much, but they are so unnaturally small that they have more medical problems - and as vets we are often at a loss as to how to treat them."
So the next time you see a small breed dog described as a "pocket" dog, rather than saying "Aww, how adorable," now you'll stop to think about how much suffering might have gone into producing such a tiny little pooch. If you want a very small breed of dog to carry with you everywhere, one way to make sure you are dealing with a scrupulous breeder is to be on the lookout for the giveaway word "teacup." There is no such thing as a "teacup" in the dog-breeding world: only an unknowledgeable breeder or one trying to take advantage of you would brag about that.