Teacup poodles are surrounded by a lot of hype inside dog lover circles, especially because of their adorable looks. Although very small when compared to most dog breeds out there, teacups will usually have most of the qualities that big dogs have inside their cute bodies. Their tiny size is what makes them really appealing to dog lovers, especially those that live in apartments and people that want a lap dog, and not a guard one. Keep in mind that some size variations still exist among teacup noodles.
At What Age is a Teacup Poodle Fully Grown?
Teacup Poodles are known to reach their fully grown size around the age of 1 year, which is common for medium-sized and standard-sized Poodles as well. Although the typical teacup poodle will continue to gain weight until it reaches an age of 16 to 18 months, its size will only grow for the first 6 to 8 months, by the end of the 8th month reaching its maximum stature. You will hardly see any noticeable growth after that age, which is why you can consider your pet fully grown.
How Big Will a Teacup Poodle Get When Full Grown?
You will never see a teacup that reaches the height of 10 inches when fully grown. In fact, a teacup Poodle will hardly ever reach this size, if ever. When it comes to Teacup Poodles, you will see mostly sizes of 6 to 8 inches, with females being just slightly smaller than males. One interesting way of looking at dogs in this category is this: if your dog can fit in a cereal bowl, then it is likely a Teacup.
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What is the Weight of Teacup Poodles?
Teacup poodles don’t have an impressive weight either, and that’s easy to understand when you factor in their size. You will notice that almost all fully-grown teacup poodles will have a weight somewhere between 2 and 6 pounds. Although this is the average, you will very rarely see a teacup Poodle go over the weight of 5 pounds. Due to their very small size and weight, you will have no problem carrying these dogs in your palms.
Would a Teacup Poodle Grow at All in Weight?
It wouldn’t be fair to say that teacup poodles don’t grow at all. Although the growth is too reduced to be noticed, they still grow a tiny bit. A teacup poodle that is just born will weigh around 2 pounds and by the time it is fully grown, it will reach 5 pounds. When compared to the standard poodle, this difference of just three pounds might seem very small, considering that the standard poodle will have just 6 to 9 pounds right after birth, and will reach an impressive weight of 60 to 75 pounds as an adult.
Caring for Your Teacup Poodle
Even though you can’t argue the fact that Teacup Poodles are among the cutest dogs in the world, keep in mind that they are considered pretty high-maintenance. Some experts even go as far as to say that they require a lot more care than the standard poodles, which makes them not a good fit for newbie owners. One negative aspect is that they have a lower daintiness and immunity, which makes them more vulnerable to all kinds of medical issues. Another negative aspect is that their grooming is tougher, especially due to their small size. But let’s get over the different aspects of caring for these dogs in more detail.
Grooming
This is one of the more complex jobs you will have as a teacup poodle owner. Just like bigger Poodles, teacups also have wavy or curly coats. Even though they won’t shed as much as other breeds, this won’t make your grooming job easier. You won’t be able to brush them as great as you would other breeds because their curls are considerably smaller.
They will have quite a few dead hair strands on their coat, which means that you will be required to brush them regularly. If you don’t the brushing will become more painful due to the hair getting matted. Brushing matted also increased the risk of hair damage. Before you brush your pup it is recommended that you dampen its hair with a spray bottle.
Another important aspect related to caring for teacups is cleaning their tear spots. You will likely see brown stains under the inner corners of the pet’s eyes quite a lot. A tear stain remover will work great to reduce, if not remove tear spots. And let’s not forget nail trimming. This activity will also be tougher than in the case of bigger dogs. You will not only need a lot more dexterity and time, but you will also need some smaller tools when trimming the nails of teacup poodles.
Exercise
The good news is that a teacup doesn’t usually require a lot of exercise. You can either play with it for about 20 to 30 minutes or take it out for a walk for 10 minutes each day and it should be enough. Even so, training will be a little harder due to their size. They will have a hard time standing too much exertion due to their size. Also, due to how small they are, they can bang and even get stuck in any obstacle they face while playing.
It can also get risky to put a leash on a dog of this size. This is mostly due to their necks being very small which makes pulling on a leash really dangerous. This is why when you’re thinking of exercising or even playing with these dogs, you must take a few measures of precaution.
Health
There are quite a few health issues that can affect teacups. The main reason refers to the way these dogs are bred, which is outside the normal standards. There are no approved regulations that are strict enough for the breeding of these dogs to be kept under control.
They are prone to elbow dysplasia and hip dysplasia, along with other physical problems especially due to their very reduced size. These illnesses can not only cause your dog to be pretty inactive, but they can also make it quite depressed because they cause a lot of pain in the joints of the dog.
These dogs also have problems with medical issues related to their adrenal glands. Cushing’s syndrome and Addison’s disease are just some of the things they have to deal with, which can become fatal when ignored for enough time. This is why you should never ignore the symptoms of these diseases and take your dog to the vet as soon as you notice strange changes in its behavior.
The teacup poodles are also prone to other health-related issues like blindness that starts with progressive retinal atrophy, heat sounds, epilepsy, and diabetes.
