Understanding the Teacup Golden Retriever by Nelson Williams

A doggie in a cup! Sounds cute, isn’t it? It would be, as if your little stuffed-toy pup came to life. A teeny-weeny golden retriever, that could fit in your hand…………exciting hmm? But hold on. Golden retrievers are dogs; live, energetic, intelligent, loving, full-bodied living creatures, right? They are supposed to be man’s companion and not mere ‘moving and breathing toys’.

Golden Retriever is a breed known for its majestic looks along with an extremely pleasing demeanour. Trying to fit it into a teacup is not only cruel but also derogatory. If you love Golden Retriever - the breed, love it as it comes – the medium-large dog. And if it is the size that attracts you, then go for a toy dog breed, e.g. Chihuahua.

Moreover, there is nothing like a teacup Golden Retriever. Some breeds have been specially bred to reduce their size, over the generations. But there is no special small-sized Golden breed.

Talking about the term ‘teacup’, it can be defined as ‘slang’ in the group of dog terms. There is nothing like a ‘teacup’ breed. It is a term popularly used to describe a very small toy dog or pup that is small enough to fit in a teacup. No major kennel clubs approve of this term. Irresponsible, profit oriented breeders, or back-yard breeders as they are called, use this term to market small pups/dogs in order to make them sound special; so that they can fetch high (often exorbitant) prices.

Golden Retriever, being an extremely popular breed; there are breeders who try to market small sized golden look-alikes as small-golden-retrievers. But as a buyer, you need to be really well informed and well researched so that you can save yourself from falling prey to such manipulative breeders.

There are teacup pups available for many dog breeds. You might even come across a breeder having an actual teacup size golden Retriever pup. But beware. Having a teacup pup of a small or toy breed is logical and understandable, because these dogs are naturally (or are carefully bred to be) small in stature. But when a teacup pup of a naturally big breed (like the Golden) is talked about, it’s worth considering what such a teacup pup actually is. It is actually a pre-mature baby. Yes, that is what the stark reality is. Some unscrupulous breeders manipulate their dam’s breeding so as to have some pre-mature tiny pups. If the sight of a cute little teacup Golden pup delights you, tell yourself that you are taking frailty for beauty, your eyes are happy to see something that is worth shedding tears for. Buying such a Golden pup would only mean celebrating cruelty. Such pups are weak by birth. They have a short life span and they encounter many health problems along with temperamental malfunctions.

If you are a true golden lover, do not just refrain from buying such pups, but educate others to refrain from this practice as well. This is the only way to discourage breeders from spoiling and playing with the health of Goldens.

If you should have a Golden retriever with the Golden traits but not the usual big size that it has, you can consider going in for a Comfort Retriever. This is a mix-breed Golden with a share of poodle in it. The details of the breed are available on goldendoodle.net/comfortretrievers.htm.

Remember, a Golden is a true golden only in its entirety; and there’s nothing like a reduced entirety.