Our adult breeding dogs are very small, males at 2 1/2 & females at 3 to 4 pounds, and we know this for certain because we weigh them on a digital postal scale to the ounce! The 7 dogs you see in the picture below have a total weight of 20 pounds!  Some breeders will tell you that their parent dogs are "small" only “2 or 3 pounds,” when in fact they are 2 or 3 times this actual weight.  You can learn the Mom & Dad dogs' actual weight, by bringing a digital bathroom scale with you, when you go to the breeders home to see Mom, Dad and the pups. This will shed light on the true size of the parents and how small or large your pup may end up being.   

 

Chihuahuas are 5 to 8 pounds at adult weight, this is the normal size. Most breeders agree that a teacup dog is  3 to 4 pounds at its adult weight, about half the size of most "normal" sized dogs of the breed.  Newly weaned pups at 5 or 6 weeks old, weigh less then a pound, and often still fit in a large tea or coffee cup, as they did at birth. One rule of thumb is to weigh a pup at 12 weeks old, take that weight and double it.....this should be the adult weight of the dog at 8 to 12 months.  This rule usually holds true for Toy breeds that can come in a teacup size, like Chihuahuas, Poodles and Yorkies. Our Chihuahua line has been bred down to a small size through selective breeding.

 

Our pups are very small because they have had small parents and grand parents. Teacups have litters of one or two and on rare occasions three.  Other breeders offer a "teacup" that is the "runt" of a large litter from large parents, such dogs may end up at 4 or 5 pounds, but when bred have the genetics to have larger offspring.