I am surveying veterinarians around the country regarding their experiences with teacup puppies and dogs. Here are the questions and the results of the survey so far. This will be updated as more veterinarians answer the survey.
Number of veterinarians who have responded so far - 5
What are the most prevalent medical issues with teacups that you have seen in your practice?
- Hypoglycemia - 4
- Dental - 1
- Left blank - 1
- Fractures - 1 (congenitally bad kneecaps, falls from couch)
- Patellar luxations - 2
- Obesity - 1
Do you have any suggestions as to how to prevent them?
- Feed frequent small meals (hypoglycemia) - 3
- Do not adopt the dog before it is weaned at 8 weeks (hypoglycemia) - 1
- Decrease stress (hypoglycemia) - 1
- Feed Nutri-Cal (hypoglycemia) - 1
- Treat the dog like crystal (fractures) -1
- Left blank - 3
Do you have any feeding suggestions?
- Feed frequent small meals but do not overfeed - measured daily amounts -1
- Left blank - 3
- Feed only moist dog food. Dry food takes too long and too much effort to chew. Feed every 2 hours. - 1
- Feed 3-4x/day until 4 months of age - 1
Do you have an opinion on teacups in general?
- Left blank - 4
- They should be educated about what they are getting into - 1
- No - 1
- Very healthy in general - 1
Do you think they have more medical issues than some recognized dog breeds such as English bulldogs?
- No - 5
Do you think they develop slower than toy or miniature dogs?
- Left blank - 3
- Don't know - 1
- Dentition - 1
Do you find it difficult to do surgeries because their bodies are so small?
- No - 4
- Yes - 1
Is anesthesia a risk because their bodies are so small?
- No - 4
- Yes - 1 (because of hypothermia and clogging up a tube with intubation)
A big THANK YOU to the veterinarians who took time out of their busy day to answer the survey questions -- and especially to those who allowed me to use their names.
- John Winters, DVM - Beverly Hills Small Animal Hospital
- Dr. Phil Zeltzman - Allentown, PA, traveling surgeon, http://www.drphilzeltzman.com/