Toy Munchkin

Toy Munchkin

Owners of a toy munchkin should starting training at a young age, since a dog learns quicker when young. These dogs have an easy-going and assertive temperament. They are ready to follow their owners everywhere. Due to its small size, they are perfect dogs for apartment dwelling or a more sedentary lifestyle. Owners of a toy munchkin should starting training at a young age, since a dog learns quicker when young.

Training Toy Munchki These dogs were specially developed to be the ideal companion dogs suitable for almost any lifestyle. It is a lively, happy, and intelligent dog that, though small in size, it never gives the appearance of weakness or frailty. Owners of a toy munchkin should starting training at a young age, since a dog learns quicker when young.

Considered the "ideal" pet for all types of lifestyles, the Toy Munchkin is an intelligent dog which makes a great companion for almost anyone. This breed stands an average of 5 inches at the shoulders and weighs an average of 4 pounds. It comes in a variety of colors. When this dog is properly shaved it resembles a small lion with its pom-pom appearance. Contact the dog breeders below for your next family friend.

The purpose of this site is to provide some real world information to those seeking the elusive "Toy Munchkin". This "rare breed" is more and more often being featured on talk shows and news segments. This is NOT a site where you will find contact information about this dog. This is also NOT a site where you will hear wonderful things about how perfect this dog is. What you WILL find here are some basic facts.

This site has been put together because many of us in the dog and cyber communities are alarmed by the growing publicity this "breed" is receiving. Every time the Toy Munchkin appears on a talk show or a news segment, the electronic bulletin boards are bombarded by questions on how to find this dog. Each time this happens, we patiently (okay....we try!) explain why we do not think this is a valid "breed", and all the problems we see with the breeders of these wee dogs. Real, solid, informative facts about the Toy Munchkin are very hard to get from the breeders. In fact, if you run a search on the WWW for "Toy Munchkin", most of what you will find are links back to the questions posted on the BBs on this subject, and our many many replies. This is why we have put together this site. Here we will lay out our opinions on the Toy Munchkin, the facts as we know and understand them, and then give you some of the other options available to you in your search for a canine companion for you and your family.

First let us explain to you what we know about the Toy Munchkin. Not much. Why? Because all inquires made to the breeders have gone unanswered. The breeders used to have websites up on these dogs, but they have been taken down. Many of us tried contacting the breeders and received no replies back. The websites (when they were up) also did not provide much information. The basic information that was on those websites can be summed up as follows: "very tiny", "oh-so cute", and "like to ride on yachts". They are touted as being an "ancient breed" from either Asia or Europe, but there are no records of this "breed" that can be found, and it is not recognized by ANY registry (not AKC, FCI, CKC, UKC or ARBA). The breeders claim that these dogs are champions, but that can not be so, since they are not registerable, and therefore not showable. And so the first question is this....If this is not an ancient breed of champion dogs from Asia, or Europe, what is it ??

Well we're not entirely sure about this. But we have our suspicions and our guesses. Keeping in mind that "we"** are a vast group of people from all over the world, with wide and varied experience with many many types of dogs, we have discussed this at length and come up with a few educated guesses. The two most likely answers to the question of "What is a Toy Munchkin" is that it is either a Pomeranian/Chihuahua cross, or just a small Pomeranian. Why do they look so "interesting"? What is that great little "style" they have? That one we CAN answer. It is called a "Lion Cut", and it is nothing more than a haircut that any groomer can provide. They simply shave all the hair off of the hind end of the dog, leaving the plume on the tail and the hair on the front of the body uncut. So what we have is a very small mixed breed dog with a shaved butt.

And what do you get if you want to buy one of these things? Again....not much. As was stated earlier, we have not been able to get much information from the breeders of the Toy Munchkin. But here is what we have been able to find out. No genetic tests are run on the parents or the pups, nor are health clearances or guarantees offered. They apparently claim that there are no health problems in the "breed", but without doing any testing, how can they prove that? How can they know? The breeders also, to the best of our knowledge, sell only male dogs and sterilized females. All breeding therefore must be done by the two "original" breeders. This does not promote a very large or varied gene pool, and would make any genetic health problems worse in the "breed". There appears to be no standard for these dogs other than that of "very tiny", "oh-so cute", and "likes to ride on yachts". There is no mention of any standard weight, height, coloring, or temperament.

There ARE only TWO breeders of the Toy Munchkin, each of whom claims to be the one who "discovered" the dog, and introduced it to the other. No one else has ever admitted to having ever heard of the breed prior to its "discovery". The breeders of the Munchkin provide no information as to where it was developed, who developed it, or what breeds were used in the development. They simply call it an ancient breed. The internet sites that used to be up were pulled as soon as the dog/cyber community started contacting them and asking for information.

Now we'd like to step back for a minute, and take another look at this. Many people have accused us of being "anti mixed breed". Nothing could be further from the truth. Many of us proudly share our homes with mixed breeds. In fact, we have nothing against these poor little dogs at all. What we're against here is what we feel are the irresponsible ethics of the breeders. They have dogs of a questionable background and lineage. They provide no real information about the "breed", other than claims that no one can verify. They sell dogs without any guarantees, and keep all breeding to themselves. And what, you might ask, does one pay for the privilege of owning one of these questionable animals? The prices we've seen and heard quoted are between $2,000 and $5,000. That is a lot of money to pay for a dog with no health guarantees, no genetic testing on any of the line, and no registry or conformation to judge how your dog compares to others of the same breed. We feel that these are signs of irresponsible breeders, who seem not to have the best interest of the dogs and the potential owners in mind. Responsible breeders spend years learning about their breed, and what is desired in the line. They research carefully and do extensive health checks on dogs before they breed them. They show their dogs in order to compare them to others of the same breed and to the conformation standard of the breed.

We have no problem with someone wanting to pay lots of money for a dog. We have nothing against people who want a "pavement special" mutt. We just think that people should know what they are (and are NOT) getting when they purchase a Toy Munchkin. Thousands of dollars is a lot of money to hand over to people who seem interested not in providing a sound dog as companion, but only in their own profits.

We ask you please to think very carefully about what we have said here. There are hundreds of thousands of dogs in need of homes in this world. There are dogs and pups in every shelter in this country and others waiting to be adopted. There are responsible breeders available who will happily and openly answer your questions about their breed and their own lines. It isn't necessary to support breeders like these. If you really want a little toy dog to share your life and your home, then please check into either adopting a small mixed breed, adopting a pure breed rescue, or purchasing a small dog. We are providing for you here some links to other sites with information on other breeds of dog. You will find some wee doggies, some giant beasties, and all manner in between. Please check into rescue as well as purchasing from a breeder. Feel free to contact "us"** and ask us any questions you might have. We are more than happy to help you in your search for an alternative to the Toy Munchkin.

Faults Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriosness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree

Note * Male animals should have two apparently noemal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.