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Toy dog traditionally refers to a very small dog or a grouping of small and very small breeds of dog. A toy dog may be of any of various dog types. Types of dogs referred to as toy dogs may include Spaniels, Pinschers and Terriers that have been bred down in size. Not all toy dogs are lapdogs, although that is an important and ancient type of toy dog. The very smallest toy dogs are sometimes called teacup size, although no major dog registry recognizes that term.
The use of the word “toy” to describe small dogs that belong to a toy breed is redundant and also incorrect, suggesting that the breed comes in different sizes—there is no such thing, for example, as a “toy Chihuahua”; all Chihuahuas are categorized in the Toy Group. Some breeds do come in different sizes, such as Poodles, which come in standard, miniature, and toy varieties. The size varieties may all be placed within one group, as with the German Spitz breed under the Fédération Cynologique Internationale rules, or the smallest varieties of a breed may be placed as a separate breed in the Toy Group or some other group. The exact categorization varies between registries and countries. The pug is probably the largest of the toy dog group, weighing an average of up to 18 pounds.