what does toy dog mean ?

hey i am new here i was jsut wondering what toy dogs mean??? are they like really small dogs?? :|

 

From the AKC web site

 

Pretty much she said it all ,but also there are small dogs that are not in the toy group . And even though most toys were bred to be companions ,alot were bred down from hunters and herders etc. and still have that instinct as well .
Actually most toys were bred by royality in diferent places (alot in France as well as other countries ) as gifts to give other royals .france also adopted quite a few ,The Poodle ,Bichon and others as their own .Also monks bred some as watchdogs Lhasa Apso ,some were bred in China also ,pugs ,peks and others .The Maltese comes from the island of Malta .
Toy does not mean a certain size either .they come in all sizes ,shapes .It just means the smaller of that particular breed as in the Poodle ,there are several sizes ,Standard (largest ) Miniature (the middle size )and then the toys (smallest ) ,some breeds though only have one size although the range in that size varries ..

 

yes the toy size varies with different breeds so there is no set TOY SIZE for all dogs.

You also have the slang words for the tiniest toys which is usually known as TEACUP or IMPERIAL. These are the super small sizes and while technically it is incorrect it has become common practices to use these descriptions