How to Put a Toy Poodle on a Diet

Some toy poodles have human-sized appetites. They can eat far more than they should and put on a tremendous amount of weight. This predisposes your poodle to many serious illnesses such as diabetes, arthritis, hip displagia and heart problems. Fortunately, toy poodles have more common sense than most people and will stick to diet, provided that they don't have easy access to food.

Things You'll Need

  • Veterinarian
  • Transportation to and from the vet's office
  • Quality dog food
  • Scale (optional)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Stop leaving food out for your toy poodle all day. You need to know exactly how much your dog is eating.

    • 2

      Feed only a good-quality dog food with less than 5% fat on the food nutrition label. Dry food is better than wet food, but wet food can be given once a day. Memorize the "Canine Taboo Foods" list in Resources and stick to it.

    • 3

      Take your toy poodle to the vet for an accurate weighing (to the ounce or kilograom) and see how much weight your dog needs to loose. If your vet advises you to cut out all human food--even those fed only once a day--do so.

    • 4

      Check your home for places where your poodle could be sneaking food. Get on your hands and knees, if necessary, to see if they can get into the trash or cabinets. Fix these problems.

    • 5

      Give your toy poodle more exercise, whether this means ten more minutes of walking a day, more play time or arranging to visit a doggy friend to play with a couple of times a week. Spread this exercise out over the course of a day, if you can. Use affection, toys, walks and verbal praise instead of just food as a training reward.

    • 6

      Weigh your toy poodle regularly by standing on your scale, writing the weight down and then standing on the scale holding your dog and noting the difference in the weight. The difference is how much your dog weighs.