To make sure that your teacup dog stays fit and healthy as an adult, it is imperative that you feed it sensibly and wisely. There can be no strict rule about how much to feed or how many times a day.

The amount of food an individual teacup dog requires is governed by various factors; including the amount of exercise it is given.

Generally speaking, you are getting it right if your teacup dog is lively, alert, and looks in good physical condition.

One or two meals a day is usually sufficient for an adult teacup dog. A good advice is to feed him just before or at the same time as you feed the family. This can help prevent begging for table scraps.

If you have a couple or so teacup dogs, it is often sensible to supervise their mealtime, as an assertive dog can push a younger or weaker dog out of the way.

Not only this can result in obesity in the bossy teacup dog, but also means that you will be less alert to any early signs of illness if one dog is not eating properly.

If you have a cat as well as a dog, it may be a good idea to feed the cat on a higher surface so that its bowl is out of the teacup dog’s reach.

Not only will this avoid quarrels and, possibly a scratched nose, but cat food has too high a protein content for dogs and does not provide the nutritional balance they require.

A fit and healthy teacup dog that has sufficient exercise should have no problem in clearing its food bowl.

Any sign of picking at food and being choosy could mean that you are actually overfeeding your teacup dog, or giving it too many tidbits, which amounts to the same thing.

The solution is easy: cut out tidbits completely and reduce the amount of food by half for a couple of days, and the appetite should improve.

Beware of manipulation. It does not take a dog long to discover that refusing to eat results in a worried owner producing something more delicious that dog food to tempt the appetite.

Provide the teacup dog’s usual food, leave it long enough to give him an opportunity to eat it, and if it does not, take the bowl away.

Give him the same type of food for the next meal, repeat the procedure and his eating pattern will soon return.