Tennis balls and your dog

Frank Niro

KNIFE MAKER
Hello to all you dog lovers.
Well playing "catch" with our dogs is always a big deal ! Did you know that in fact a tennis ball is the worst type to use? It is super bad on the dogs teeth and gums. Frank
 
Hello to all you dog lovers.
Well playing "catch" with our dogs is always a big deal ! Did you know that in fact a tennis ball is the worst type to use? It is super bad on the dogs teeth and gums. Frank

My dog has multiple tennis balls.

I'd like to know more about this: where can I find more documentation on this subject?

Thanks,

BC
 
To put it in a nutshell, tennis balls are made of an abrasive rubber material which will wear teeth after extended chewing. Here is one source.

http://www.avds-online.org/info/wornteeth.html

It also states that one of the worst things for a dogs teeth is chewing and nipping at its own coat and hair is extremely abrasive as well.
 
The main things I've heard against tennis balls is leaving them for the dog to chew. Some say they are abrasive and I can see where they become a choking hazard. I don't see how they hurt anything for retrieving with a pup but I never leave a tennis ball around as a toy for them to chew on.

As far as playing catch a frisbee works great but we don't play catch around here because we hunt with ours. A good retriever needs to sit until you send him after it so I don't want to start bad habits.

As far as retrieving, no tennis balls for Clyde, if it doesn't have feathers it at least needs to look like a duck.:biggrin:
DSCN2060.jpg


Actually he will fetch anything you throw but we try not to get in that habit either.

A tennis ball sure works good for getting the young ones interested and having fun. I don't know if it's because it's fuzzy like a birds feathers or what but they like it. My Mom uses them some and I have until they are ready for birds. I'm talking about retrieving and not catching though.
 
I was always worried about the gas inside a tennis ball causing a problem for my dogs but they say the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas used to pressurize the ball is an inorganic, colorless, odorless, non-toxic and non-flammable gas. Clyde was the only one of my dogs that could 'pop' a tennis ball with his teeth... all the others just liked to play fetch and chew the cover off the ball.
 
Yeah, my dog LOVES tennis balls, especially squeaky ones. They do wear down his teeth. I asked the Vet, why his teeth were worn down like that, and she asked if he played with tennis balls. Se said her dogs teeth are like that too.
 
That's right, a dirty wet slobery tennis ball is just like 120 grit sand paper on their teeth. You can get good rubber dog balls at the pet store or on ebay.
 
I knew that latex toys and squeakies are serious choking hazards, but never heard this about tennis balls. Thanks for sharing.
 
I was warned by the vet about the abrasiveness but it was sort of too late since my weiner dog hadv been chasing them for years. Frank
 
My dog only likes tennis balls. I have tried giving him other balls, but he doesn't like 'em.
 
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