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Tennis Balls

1625 Views 15 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  Donya
I have been told to refrains from using tennis balls in excess.   Hanna is totally ball motivates so we switched her out to Orbee balls - I did however find someone else who posed a question and a great response with a lot of backup site to support.  Thought I would pass it along:)

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( Q ) I have read several places on this a site  that makes reference to a study showing that tennis ball glue eats dogs tooth enamel. I have been unable to find a copy of this study and would like to share it with the local dog trainer and pet store as they have both asked to see it if i can get my hands on it. Can you direct me to where i can get a copy of this study? Many Thanks

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( A )

QUOTE: ... owners should avoid the use of tennis balls for chewing as these are very abrasive and cause significant teeth wear. END from http://www.NewmanVeterinary.com/DentalProblems.html

QUOTE: Discourage playing with tennis balls as the "fuzz" on the tennis ball is very damaging to your pet's enamel. END from
http://www.LakesVet.net/programs/dental.htm

QUOTE: Another concern about tennis balls - particularly with those obsessed with them - is that the coating on real tennis balls that allows them to stand up to the pounding of a tennis game is very abrasive to the enamel of a dog's teeth. For the occasional toss-fetch game it's probably not an issue, but over a lifetime for a dog who lives with a tennis ball in his mouth, you could have significant dental issues down the road. END from
http://www.dogwise.com

and, from

Picture of abraded teeth, caption, on DentalVet.com:
QUOTE: Abrasion - a pathologic wearing away of dental tooth surface by friction of a foreign material. Examples: tennis balls .... END from http://www.dentalvet.com

and QUOTE: Speaking of tennis balls, as a quick aside, they are actually a problem for dogs in that the coating that makes them tough on the court is very wearing on the enamel of teeth. This isn't a big problem for dogs who occasionally chase a ball, but with a ball crazy dog, it could present a significant health problem down the line - they may want to switch to handballs, Kong balls, or some other kind of ball that is not damaging to enamel.END from http://www.dogwise.com/forums/messagevi ... eadid=2596

Other sites say the glue is an additional problem..... so, all in all, pretty convincing. And of course tennis ball choking deaths are warned of on just about every vet med site.
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I wasn't a fan of them already, I was convinced that Oggie was hacking up the fuzz from tennis balls long after playing with them.  I've pretty much eliminated them from the house.  

Although if you broke down the chemical contents of rubber balls/toys, I bet you'd find some chemicals that aren't safe in certain doses either.   But as always, the poison is in the dose, as chemists say.
I wonder if that holds true for the 'TUFF BALLS' or any other tennis ball type toy advertised specifically as a dog toy.
I have swapped out to these brand of toys -

http://www.planetdog.com/dogtoys.aspx

many stores carry their products.
I have seen plenty of teeth worn to the gum line from tennis balls and also teeth worn in the pattern of the ball a circle within the teeth wear pattern.....The worst is on a goldren ret I have come to work named Sully he has worn his down to the point of being under the gum line....He is a great dog with really funny looking teeth....
Cool, I have an orange "Planet dog" rubber ball as well.  Oggie loves that thing.
IS that the mint flavored one???  I have that one too - it rocks!!!
No, it's not flavored.  It's one of these:  Planet Dog

It's awesome because it has different sized holes on each side, so the thing never bounces straight...it bounces crazy all over the place, and it seemingly never stops rolling.  Keeps him entertained forever
OMG - Sam loves tennis balls! I will have to try the Orbees...
Ok, just ordered two of them!
Just be careful indoors, those things can take out a lamp pretty easily.   :lol:
I like how well they clean.  Tennis balls get all dirty esp out doors in dirt - these say pretty clean.  And they do have def bounce factor!
[quote="sully\";p=\"68834":eek:mdrwa5i]Just be careful indoors, those things can take out a lamp pretty easily.
There's got to be a lot of things that aren't good for dogs to chew on.  We have a nylon (I think it's nylon) rope that use to have a ball attached on the one end of it.  Occassionaly Lola will want to play tug of war with the rope, and we'll play a little and then she'll lose her grip and the rope will slide through her teeth and I'm just like - OW that can't be good.  Therefore we don't play like that very often at all.  She likes to chew on wood too (sticks), which I would think isn't too bad.  Luckily she isn't much of a chewer.
I had heard also that tennis balls weren't good Heather..I used to use them to teach Buck how to retreive in the pool, but when we were finished, I always took them away..Glad I did...Have to check out these Orbees  :)
im just curious if it is the tennis balls that are sold for teh game of tennis or all of them. I have bought two or three from petsmart that have the petsmart logo on them and they are offered as a dog toy. hmmmm very confused now but he doesnt chew on them just runs after them and brings them back or throws it himself and goes after it. He is becoming quite attached to them tho so maybe i should switch them out.
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