David C.Frost Webboard User Reg: 01-23-2002
Posts: 1204
Loc: Nashville, TN
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Quote: kadi_thingvall
Quote: david c.frost
Purely anecdotal, I've used tennis balls for more years than I care to remember. Over several hundred, if not thousand dogs, I've never seen a problem with the teeth because of tennis balls. I've heard the story many times, just have never seen any proof of it.
DFrost
Do any of these dogs "live" with tennis balls though, or are they just used as a reward in training? .
NO ma'am, and you make a very good point. Mostly the ball is used for reward. I'm not going to say all my handlers follow my instructions about not leaving the ball with the dog. Actually that kind of worries me. Not so much for the damaging the teeth, more so for bursting or coming apart. A dog could choke very easily.
Any behavior that is reinforced is more likely to occur again.
I've seen some severe tennis ball (we assume) related damage to teeth. (Working at an animal rescue) It's generally dogs that are obsessive about balls, and have 'free choice' toys laying around the house rather then balls/toys used just for training purposes. These dogs chew tennis balls just for the pleasure of chewing. It seems to me that if I chewed on a tennis ball it'd feel like a Brillo pad (steel wool) on my teeth. Yuck!
There are sooo many other options in ball choices to leave laying around in my mind that I just avoid the potential risk of tennis balls.
Thanks everyone, I just was not sure if I should stay away from them altogether. My guys have them only occasionally for training so I don't think it should be an issue.
So today I went to a local specialty pet store and found EXACTLY what I needed: balls for chuck-it for small dogs that are not tennis balls. They had about five different kinds. The dogs LOVE them and the problem is solved. Until now it was virtually impossible to get a ball for a small dog that they would not destroy within seconds. This really resolves the issue and I am so glad. Maybe Leerburg should carry these. They carry the orange kind in regular size but none of the small ones.
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Re: Tennis balls bad for dog's teeth?
[Re: Kadi_Thingvall ]
#291459 - 08/11/2010 03:27 PM 
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