How bad can tennis balls damage your pets’ teeth and are there bigger hazards you should be aware of with tennis balls and rubber balls?

• The more obsessed with the tennis ball the more dental damage your pet will have.  This damage is referred to as tennis ball teeth.  Besides teeth, these toys come with bigger hazards. The outside felt is a tough woven fabric designed to not easily fall apart. But as soon as your pet adds their saliva to the cover it attracts and ads very fine abrasive particles. These becomes a sanding stone on your pet’s  teeth. How worrisome is this? The problem is down the road.  Although, your pet may not be bothered by the slow wearing down of their teeth in their younger years.  As time passes and the wear becomes more pronounced you now have an older dog that may have difficulty eating with teeth that have been worn down to the gumline. Also, if dental disease is present you may have created a very expensive oral surgery.

What about the swallowing and choking hazard? 

•  Depending again on the size of the dog and the type of  ball  they are enjoying, such as tennis balls, rubber balls, Lacrosse balls and golf balls .  When these balls get wet and slippery and your dog is crunching them, instead of the ball popping out of their mouth, they squish it in away that pops it down the throat. The ball itself is not the only choking risk. Some dogs love to  shred the yellow-green fuzz on the tennis ball. Swallowing this fuzz can lead to choking hazards and intestinal blockages that could require surgery.

What about contamination from toxic chemicals?

• But besides the teeth this concern is often an over looked hazard.  How contaminated they can become. Usually, we toss the ball at parks or asphalt streets. These areas are heavily contaminated with pesticides, fertilizers and other mystery chemicals creating a toxic sludge and we have no idea what damage it may create in the long run and your pet is ingesting this over and over again. But, all of us  love to play toss the ball.  I would like to add, I am as guilty of this pleasure as the rest of you.  But, I took some precautions,>always have indoor balls and out door balls.  Never let slippery balls on asphalt.