Tennis Balls Bad for Pups?
 

Hey all,

I was just wondering if you could confirm or dispel something a friend of mine told me that she said her vet told her. My baby comes home in a week (so excited!!!!!), so I was shopping for toys and this applies.

She said that her vet told her that until they lose their puppy teeth you shouldn't give them tennis balls because they are like brillow pads and wear the teeth down too quickly and to only give them soft rubber toys (such as Kongs) or teething toys (I got one you can put in the freezer, pretty neat!). Does anyone know if this is true? I don't want to harm my baby in any way shape or form! :)

Thanks in advance for your help!

Never heard that one. I use the little tiny Kong tennis balls that squeak all the time. If you are talking the larger full size tennis balls, I don't think our little yorkie pups could get enough in their mouth to effect their teeth. I think the Kong tennis balls made for dogs do have less "fuzz" on them.

I was talking about the mini Kong squeaker balls. I had bought some, but returned them after my friend told me no tennis balls. It is a good point about the fuzz though, but I'm not sure what causes the wear.

Has anyone else heard of this?

I got the girls tennis balls once and had to take them away.....they chewed the fuzzy material right off the ball right down to the rubber. I bought them in the pet toy isle so I'm not sure if regular tennis balls would do the same or not.

Yes, regular tennis balls do the same thing. Never heard of the tooth problem. I think they're fine as long as the dog doesn't chew them or defuzz them.

sorry

Sorry, duplicate duplicate post!:eek:

I guess I'm wary of the tennis balls until she's older (I really liked the Kong mini ones with the squeakers though...). Is there any other type of toy/ball that would be good for fetch/squeaking that won't cause problems with fuzz or potentially with her teeth?

Thanks so much for the replies!

I had to stop giving one of my yorkies mini neon green tennis balls because he liked to eat all of the fuzz off them!

Ziva loved PingPong balls (table tennis) until one day she was strong enough to bite through one- we had to collect/ dispose of them all and I've been looking for something just as fun since.

I haven't heard of that one either. But, I have to tell you, Zhoie absolutely loves her Kong Mini squeaker balls. They are her favorite toy, she loves fetch and is squeaking all the time! When they start to get fuzzy, we throw away and get out new.

Enjoy you new little one!! :D

Thanks for the insight all! I did end up buying some Kong Mini Squeakers... they were just too hard to resist. Heck, they seemed fun to ME :D

I don't plan on giving them to little Rylie until we check with the vet about the teeth thing. Good to know that we can just throw them out when they start to get fuzzy though. I thought they would be okay since they aren't as fuzzy as regular tennis balls, but I'll ask the vet to make sure!

I forgot about ping pong balls. I bought them for my litters of puppies. They had a "ball" with them. Never saw any actually bite through them, but now that you have warned me I think I should go through the toy box and get rid of any that I have left. Probably great for the tiny puppies, but as their mouths get big enough to get a grip to break them, not a good thing. Had not thought about that happening! Thanks!

Can I just say I think this community is great? It is really impressive to me that after 4 years a member can still learn something new! :D YT is so awesome!

I learn something new almost everytime I come to this site! There is just a continual flow of information. Sometimes it is just a reminder but I need those too as my RAM is not what it used to be :D

My Fido plays with Tennis balls all the time :) we go everyday in the summer outside playing fetch with the tennis ball , he loves it ! :)
it fits in his mouth ;)

I bought Charlie and Henry a package of the neon orange Kong tennis balls, thinking that trying to find the orange in the yard would be a lot easier than finding the green of the regular tennis balls. It was much easier and the squeaking got their attention. Unfortunately, Henry discovered that he could chew through the fuzz on the orange ones and before I knew it he had one of them nearly stripped of all the fuzz. Not long after that he seemed very lethargic for several hours - then produced fuzzy orange poop. After a few of the fuzzy orange poops he was back to his old, goofy self, thankfully. He has NEVER done that to a regular tennis ball! We threw out all of the Kong balls and now stick with flat tennis balls. There's no squeak and it's hard to locate them when they're left out in the yard, but at least Henry's poop is now neither fuzzy nor orange.

P.

I've actually heard something about this. The speaker a few months ago at our small dog meetup spoke about the importance of dental care in dogs, especially toy breeds. The issue isn't the REAL tennis balls (like the ones you'd actually use to play tennis) or the Kong ones, but the ones that are usually colored and offered for $1 in a bin that says Petsmart or whatever on it. They are often given away as freebies, etc. Apparently, those are very rough on the teeth. Also, if your dog constantly carries any type of tennis ball it around in it's mouth all day that can be bad too. I've seen labs on walks carrying around a ball in their mouth. Cute, but apparently not good for them. If you want full-sized tennis balls, the best kind to get for your dog are real tennis balls like people would use to play tennis - not the ones at the pet stores.

My girls are obsessed with fetch, so I use the Kong miniature squeaky tennis balls for one, and the other prefers the little rubber soccer balls from Petsmart. I also take up the balls when we aren't playing fetch, so they aren't tempted to carry them around or chew on them. They have plenty of plush toys to keep them busy in the interim. I hope that helps. :)

Thank you! It does help. I left her kong ball out for her today, but I'll be sure not to leave it out unless we're playing fetch in the future.

Thank you for all the responses! (I will watch for fuzz eating :p )

I'm kind of glad Kacee never liked the little tennis balls. She has a habit of running right under where I'm throwing them and I figure she would have had a concussion by now if we used them.:D

Why aren't tennis balls good for them ?
Fido LOVES his tennis balls :D
Though he never has them inside, he would just chew right threw them then, he has ruined few tennis balls cause my lil sister gave them to him.

Here is a picture of him with one of his tennis balls :)
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3324771_n.jpg

That's a really cute picture of Fido with his tennis ball and his rear end in the air!:D

Love the pic! It's so cute! :)

We are not saying tennis balls are bad for them in moderation and it sounds like you are doing the right thing. I was letting Rylie chew on hers the first day and that isn't good because she could eat the fuzz off the outside. Also, some tennis balls are better than others in terms of being rough on their teeth. Puppy teeth are softer than adult teeth so they get worn down more easily. Some types of tennis balls are like sandpaper on their teeth and wear them down too quickly. ^_^ Fido is adorable.