As many of you have already seen and read, Kodak loves his tennis balls! Recently I've discovered through friends and research how tennis balls can be dangerous for a dog. Now if you are throwing the ball with sparky a few times a week there isn't a major concern but a long term ball lover may want to be cautious. A friend of mine told me of a dog she watches who is even more obsessed with the ball than Kodak is! This dog has a ball in his mouth 24/7 rain or shine, inside or out and overtime his teeth's enamel had started to wear down. Think about it, this wet slimy ball picks up dirt, gritty sand particles, mulch and anything else it comes across. The fibers of a tennis ball can hold onto these things and when your dog has the ball against his teeth 24/7 the enamel will in fact slowly subside. Besides this hazard for any dog, a regular "tennis" ball does have a poisonous material on the inside once dried and crumbled. If the ball never pops or breaks then there is never exposure but once cracked in half and weather wears down the inside material the ball will start to crumble away just like any material. Most dogs tend to want to "pop" their ball anyhow. This is why you seen $4 "dog tennis ball" in your local pet store and think how expensive! It's because those balls are made with non toxic material for dogs even if they break and crumble.
I have since replaced Kodak's favorite tennis ball with a same size, same shape, same color RUBBER ball. This will wash easily, bounce even higher!, and will not hold harmful debris. A regular tennis ball is OK every now and again but I figured I'd make the change before it was too late.
Every picture I have of him outside is with a ball.
A ball near him...
Or a ball in his mouth.
He's obsessed! All I want in the long haul is health and safety. Hope this helped any ball loving dogs and their owners out there!
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