Tennis Balls - Dangerous?

[CountryWolf07]

I did buy Ryder three tennis balls, but I'm not sure about that anymore because it was only a $1 from the Dollar Store. Maybe I should ditch them? I ended up buying him a 6 inch blue Jolly Ball with a handle - so I think he might like that - just have to supervise, so he doesn't chew off the handle or anything like that!

[pomtzu]

Since any toy really, can be a choking hazard, it's best that they are supervised with any toy that they can chew pieces off of, or put the whole thing in their mouth. I wouldn't worry too much about those dollar store tennis balls when he is little - just watch what he does with them and take them away if he chews them, and don't let him play with them on his own. He should be fine with them otherwise.

[wolf_Q]

I don't think they are any more dangerous than any other toy they could chew up and eat. Just make sure you supervise him. The tennis balls made for actual tennis (buy them in the sporting goods section) are usually way better quality than the ones made for dogs/ones at the dollar store. Those are junk the dogs bite them in half in three chomps but I've had other tennis balls last for years without being destroyed.

[Jessika]

Most toys can be considered dangerous to be used unsupervised. If your dog uses tennis balls for "normal" play, ie for fetch with you, but does not have an abnormal obsession with them (will chew/eat them, etc), then I would say they are fairly safe to continue using as you were.

I echo the fact that the ones you buy at the pet store for $1 or so are very cheaply made and fall apart within minutes of using them, and Jamie is not hard on the balls. I can easily see how those would quickly become choking hazards, especially for the "ball obsessed" dogs. I usually fork out less than $10 to buy legit tennis balls from the sporting section at Walmart and they last months/years, provided she doesn't lose them!!

[cloverfdx]

Why not just get dog safe balls? The kong squeekers are fine for play. If you concerned about the size you can get them in bigger sizes.

I'd steer clear of the kong rubber balls, now there's a choking hazard.

My guys play ball everyday without any problems.

[CountryWolf07]

Interesting. I ended up buying Ryder a 6 inch Jolly Ball with a handle - He's going to be a big boy so I think he'll be fine with it.

[Karen]

I did buy Ryder three tennis balls, but I'm not sure about that anymore because it was only a $1 from the Dollar Store. Maybe I should ditch them? I ended up buying him a 6 inch blue Jolly Ball with a handle - so I think he might like that - just have to supervise, so he doesn't chew off the handle or anything like that!

I would absolutely ditch them, as I bet they are "made in China" and if so, you have no idea what is in or on them anyway! Better safe than sorry!

[Louie and me]

Hmmmm - interesting. I have had three dogs in my life time, all of whom had tennis balls. Throwing and retrieving tennis balls is the major activity for all the dogs in our local park. I can see where these days you need to be careful where they are made because of the risk of harmful dyes and yes, occasionally I did have to rescue balls from Louie's mouth when he had chewed them to pieces but otherwise until now I have never heard any concerns about them being dangerous. Louie, by the way was very choosy about his balls and would only play with brand name tennis balls. If they smelled funny, he wasn't interested. It's unwise I think to leave any dog alone with a chew toy other than the kong type heavy duty toys they cant destroy.