# Tennis ball fuzz?



## Abby (Aug 17, 2010)

We have a couple squeakie are kong tennis balls, and lately Chopin's taken to biting them, The fuzz flies and he probably swallow some. Is it safe or should I take it away?


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## Jamm (Mar 28, 2010)

The kong tennis ball toys are fine cuz the fuzz is actually meant to floss their teeth. Thats what ive been told at work! Joey swallows some all the time, and nothing happens to him!


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## Our3dogs (Apr 3, 2008)

I have also been told that the tennis ball fuz is like sandpaper to their teeth, and if you have one that constantly chews on them it will wear their teeth down. Has anyone else heard this?


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## Roxy_the_Retriever (Jul 28, 2010)

Our3dogs said:


> I have also been told that the tennis ball fuz is like sandpaper to their teeth, and if you have one that constantly chews on them it will wear their teeth down. Has anyone else heard this?


 
Really? I had no idea!! That's definitely something to look into since Roxy LOVES to chew on tennis balls!! We have the tuff kind, but also just plain old soft ones... not sure if it makes a difference, but it would definitely be good to know if it's actually bad for our pups!?!?


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I'm not sure about the Kong tennis balls but our Toby lives with a tennis ball in his mouth, to the chagrin of his regular veterinarian. He's defuzzed more than his fair share and while he doesn't intentionally eat the fuzz, he has ingested some infrequently, as I see it when it comes out the other end.:yuck: His veterinarian thinks tennis balls are not sanitary and the fuzz on them can wear the enamel off the teeth, and she is right, because we just had an expensive ($$$$) dental bonding and sealing done on him to repair 8 teeth (back) where the enamel was wearing thin around the areas where the ball touches. This procedure required much more sedation and he's been dealing with anesthesia related digestive distress for one week as a consequence. Getting a ball out of his mouth is like taking cigarettes away from a chain smoker and yes, I can put the balls away, but he will pine and whine when I do and he has actually figured out a way to open the door where I keep them. :uhoh:

Also there are several threads on the forum about the tennis balls getting stuck or breaking up and large chunks being ingested, causing major issues and I'm sure those who have experienced this trauma will chime in.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Our3dogs said:


> I have also been told that the tennis ball fuz is like sandpaper to their teeth, and if you have one that constantly chews on them it will wear their teeth down. Has anyone else heard this?


I just posted about this seconds ago, plus, we just spent $$$ repairing damaged enamel to our tennis ball Toby's teeth. It's true!


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Our3dogs said:


> I have also been told that the tennis ball fuz is like sandpaper to their teeth, and if you have one that constantly chews on them it will wear their teeth down. Has anyone else heard this?


Absolutely factual! My Ch Nitelite's High Top Tennies wore his teeth down on tennis balls. I no longer give them to my dogs. We use Kong rubber balls.


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## Lestorm (Feb 25, 2007)

Are the Kong balls larger than the tennis balls. I cant bring myself to give my crew tennis balls to play with, i have heard too many horror stories of dogs choking to death with them.


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## Our3dogs (Apr 3, 2008)

Glad to know I thought it was true and never allowed our's to chew on tennis balls. If we play with them, we play fetch and then put them away when we are done.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

I would never give a dog a tennis ball but I was told by the local pet food shop that the material on the kong ones is different from regular tennis balls. It is common knowledge that the material destroys dogs' teeth so I would be surprised if kong would make a product that is so bad for them...but you never know. I'll try to find out...


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

Dog and Cat Toys - Durable, Tough Dog Toys | KONG Company - Nearly Indestructible. Apparently the felt is different from regular tennis balls.


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## Our3dogs (Apr 3, 2008)

That is nice to know about the Kong tennis balls. Fortunately our's are happy with the round red rubber kong balls for just playing with around the house. But if we were talking about our 2 previous Golden's I would then be stocking up on the Kong tennis balls. Thanks for info.


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

I give my boy these balls: Canine Hardware Chuckit Ultra Ball Medium 2 Balls 17001: Amazon.ca: Home & Garden

They are super tough too. I used the launcher to throw the ball and it went through an opening in the fence onto main traffic. The ball was then run over by two streetcars with no damage done. I buy the medium and large sizes.


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## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

C's Mom said:


> I give my boy these balls:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have to second the Chuck-It balls. They are pricier than a tennis ball but worth all the money! They even hold up to Oscar (who can rip a tennis ball to shreds in about 10 seconds). Even their non-Ultra balls are awesome!

He destroys the Kong tennis balls too so that's not really an option for us, but the one time I did buy one I thought it was very good quality -- before it was shredded, of course  :doh:


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## Muddypaws (Apr 20, 2009)

C's Mom said:


> I give my boy these balls: Canine Hardware Chuckit Ultra Ball Medium 2 Balls 17001: Amazon.ca: Home & Garden
> 
> They are super tough too. I used the launcher to throw the ball and it went through an opening in the fence onto main traffic. The ball was then run over by two streetcars with no damage done. I buy the medium and large sizes.


I third this. Darby can destroy a tennis ball in seconds and I worry about the fuzz and pieces (now the teeth). He *LOVES* these balls and they last forever. You can also wash them when they get covered in mud and spit.  Kirby even likes them and she isn't into balls that much.


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## katelyn29 (Jul 21, 2010)

Dakota is not allowed tennis balls either. He likes to chew everything. We gave him one when he was a pup and he chewed it into pieces. My sisters border collie had a near death experience with a tennis balls. I can't remember exactly what happened, but I know it was very serious, and it was from him chewing up the balls. I just remember he was very sick and they didn't think he was going to make it. Come to think of it I think a piece was stuck in his throat. He wasn't eating and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. They finally took him to the vet and he found a piece of it in his throat.

Dakota is only allowed a kong ball, unless we are playing fetch and he is under my supervision, then we use the chuck it.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Pointgold said:


> Absolutely factual! My Ch Nitelite's High Top Tennies wore his teeth down on tennis balls. I no longer give them to my dogs. We use Kong rubber balls.


Don't your dogs also regularly get RMBs?


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

We don't let the dogs have tennis balls in the house to chew on, because the tooth wear issue appears to be quite real and substantiated by vets. We do play fetch with them, though, and they seem pretty safe to me as a non-chew toy.


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## sheisluckygirl (Apr 10, 2011)

my dog is 12 and he can strip a tennis ball of all its fuzz in a day or two. He has been doing it since a puppy nothing has happened to him. As soon as it is stripped of the fuzz it is no longer of interest.


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## ggdenny (Nov 2, 2008)

Our3dogs said:


> I have also been told that the tennis ball fuz is like sandpaper to their teeth, and if you have one that constantly chews on them it will wear their teeth down. Has anyone else heard this?


My vet told me the same thing just two days ago.


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