# Can Goldens play with Racquet Balls?



## AmandaSmelser (Mar 22, 2010)

Does anyone think that a racquet ball is too small for a Golden Retriever to play with? Has anyone actually had a bad experience? Do you think the dog could swallow it whole?


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

My goldens have had racquet balls for years.. they love them. Never been a problem.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Just be very sure they don't swallow them!

A relative of my old border collie did that, they didn't know it though till he finally died a few years later. They knew one day he got 'hurt' because he yelped while on a walk, and from that day on had digestive issues, couldn't eat big meals or big treats, vomited on and off and so on. Would get wierd infections that would clear with medications. Testing showed nothing (the ball was round and smooth and didn't show on anything) and finally they opened him up to look and there it was. By then he was too sick to survive long, the toxins from the ball had did a lot of damage.


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## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

mine like to "pop" it out and make it bounce all over. They get gross pretty fast and covered with fur. I watch them the entire time they have it.


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## goldensrbest (Dec 20, 2007)

My dogs also have them, they really bounce!! THEY ARE THOSE BLUE BALLS, YOU GET AT WALMART, TWO IN A CAN? CORRECT?


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## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

My Subiaco played with them often. Never had a problem. And I mean the blue ones that are a little smaller than a tennis ball and smooth rubber


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

It might depend on the size of your dog's muzzle or how vigorously he plays with them. No way would I let my Goldens play with a ball that small. One of my goldens has a very large wide mouth and it would be too easy for it to be swallowed or stuck in his esophagus.

My other dogs don't play with balls but if they did I would go with a larger size ball than that for safety...but then I am a big time worrier when it comes to my dogs.

I learned a long time ago, the hard way, if it seems like a bad idea...it probably is...


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I do not allow my dogs anything smaller than a tennis ball. There have been a couple instances of tennis balls choking a golden.


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## AmandaSmelser (Mar 22, 2010)

Thank you to everyone who responded for the input. Yes, they are the blue smooth balls that are smaller than a tennis ball. Perhaps it is less risky if the dog is being directly supervised, so you know if he swallows it. Then again, could be an expensive trip to the vet. Sometimes it's so hard to weigh risk against pleasure.


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

I am not 100% sure but I think it was a racquet ball that Oprah Winfrey's golden choked on and died. I wouldn't take a chance with a ball that small.


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## AmandaSmelser (Mar 22, 2010)

One resource in the Oprah Winfrey case says that the ball was "clear", so it wasn't necessarily a racquet ball. Dogs have been known to choke on kibble, so it's hard not to think of anything and everything as a potential hazard. I am looking for others' experiences to determine whether or not racquet balls are a particular risk that I should avoid.


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

I remember it being said on her show years ago the ball was the size of a racquet ball I wouldn't take the chance. Sorry you are looking for others experence just passing on what I had heard. Take it or leave it....

Also read...
Any ball that your dog can fit in their mouth all the way, like a bouncy ball or a tennis ball, poses a choking hazard to your dog. All they have to do is bite down too hard on the ball and it will pop right into the back of their throat and get stuck. It's better to get your dog a ball bigger than its mouth, designed to still be picked up and carried, but not large enough to swallow. Or use a Frisbee as an alternate to a ball instead.


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

My angel pup played with racquetballs happily until I had to pry one out that was lodged in his throat. No more recquetballs ever in this house.


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## booklady (Mar 3, 2009)

Ever since my Kyra inhaled a tennis ball which got stuck in her throat all balls in my house are larger than a tennis ball. Kyra is a senior with no teeth and there was nothing to stop the ball from being inhaled. I know it was a freak accident, but freak accidents do happen (and I was in the same room with her). Late night evet visit and over $200 later I count myself and Kyra lucky. A relatively inexpensive lesson, just a very traumatic one for all concerned.


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## AmandaSmelser (Mar 22, 2010)

Janine - No, I really appreciate the anecdote from Oprah's experience. Your continued "Also read" advice is very valuable too.

Thanks Finn's Fan and booklady! Sorry you had such a scary thing happen. The balls are being put away for supervised play only, even the tennis balls.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

There have been a couple of instances of tennis balls getting lodged in the back of GRs' mouths, so while I do play fetch with them with my guys, I don't leave them unsupervised. Apparently the fuzz can accelerate wear on the teeth if the dogs chew them.

Since there are a few cases of problems with tennis balls, I use it as the minimum size of any ball I'll let my dogs play with. For that reason, I wouldn't do racquetballs.


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## Phillyfisher (Jan 9, 2008)

My SIL's niece lost her golden when he went to catch a tennis ball and it slid down his throat and he choked to death. Racquetballs would definitely be out! Not worth the risk. I am with Tippy, we do not use tennis balls but use a lacrosse ball instead.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I should add that I initially thought the claim about tennis ball fuzz was a little odd and had a hard time believing it. But I did find two articles by specialists who said they had personally seen it over and over in their canine patients, so I was much more convinced. So, fetching but no chewing, and nothing smaller than a standard tennis ball.

By the way, a news organization a few years back tested a bunch of tennis balls. They found illegal amounts of lead in some of the tennis-style balls at pet stores and none in the balls that were actually packaged for tennis. So bear that in mind when you purchase. My favorite is a tennis ball that's been left out behind the court so it has a chance to rinse and weather a bit. The chemical smell on a fresh ball creeps me out. 

If I have new ones, I'll rinse and dry them before the dogs get them (apparently they can wreck a dryer, so I've never put them in one).


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

tippykayak said:


> My favorite is a tennis ball that's been left out behind the court so it has a chance to rinse and weather a bit. The chemical smell on a fresh ball creeps me out. .


But Chester can smell a fresh tennis ball miles away...he said fresh ones are the best!!!
He also thinks the ones around the tennis courts fall from the sky  and must be left by angels.


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## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

Try a Sky Ball. I bought one at Target for my son (so it was in the toy section), but Josie stole it right away from him. It's larger than a tennis ball, but she can still carry it easily. It bounces like crazy, and but its a harder plastic and she hasn't popped it yet.


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