Tennis Balls Wear Down Teeth

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I had heard that it was not good to give your Doodle a tennis ball because the excessive chewing or gnawing wears down the teeth.  The surface of a tennis ball is very much like a fine sand paper.  My Gracie Doodle is not even 3 years old yet and the vet said that her teeth no longer have sharp points but are rounded.  Gracie is totally obsessed with tennis balls and I have no idea how I am going to break her of the desire to chew on them.  I still plan to use the chuck-it and throw the ball for her because that is her main source of exercise, but after we are through, I have to take the ball away.  I figure at the rate her teeth are wearing, she will be on total liquids and have no teeth to speak of by 8 or so years old!  This sounds crazy but to me it is very serious.  I wonder how all of you other Doodle Lovers feel about breaking your Doodles of tennis balls and if their teeth are starting to show wear?

[F, Calla & Luca]

I never heard of this. ugh

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Oh wow, there is tons of stuff out there if you start Googling it. I was first alerted at a dog park when a woman showed me her Poodle and his poor teeth. She said it was from tennis balls. I asked around and no one seemed to have heard of it. Then I Googled it and there were tons of articles on it. There were some pretty graphic pictures too. That got me worried but then all my friends said it was no biggie so I put it in the back of my mind. Then when we were at the vet the other day I asked if Gracie should have her teeth cleaned. This led to my tennis ball question and he confirmed it. So now I am taking it seriously.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Sad.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jack is also obsessed with tennis balls, but he never chews them; he is a retriever in every sense of the word and only wants to catch them and bring them back.
One thing that helps is to only allow tennis balls outdoors. Jack has learned to drop the ball at the back door when he comes in. We have soft stuffed balls for indoor play, and the tennis balls only come out when we are in the yard or at the dog park.

[Adina P]

Is it JUST the ones with the typical tennis ball surface? We use the chuck-it brand rubber 'tennis balls' that have no fuzzy covering. Rosco chews those like giant wads of bubble gum and has never destroyed one (he destroys tennis balls in a jiffy).

[F, Calla & Luca]

I was wondering the same thing. We have the identical situation. Tennis balls 1) cover off 2) ball in pieces. Sometimes they'll take a while before the destruction starts but once they start the ball is done in a no time.The chuck it balls are just the right size for catching and have lasted. They just tend to disappear, sometimes to be rediscovered.

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

Yankee takes the cover off the tennis ball and likes it better that way. I never heard this before either. I may have to change the type of balls we use.

[Mary Steward]

My sis-in-law has a golden who is about 9. She has been playing and chewing on tennis balls her entire life. She has nothing left for teeth except tiny little nubs. We can't figure out why they don't hurt, as it looks like the "core" nerves are exposed as well. However, she also used some very hard, (but surface was a softer rubber balls) that would sparkle at night.She couldn't chew on these, but she would catch them in mid-air. I only mention this because I can't say if these other balls contributed to the tooth problem.
I found a ball thrower in the children's summer toys. They are curved like a bike fender turned upside down.The balls are just a bit bigger than a tennis ball, but they are whiffle balls. And he must leave them outside when we are done. So far he likes the tennis balls better, but he will bring the others back. I'm going to eliminate the few tennis balls he has left, I'm hoping these will be easier on his teeth. This is his best form of exercise in the fenced yard with me.I sure don't want to stop the activity completely.

[DeeDee and Sheila]

I learned this with my first retriever, Missy, a german short haired pointer. We could never break her of the habit but on the positive side she lived until she was 13 and her teeth were fine. She died of liver disease. But with my next labs, I trained them to love the kongs w/ the plastic braided rope attached. They are thrown underhand and go MUCH FURTHER w/ not as much effort on the arm. I never regretted this as neither of them was ball obsessed like Missy was. I put the kong away whenever we came home and both dogs KNEW and LOVED it when I would get the kong out. You can give alot of exercise just in the yard, parks, anywhere. They always knew the difference in their kong/rope and regular kongs, too. These were always their favorite play toys (and mine). They also float so my labs would swim a long long ways to retrieve them. I kept xtras in car. Should have bought stock in that company I've bought so many over the years.

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

This then would also include the air dog balls. They have the same fuzzy stuff on the outside... Abby absolutely loves those because of the squeaker in it - and that makes her chew on it even more! She loves squeakie toys. Bummer - we will just have ot use them for playing fetch and then put them up.

[F, Calla & Luca]

According to this article we don't have to worry much about tennis balls but now I may have to rethink elk antlers. This is getting to be like human nutritional supplements, the story changes frequently.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/pettalk/2009-01-20-tennis-te...

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I just read the article and I am afraid that my dear Gracie Doodle fits the mold of obsessive compulsive over tennis balls. Here teeth do look like the ones in the photo. She would like to have them 24/7 but I take them away. She likes to have a tennis ball in her food bowl when she eats, she takes it to her water bowl and drops it in, drinks her water and then nushes around the ball like she is cleaning it. Then brings it back inside all drippy and drops it in our lap or on the carpet. She even falls asleep with the ball in her mouth!!! We have inside and outside tennis balls. I ask her to drop the ball outside at the door and she will. But then she will sit at the door and stare out at the ball for hours. She has even been in the living room window crying and we can't figure out why. Finally, I followed her eyes (in the dark) and there sat a tennis ball on our lawn that a neighbor dog left!!!!! Her obsession is huge. Right now I have her chuck it in the back of my car with a tennis ball in it. When I come home and she comes outside to say hi, she goes straight to the tailgate and stares at it. It is like the old Mervyn's commercial on TV..."Open, Open, Open" I was vacuuming out my car today and she stalked it for one hour non stop! We have tried other balls. We own one of every ball...hard, soft, squishy, squeekie, bouncy...you name it, and she spits them out! I have a very depressed Doodle on my hands right now. For the last three days we have played with the ball and then it is removed permanently. She just can't stand it and acts like she hates me!!! When my husband comes home she runs to greet him and immediately guides him to the laundry room and points with her nose up at the cupboard...guess what is in there...yep, TENNIS BALLS!! This is the most OC Doodle out there!!! I really don't know what to do.