A Doggie Dental Warning
Tennis balls pose a risk to your dog’s overall health: dental wear and tear. That green fuzz might seem soft, but tennis balls are designed to withstand tennis courts and rackets. Veterinary dental specialists warn that the fuzz is actually very abrasive, and accumulated dirt and sand increases the abrasive quality of the ball. As your dog chomps on a tennis ball, the fuzz acts like sandpaper, gradually wearing down her teeth in a process called “blunting.” This can eventually lead to dental problems such as exposed tooth pulp and difficulty chewing. Some experts will tell you that your dog can still safely play with tennis balls as long as they don’t focus on chewing on the ball, but I’m here to tell you that’s NOT TRUE! Millie has played fetch with tennis balls all of her five years, and she never just wanted to just “chew on the ball” outside of her fetch activity. She did chew on the ball as she was bringing it back for us to throw again. As you can see in the recent picture, if you zoom in, she has exposed pulp from playing tennis ball fetch! She must have a root canal (they can’t pull it since the affected tooth supplies structural foundation for her lower jaw.) she also has a tooth on top that will probably need the same treatment, along with a couple of others that may need to be pulled. And she’s ONLY 5 YEARS OLD! So there’s really NO SAFE WAY to play with tennis balls. Use the rubber balls instead, like the ones pictured!