Dog eating fuzz tennis ball

Are Tennis Balls Dangerous as Dog Toys?

There are a heck of a lot of pet owners who would stand up and say a resounding "NO" to that question. To be honest, until recently, I'd not thought too much about it.

While malamutes aren't typically ball dogs, my youngest malamute, Gabby at 1-1/2 years old loves tennis balls. She loved them so much that I even went out and bought other tennis ball "like" toys with the same covering on them.

I'm definitely rethinking that purchase these days. All our tennis balls and "like" toys have gone into the trash. Why?

Gabby at 1-1/2 years old is still not over her teething phase. This particular malamute of ours seems to have a propensity to eat things, however, not just chew. We weren't clued into it at first, but several months ago, started noticing that parts of things were disappearing.

Curtain bottoms have been redecorated for us as well as bedskirts, blankets and even a couple down pillows now have air holes on the ends of them. In short, we have a chewing menace on our hands.

She also has discovered that if you chew on tennis balls long enough, you can rip them open and even worse, she has decided that she can (and will) eat them very quickly.

Most people who have dogs that love tennis balls think all this hoopla about the balls being dangerous for dogs is hype. I tend to disagree. Having seen what Gabby has thrown up in terms of huge pieces of the ball (along with other pieces of my household), I'm a little inclined to think it could be a dangerous thing.

Not to gross anyone out but the remains of these things once they have passed into her stomach come out looking very horrible and are quite mangled. I'm thinking that if some of that "stuff" gets caught in her intestine, it's going to be a horrible experience and a hefty vet bill.