afrancis Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Don't know if anybody else has had this experience but I wanted to let you know about our "too late" experience with Skye. As you may remember, Skye expresses herself through barking and actually became known as the dog who can bark with a ball in her mouth. This she mastered at a very young age. Not knowing of the perils, I (and she) thought this was pretty cool and so I didn't discourage this "trick". But a while later I realized that her teeth were actually being worn down by the abrasive quality of the tennis balls. So now her four canine teeth (top and bottom) are flat on top! The vet told me that this is actually a fairly common phenomenon and she has attended lectures on it! I don't have to tell you that we've switched to rubber balls. Ailsa P.S. Check out the new avatar! Always ready... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BustopherJones Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 The abrasion factor is the reason that our vet counseled against tennis balls. We use the soft rubber squeaky balls; in order to launch them to a respectable distance, we use a lacrosse stick, as the squeaky balls will not fit into a Chuck-It. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Hard frisbees can also cause wear. I believe there are tennis balls now whose nap is supposed to be less likely to cause abrasions (although it seems to me that anything with a nap that's used outside is going to pick up fine sand, etc.). I just stay away from tennis balls. Anyway, the tennis ball thing is pretty common knowledge now. Whatever you do, don't substitute sticks as toys, as they can be dangerous in their own right. Stick to rubber balls, soft frisbees, and the like if you're worried about wear on your dog's teeth. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack & Co. Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Lots of previous discussion on this topic, but here's a thread that has suggestions for safer balls to try: http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.p...ic=13342&hl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afrancis Posted February 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Anyway, the tennis ball thing is pretty common knowledge now. J. Oops. I guess I'm showing my ignorance. My vet didn't mention a word earlier until it was too late and all other bc owners that I've met around here were shocked when I told them about our experience. So I spread the word... And yes, I LOVE those soft frisbees. Skye doesn't know what to do with the hard ones. Which reminds me of a - FUNNY STORY: Early in her puppy life we went for our regular walk over to a local seasonal football field cum hot air balloon take-off zone. This was our favourite spot for frisbee throwing. Walking over the rise - with her ahead of me, keen to catch said-frisbee and with her back still to the field - I was shocked to see a massive Ultimate practice underway! Oh no! So many frisbees, so little time!! Ailsa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyleew Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 I like the Chuck-It Ultra Balls http://www.caninehardware.com/products/ult...ultraballs.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Tennis Balls are usually made in China. A symptom of lead poisoning is excessive/unreasonably worn teeth. So is it the material....or the stuff they dyed it with...in China....???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afrancis Posted February 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 A symptom of lead poisoning is excessive/unreasonably worn teeth. Okay... Now this really worries me. Any other thoughts? A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 My 2 oldest BC's have worn their canines down to almost even with the rest of their teeth. I think it was playing frisbee with them throughout their teen years. They don't play much anymore so I don't worry about it. But I don't play fetch with the young ones, they do have tennis balls laying around that they play with on their own. They have perfect teeth. My oldest girl Jazz is missing a bottom front tooth. It's been gone for a long time. I'm pretty sure it was the result of a badly caught/thrown hard frisbee. I used to use the kind you got from skyhounds, a dog frisbee website maybe club (I can't remember) that I bought my frisbees from, they were supposed to be less hard and sharp around the edges. I still think that was the culprit. Mick is 4, his favorite past time if he gets a hold of a ball and is bored is picking the fuzz off the ball till it's bald but his teeth look perfect. Kristen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Okay... Now this really worries me. Any other thoughts? A. Sorry, not really. I don't play ball with my dogs - maybe one day out of a hundred. Can't stand the game. One of our dogs was rehomed at 3 with perfect teeth, and within 1 year of "tennis ball glory" he has almost no teeth left. She wants to blame genetics, yet the littermates all have healthy teeth. The only difference is his daily tennis ball escapades. She also buys him toys with tennis ball nap to play with and chew on Friction fromm the nap, lead in the paint...either way, I don't like the stupid things. And I can't find *any* that aren't made in China. All the dogs are on raw in my situation, so the diet idea is out. Well except the toothless nubbie can't eat the bones he used too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 My oldest girl Jazz is missing a bottom front tooth. It's been gone for a long time. I'm pretty sure it was the result of a badly caught/thrown hard frisbee. I have a couple of older dogs who have knocked out a few of their incisors chasing balls. I don't think it was the object being chased that caused the loss, but rather the extreme enthusiasm with which they made the "catch" (i.e., plowing faces into the ground to grab a rolling ball). I don't play ball with anyone much anymore, but will kick pine cones for them on our walks. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aBC4me Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 We actually use the everlasting fun ball as our fetch ball, and he chews on it all the time but it has yet to break and it has been over a year. Here is a link to Jeffers for it, but we got ours from PetSmart. http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/product.asp?...U4EQAM5V1J2A06D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haleigh Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 We've been using normal tennis balls, and her teeth are fine. We had to switch to a kong frisbee, though, because the platic ones would break in a couple catches, and they made her tongue bleed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1sheepdoggal Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 I don't play ball with anyone much anymore, but will kick pine cones for them on our walks. Pine cones! Natures toys! Oh the joy of pine cones! Not a special fav of mine, but try to convince the dogs not to play with them! The worst part about the pine cone is when one sneaks one in the house, and then I trod over a piece with bare feet! Ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Pine cones! Natures toys! Oh the joy of pine cones! Not a special fav of mine, but try to convince the dogs not to play with them! The worst part about the pine cone is when one sneaks one in the house, and then I trod over a piece with bare feet! Ouch! LOL! I don't usually have the luxury of stepping on an intact pine cone (or large pieces) with bare feet (cow hooves are another story--talk about ouch!). On the rare occasions that someone sneaks a pine cone into the house, it's usually in a million pieces all over the place before I realize it. Talk about clean-up fun.... Oh, and don't forget that gum tree balls are nature's cat toys! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samson Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 I like the Chuck-It Ultra Ballshttp://www.caninehardware.com/products/ult...ultraballs.html I use these too and Samson loves them. You don't have to throw them hard and they bounce/go a long way. $9.99 at most stores that have them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary M Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 I had always used regular plastic type discs with my dogs, but with some of the dogs they would grab so hard when catching their teeth would go through the disc. Plus some of them crack when caught in cold weather. When I got Nisa, her former owner used a soft disc, and now I would never go back to the plastic ones. They are more expensive, $15-16, but last a lot longer and I don't have to worry about a hard catch breaking teeth. Soft Frisbee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1sheepdoggal Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 don't usually have the luxury of stepping on an intact pine cone it's usually in a million pieces all over the place before I realize it. Uh huh! Thats how I usually "run" across them too, and dont even me me started on the cow hooves! Yowser! So far though, they have left the gum balls alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 So far though, they have left the gum balls alone. Lark picks up gum balls when she can't find a pine cone, but what she doesn't seem to quite understand is that they make too small a target for me to kick! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Pine cone fetch is a lovely game. It only involves shuffling ones feet rapidly as you walk through the yard Mine like to scalp them down to the cob part, then leave them in the house so they can hear me gasp...thinking the brown turd like object is....oh...my...oh a pinecone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1sheepdoggal Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Lark picks up gum balls when she can't find a pine cone, but what she doesn't seem to quite understand is that they make too small a target for me to kick! Mine like to scalp them down to the cob part, then leave them in the house so they can hear me gasp...thinking the brown turd like object is....oh...my...oh a pinecone Can i ever relate to the brown turd like object! Im so glad Im not alone in this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painted_ponies Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Scot is a pine cone hoarder. Well, he's actually a kleptomaniac who hoards whatever he can steal, but since I've caught on to his larcenous ways pine cones are about the only things he can find lying around to tote off. And he's sneaky. He's so very casual that I often don't know he's got a pine cone - until I find it minced into my horse's hay. (Scot is convalescing from HW treatment on my back porch, which is also where I store my hay bales. Hay bales also make a great pyr-perch, from where he can survey the farm and guard us from - well, whatever it is he's convinced is always lurking out there. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 I'm going to have to point out the pinecones! No one round here has found them as a toy yet, and we have tons of them lying around! They bring me odds and ends of dog knows what thinking I might want to play...it's usually a no go! But pinecones, kicking, not having to pick up slobby things sounds great! Mick had a hard time learning to come off sheep thanks to me using that'll do to start his inside flanks so we started a game of "where's your stick? to come off sheep" We don't fetch or throw them he just picks one up runs around and gets the idea it's time to quit. I worry about his gracefulness and one of these days it's going to poke him but maybe we can substitute pinecones. They are all over the field where we walk off. He just looks lost when were somewhere else and he can't find a stick. I could sneak a pinecone in my pocket for him! I've been working on inside flanks with Dew the little hellion. She's so much more biddable (probably due to the dumbness of her trainer getting less dumb with the more dogs I work with) I got the idea to try that'll do with her...didn't work. she knows what that means so all it does is confuse her! There will be no cheating with her! That and lie down is heard less and less from my big mouth! Come to think of it....I am finally getting quieter! Back on subject.... Pinecones, natures toy! I like that one! Maybe I can convince them to not bring the special new toy in the house. I sure don't need to be walking on anything else! I run into the doors and walls enough, don't need to add more! I don't think I'll have to worry bout gumballs, I haven't found any gumball trees down here yet. I bet Julies right about the wonderful faceplants and missing teeth. I felt so horrible cause I didn't notice till way after the damage was done. Probably just as well, things were fine and I'd have run to the vet and had one heck of a bill! She and her bro get along just fine with their nubbin canines. I always try to count my blessings that we have so many other things to do rather than play fetch. I do realize that for some owners it's all they have for tiring their dog out. Sheep do just fine for us and the old fetcher is to old to really play that much anymore. But her partner is lost without a bit of chase Jazz every day. They play things on their own so they still get to play the chase game. I started my new job this week. It's a nine hour a day job right now. Poor lil Dew is lying at my feet sleeping and whining to go work all at the same time. I've decided to take 1 dog out per day to do chores while I'm in training. It was her day off today. I'm trying to convince Ian (my son) to use a dog when he does chores for me. He was trained at an early age before he could handle a dog to do them sans dog. It's going to be hard to change his habits till I find something that he needs a dog to help with! Here's to pinecones. Natures perfect toy! Kristen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afrancis Posted February 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Not sure what "gumballs" are apart from the eating ones. But pinecones I know! Just wanted to add more things to watch out for especially since the rat poison thread is so relevant to all. I knew of two dogs who died from 1. eating corn cobs 2. eating dental floss. I wonder if the abrasive quality of the corn cob would compare to a pinecone -- I sure hope not -- probably a good idea not to let anyone find out! Also, my Riley once drank rainwater that had formed a puddle right next to some railway ties. It didn't occur to me until later that this could have been very serious -- the water was probably full of leached creosote -- not a healthy additive for anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyler Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 I have never heard of this with tennis balls wearing out teeth. None of my BC's in the past have ever had an issue with their teeth from tennis balls or frisbee and they have played up into their teens. My last BC was OCD over the ball and was a frisbee monster without incident. However, I have always used specific frisbees with my dogs. The best competition frisbee IMO is the Whamo Fastback which is a semi hard frisbee with rounded edges and a thin lip. It has great loft, is quite light, is balanced extremely well but doesnt take a lot of punishment. There are others out there that are extremely good, softer and some built to take the hard biters. But NEVER use the pet store brands or the promotional frisbees you get from companies with their logos on them. Those are an extremely hard plastic and cut the mouth. Most frisbees in pet stores are not designed for pups due to the deep rims, sharp edges and so on as ironic as that is. If you are looking for a good frisbee and want options go to www.dtworld.com and look under the canine tab. I now get my frisbees here and purchase the Whamo Fastback misprints. At $1.60 a disc plus shipping (for the average buyer) its a great way to go if you play alot - probably going to use a few hundred this year! You can buy them in bulk at much cheaper prices as well. If trying to conserve on them get some fine sand paper and just sand the edges smooth if they get nicks to save your pups gums. I dont discount that anyone has had problems with this but I havent in my experience and it seems a little strange. Im going to have to ask some other disc doggers about this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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