Re: Who has balls? We use what I call a jelly ball. It's a bit like the stuff safestix are made from. They are made by Toyz and are on a rope and slightly bigger than a tennis ball so no chance of choking. Dog tennis balls are pointless they split in 5 minutes.
Re: Who has balls? [quote author=Jane Martin link=topic=6005.msg77975#msg77975 date=1400262559] Why must a guide dog pup never play with balls? [/quote] They will have to guide their owners through parks, playgrounds, cricket matches, kids playing in the street etc - so they can't afford for the possibility of them taking off after a ball. The owners can't spot 'trouble ahead' like we can.
Re: Who has balls? Mira would chase balls till the cows cone home! We only use the Kong ones too. Unfortunately it is the squeak which makes them last so long, as the air can escape when they chew down on them. Normal ones split in a couple of days with the pressure.
Re: Who has balls? [quote author=JulieT link=topic=6005.msg77968#msg77968 date=1400262033] Loads of balls - bouncy balls, rubber balls, footballs on string balls, rattle balls, squeaky balls, rabbit skin balls (special occasions only). No tennis balls though - I find they get impractically wet, dirty and gritty (which can grind on teeth). [/quote] Wouldn't any wet ball get coated in dirt and gritt especially a rabbit skin ball? I put my tennis balls in the washing machine and they come up good as new I am surprised trainers and vets don't warn against the use of tennis balls if they are a teeth hazard :-\
Re: Who has balls? [quote author=charlie link=topic=6005.msg78066#msg78066 date=1400275364] I put my tennis balls in the washing machine and they come up good as new [/quote] I feel very inadequate....
Re: Who has balls? [quote author=charlie link=topic=6005.msg78066#msg78066 date=1400275364] I am surprised trainers and vets don't warn against the use of tennis balls if they are a teeth hazard :-\ [/quote] I think it's the grit that catches in the fabric so they turn into scouring pads. It's obviously going to be worse if a dog chews, or chomps, rather than just holds. and the length of time they have the ball. Since (normally) my boy does an awful lot of retrieves, and will do them perhaps over a decade or more, and other balls are easily available, i don't use furry fabric balls any more. My vet does warn against them. As does this vet dentist: http://www.dentalvets.co.uk/docs/Toys for Dogs from a Dental Perspective.pdf The explanation starts at the bottom of pge 2, with pictures of the damage at the top of page 3. The American canine dental society also warns against them. As do loads of other vet dentists - a google search throws up loads.
Re: Who has balls? Thanks Julie, soon dogs won't be allowed to have any fun : I would have thought that gritt can become embedded in canvas dummies also. As mine aren't avid retrievers I am not going to worry about this as I think the benefits outweigh the risks, I bet someone will eventually say rubber balls etc. are bad for dogs and so the list goes on and on
Re: Who has balls? I have bought a lovely, supposedly indestructible, mint-scented rubber-like ball for Simba from the pet store to hopefully get him excited about fetch, so as to first off, give him some exercise as he is mostly on-lead, and secondly, to have something that would keep him focussed on me when we do go off-lead. This is the one I got: http://www.planetdog.com/orbee.aspx I got one which is orange and white and glows in the dark! For now I am starting small and just throwing a few times a day, trying to stop before he wants to. As for progress, well, that's another thread..... :
Re: Who has balls? [quote author=Rosamund link=topic=6005.msg78015#msg78015 date=1400267597] Slightly off the point, but the other day I met a very attractive man in the park with his collie. He'd lost a tennis ball in the river and his dog wouldn't go and get it. Imagine my pride and happiness at being able to send Vespa into the pond to get it. She brought it back beautifully and delivered it perfectly despite only retrieving dummies normally. I was chuffed..but didn't get his phone number. Next time ;-) As I say, I only use dummies for training but can't avoid balls altogether as they are all over the place wherever you go. Vespa plays with them and I sometimes kick them for her which ought to be disastrous but she seems to know when she's training and when she's just playing. Maybe that is creating a false sense of security but once commands and signals are involved she seems to start concentrating and do as she's told. I don't know!! Is this nuts? Does it create huge problems further down the line? [/quote] Nice work, Vespa!! We have dummies we only use for formal retrieves and a different dummy and toys that we use for fun retrieves (no waiting, different cue, no sit for delivery) and Obi has no problem telling the difference between training and fun
Re: Who has balls? Crikey! JulieT thanks for that link, those poor dogs! I'm going to look for safestix. I hope I'm not going to be overly precious as a dog mum :
Re: Who has balls? Balls are fine as long as they don't get gritty. We mostly use ours in grass but I keep an eye on the condition of them both grit wise and for bits falling off. I tent to use our rubber dummies around water and sand as they float better anyway
Re: Who has balls? I read the article on dental care that Julie posted, very interesting. You have to assume they have no particular axe to grind, or even teeth and it's a fair point that manufacturers don't appear to offer any evidence that their product does what it says on the packaging, although to make unsubstantiated claims on packaging would be illegal - but who is going to sue them? However, as in most things, a heft dose of common sense must prevail, the article clarified the tennis ball 'problem' by stating the damage would only be caused by around an hour of dirty tennis ball use a day, over a prolonged (unspecified) period. So let's not get all alarmist and keep things in perspective - what's wrong with washing the tennis ball? As I said, interesting article - learned a lot from it.
Re: Who has balls? I sort of feel that people think I was saying they shouldn't use tennis balls. for the avoidance of doubt, I was saying I don't (and then Unclebob commented so I explained why). Charlie (normally) has a ball in his mouth for long periods of retrieving, and can be known to chomp. If I forgot to take the ball off him, and left it in the garden etc, he would chew it. I don't want my dog's teeth damaged at all from anything I can avoid - not even a slight bit of unnecessary abrasion. So I take the extremely simple step of using another type of ball. I don't see the point of using tennis balls when it's no trouble whatsoever not to do so. That's all. I wasn't being alarmist or any such thing, just linked to available information in response to a comment on my comment.
Re: Who has balls? [quote author=gad link=topic=6005.msg78225#msg78225 date=1400323750] Me too, click for calm ;D [/quote] With a safe distance from the annoyance. ;D
Re: Who has balls? Same with Rourke, if I toss him a titbit, he spits it out or completely avoids it and waits for the tennis ball reward
