Vet issues warning to dog owners over popular toy causing ‘irreversible damage’

A vet has issued a warning to dog owners over arguably one of the most popular toys, which he says can cause irreversible damage.

Doctor Chris Brown says he has spent more than a decade observing the impact of tennis balls on dogs’ teeth,

The 47-year-old explained: “The nylon fibres on a tennis ball are designed to withstand the hardest tennis courts in the world.

“When they go into your dog’s mouth, they’re designed to be tougher than their teeth. They essentially wear down their teeth. The nylon fibres are like sandpaper.”

He warns the damage can be permanent, often leading to serious dental problems later in life.

“Once they wear them down and expose the pulp or the centre of the tooth, where the nerve sits, there’s no repairing that. You can fill that, but you can’t get the teeth to grow back,” he said.

Brown says he can now instantly spot dogs affected by the issue.

“I’ve seen a cattle dog at the age of four that essentially had the teeth of a 14-year-old dog, because of just how much time that dog spent with a tennis ball in his mouth,” he shared.

In another case, a boxer named Duke had worn down most of his canine and incisor teeth.

And Brown, who is colour blind, says many dogs also struggle to even see their toys.

“I see the world the same way dogs do.”

“The biggest frustration for a lot of pet owners in the park is that they’ll throw the ball for their dog, and the dog runs straight past it, and the dog can’t find it,” he shared.

“Most balls for dogs, if they’re not tennis balls, are orange… for a dog’s eyes, the orange is no different to the green grass. So the ball disappears the moment it lands on the green grass,” he explained.