Attn: All dog experts....Need advise or suggestions.

[Liz]

Ava, you ought to send that video to America's Funniest. What a hoot!

Roe tears up any fuzzy toy. Does better with hard plastic/rubber/vinyl/squeak toys. "Real" tennis balls last a long time. The ones from the pet store don't last a minute.

[Forestgal]

I don't remember where I read/saw it, but there's something about the covering on real tennis balls (don't know about ones made specifically for dogs) that is very, very abrasive on their teeth. They literally act like a file. If you think about how they chew, because of the size of the ball they're really only using their front teeth to take it apart, especially if they're smaller dogs. Jed loves to chase balls as well, and we have a great time when we're at the beach, but when we're done playing I put it away & give him something else in exchange.

Maybe I'm an over-anxious mom, but in my book I don't want to take any chances, especially with something that's so easy to avoid.

Laura

[Nasoosie]

Ava, that video of Gracie singing as she squeaks her toy is hysterical! And, I agree-----you should submit it to someplace for a trophy or money!

Molly loves soft, furry, squeaky toys, and has never destroyed one. As a result, my closet at home is so full of toys that, when they get off balance in their bags, tons of them come cascading out onto the floor! Molly then thinks they are all new ones and rushes to grab them all and put them into her toy box, which is an old cat bed/box! I am as addicted to getting Molly new toys as I am to buying tents!

Spinner's behavior sounds as if it comes from boredom when he is alone, perhaps? As long as he's just focusing on his own toys, you might as well consider those expendable-----although, if you haven't tried any of those 'skin' toys with no stuffing yet, maybe he would play with those without eating them up!

My latest buy for Molly was at Petsmart a couple of days ago----they have large stuffed puppies for 5 bucks that get donated to help save homeless dogs, and I couldn't resist getting it! He is wearing a prety Christmas bow with 2010 on it. Molly loves him, but hasn't discovered that the two squeakers are in each of his front paws. She is frantically trying all parts of his body to find them! He is her largest stuffed toy ever, so we shall see how he fares after a while.

[Mollysmom]

Tennis balls can be bad for their teeth, but once in a while it's not going to hurt. I've read that it takes almost daily chewing on them to do damage - of course the article I read could be wrong ! I give Molly a new Kong squeaky ball maybe twice a year so I figure it's OK.
I've also read that "people" tennis balls can have toxic glue on/in them and shouldn't be used for dogs.
On another note ... I LOVE that video of the squeaking and singing too cute !!!

[WickedLady]

Terrors aren't being bad they just can't hep themselves. It's in their blood. In their imagination they are killin' rats and other vermin