Hi everyone, I've been hearing concerns about toxic materials in dog toys lately. I'm worried about the potential health risks for my furry friend. What materials or brands should I avoid? Are there any reliable, non-toxic options you recommend for toxic dog toys? I've read about issues with certain plastics and chemicals like BPA and phthalates. Navigating the market with so many choices and conflicting information is overwhelming. Any insights or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Let's keep our pets safe and healthy! Thanks in advance for your help!
Short answer: yes, some toys are toxic. For me, I stay away from generic cheap toys found at discount stores, etc. I look for companies that declare their manufacturing processes on their websites. My favorite dog toy company is GoDog. They have toys that my dogs really like and that don't get ripped apart quite as easily as some do - no toy is completely destruction-proof and it depends on each particular dog's habits, but none of my dogs have actually shredded a GoDog toy yet they play with them more than other types.
I'm in the UK so we have different companies. Kong toys are reliable - probably they are the sturdiest, but nothing is indestructible - especially their squeaky tennis balls. Great fun while they last though. Pets at Home stock the range Wainwright products. I have found them quite good - Tally has a couple of their fluffy toys which have lasted well given a stitch or two. Toys made of thick soft cotton rope are OK, as long as you remove them once the knots have been chewed off. I also buy the cheap soft plastic throwing rings - I can leave them hanging in the garden ready for spontaneous games. They get tooth dents but I don't leave them lying around to get chewed up. My most popular dog toy is home made. I split open the sides of old rubber welly boots. i roll up the strips tightly and secure with either one or two of those grippy ties - depending on the width. These make great search items and throwing sticks which last for years. Those soft sided boots are best for this but any rubber boot will do.
You shouldn’t give your dog regular tennis balls, I forget what’s toxic with them. Instead purchase them at a pet supply store. The brand of toy I’ve found to be the most durable is Tuffy dog toys. Fluff and Tough is another my dogs like. Not as durable as the Tuffy brand, but better than most.
I think regular tennis balls may contain lead. There really are a lot of choices and it really depends on what type of toys your dog prefers. Mine always liked stuffed fabric squeaky toys the best. Some brands have fabric that my dogs don't like even though they are great durable and safe toys - so my dogs ignore them. Others are too flimsy and the squeaky gets removed within seconds. Tornado-dog loves balls. I have a bunch of dog-friendly tennis balls. Some have been totally destroyed by him - he grabs the fuzz and shakes until the ball comes apart at the seams. The Chuck it! brand balls and thrower are nice - and Tornado-dog doesn't mind the rubber balls. His go-to ball is an old volleyball. He ripped it so it is floppy and easy to grab. He likes to play tug with it as well as "throw the ball". My Dog had a collection of Taco Bell talking chihuahua stuffed toys, as well as a talking Wishbone toy. She would carry them around and make them talk. With any other dog, I wouldn't have given those toys, but Dog didn't chew on toys ever. And she wanted talking toys. The Wishbone toy was great because he said different things depending on where you squeezed.
This is a good article which explains the dangers of tennis balls: https://sierraveterinary.com/2022/03/29/the-dangers-of-tennis-balls/
Don't the talking toys have batteries in them Toed? I stopped using the ones that flash when you throw them, because they have batteries implanted into the plastic. My dogs don't like those older type of solid rubber toys - I don't know whether it's the taste or the weight, but they never get played with. I have never had any problem with tennis balls, but I would stop using them if the casing was grubby or damaged. I agree about the Chuck-It balls, they are excellent - easy to clean and last forever.
Yes they did have batteries. They had a small plastic box inside that held all the "talking" components with a wired pressure pad (several for Wishbone) to trigger the talking. I never would have given them to another dog, but Dog was different as she never tried to desqueak a toy in her life. My Dad's second akita loved stuffed toys. He once tried to trade his favorite toy for the new squeaky toy my sibling brought over (her baby). Once the toy stopped squeaking, he'd lose interest. I would come over, take a desqueaked toy, and hold it up making a squeak noise while I squished it. That dog would get all excited because his toy was squeaking again and would spend hours trying to make it squeak... No other dog has fallen for that. My akita loved stuffed toys. One day, I took him and his sister, Dog, to the pet store to get their photo with Santa. Bear-dog was all excited about the giant stuffed toy and happily trotted by its side to pose for the shot. They were in position, with a dog on either side of Santa and Santa's arm around each dog, when Santa said something. Bear-dog suddenly realized that wasn't a giant stuffed toy but a MAN!!! The resulting photo has a definite lean to it as Bear-dog was intent on getting as far away from that man as quickly as possible
My dogs have one talking toy (well two, they each have the same toy so they won’t compete over it). When I had Bandit as a puppy my mother sent him a dreidel for Hanukkah. It’s a talking (well singing) toy. It has a bunch of little kids singing the dreidel song. He loved it. It’s soooo annoying. I only let him play with it outside. It lasted a pretty long time considering it got rained on regularly. Even after it stopped working he still loved it. A few years later, when my mother asked what my dogs wanted for Hanukkah, I requested a new dreidel toy for each of them. Well she only sent one, so I let her know it was going to create an issue if they didn’t each have their own. I keep them high up on a shelf, out of sight, and periodically pull them out for play, because they’re extremely annoying, but very much loved.
I love that they play with their dreidels!!! I used to get two of every toy for Moose-dog and Bat-dog. Then one day, I realized they didn't seem to care if they got somewhat different toys just as long as they each got a toy. So I started mixing up the colors and shapes. They had their house toys, yard toys, motorhome toys and trailer toys. Every time I had to do work on the motorhome or trailer, the dogs would go in with me and play with their toys. They loved it. This was the basket I kept their motorhome toys in. It was overflowing with toys. This is Bat-dog in "her seat" - notice the red dog positioned just right on the steering wheel. And this is where the bulk of the toys ended up. With a couple stragglers And yes, even if the toy was destuffed, the dogs loved them as they had camping scents all over them. The toy in the top right of the last photo was a de-stuffed stuffed cube - their very first camping toys. That had great scentimental value.
This is what is facing me as I type. I should have remembered, the No. 1 favourite toy is the snuffle mat loaded with a dozen kitten biscuits!
While I was typing earlier, I heard snapping sounds coming from under the couch... I got a delivery and there was... BUBBLE WRAP!
