Beware of Tennis Balls!

This dog absolutely loves to play ball. He loves to jump in the air and catch it in his mouth. He loves to run really far in pursuit of one. He is as good at catching it when it is high in the sky as he is at chasing it down when it is rolling quickly along the lawn. And each time he brings the ball back for the next throw, he chews it - you see his mouth going up and down, up and down. And this is where my warning comes in. Please be sure that you're not letting your dog play with a regular tennis ball if he is as obsessed with the ball as Uli is. For the first 5 years of his life, I played mostly with regular tennis balls and then I found out that the reason that his teeth are so ground down is most likely because of his constant chewing on (abrasive) tennis balls. He's only 7 years old and most of his teeth in the back of his mouth are pretty much ground down to the gumline. Yikes. He had a full set of X-rays of his teeth taken today (expensive!) and we were happy to find out that his roots are looking good. The vet was worried that he may need to pull teeth or even do a root canal. Lucky for us, he's in good shape! For now, at least. So, be warned good people. Rubber balls are fine, just avoid abrasive tennis balls. Later!