Worn Teeth.

[Rudysmom]

Has anyone else found their dog's teeth, especially the canines wearing from playing with basketballs and soccer balls? My GSD will deflate one of these in seconds then carries it asking for us to use it to play tug. It works and he loves it. We also throw the deflated ball and he will jump and catch it. He also carries it and shakes it from side to side. I see that his canines are worn. The points are worn off. He is just 2yrs. We never use tennis balls and fetch is done with sticks and occasionally solid rubber balls. I make tugs toys from soft 100%cotton horse leads similar to what Kevin uses. I have taken all his large balls away. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

[Chris]

My Zeke (GSD) is 11.5 yrs now and he has spent his whole life carrying a pinecone or stick on every walk or tramp. He'll also chews on balls and toys, his teeth are very worn but still usable, biggest problem we have is the staining of the teeth from all the tannin from the sticks but Zeke doesn't seem to mind.
Zeke also used to deflate soccer balls and as they only lasted a few days I gave up on them, we now use rubber milking shed liners and they have been a lot better on the teeth and strong as for the tug work.
Ty who has had heaps of tugging since we found NDT is coming up 5 and also has wear on the teeth but nothing to worry about, just a case of finding the right material to use I think is the answer to keep the wear to a minimum.

[Rudysmom]

Thanks Chris. Your reply makes me feel so much better. I sometimes think I may be somewhat overboard with Rudy as I try to compensate for his negative past.