Risky Dog Toys - Help Your Dog Avoid Choking on Dog Toys

The risk of choking on dog toys is one of the biggest hazards your dog will encounter when playing with poorly made or selected dog toys. Although there are a variety of other hazards, choking on dog toys is the most immediate threat to a dog playing with the wrong toys.

Please review the following list of common dog toys, to learn about their hidden dangers so that you can make a well-informed decision when purchasing dog toys as a gift for your dog or someone else's. Think of how terrible you would feel to come home and find your dog choking on dog toys. Don't let this happen to you. Only leave your dog alone with safe, durable toys that he can not pull apart and swallow.

No-No List of Dog Toys:

Rawhide: Rawhide is cow skin (leather) that has been chemically treated, stretched, and dried into a variety of fun shapes like bones, knots, sticks and rings. Dogs enjoy rawhide chews but they do not make safe dog toys for a number of reasons. First, rawhide is treated with toxic chemicals (they are often made overseas) that are not always completely rinsed out of the material before it reaches your dog's mouth. Second, rawhide can break off into small chunks which can be sharp and jagged. These make scrape or puncture your dog's gastrointestinal tract if he swallows them down. Third, when a dog has thoroughly moistened the rawhide with chewing and licking, it can develop an adhesive property which increases the risk of your beloved pet choking on dog toys because they'll stick to his throat if he tries to ingest them.

Pig/Cow Ears, Animal Hooves: Dried pig and cow ears and hooves have many of the same dangers as rawhide. Primarily, you don't want your dog to break off and swallow small jagged pieces that could damage his insides!

Squeaky Toys: Squeaky toys - cute at the store, but the more your dog likes them, the more annoying the squeaker can get! However, there's a better reason to avoid squeaky toys. The small device that makes the squeaking sound can easily be separated from many toys and swallowed, creating a choking hazard. Be especially wary of squeaky toys where the squeaker is visible from the outside of the toy (such as a hollow plastic squeaky toy). In these cases, the risk of choking on dog toys is high because the squeaker can become detached from the toy and ingested by your dog. You'll have to re-name him wheezer once that squeak gets lodged in his throat!

Plush Toys: Plush toys may be acceptable if they are well-made, your dog is small, or he is not an aggressive chewer. The danger in plush toys is in the stuffing. Once your dog has ripped a hole in a soft toy and has access to the stuffing, you need to take the toy away from the dog and throw it away to ensure there will be no choking on dog toys.

This stuffing can create a serious internal blockage if swallowed. Beware of stuffed toys with an internal squeaker, don't let your dog remove the squeaker - this small device is not safe for animals, it is a choking hazard.

If you do decide to let your dog play with stuffed toys, I would recommend limiting the play times to periods when you can be there to supervise the toy's level of deterioration and take it away when the stuffing starts spilling out.

Cotton Rope Toys: These toys can be great to play a safe game of tug-of-war with your dog, but are not so good for leaving your dog alone with as a chew toy. If you notice your dog pulling strings out of his chew toy, don't let him play with it unsupervised or you could come home to find him choking on dog toys! My dog Kera removed quite a pile of strings from her rope toy in a short play session. In the past, she's swallowed so much string that she vomits and passes clumps of it in her stool. Even though this can be a great toy, supervise your dog's play at first to see if the toy is easily destroyed with your pup's chew style!

Tennis Balls: Probably one of the most popular make-shift dog toys on the market, dogs and people love playing catch with tennis balls. Unfortunately, these can have a detrimental affect on the dog's teeth. The tennis ball fuzz is very abrasive and can wear teeth down to the nerves. Also, the chemicals in the ball can have a harmful effect on tooth enamel. Be careful when playing catch as a tennis ball could potentially lodge in the dogs throat if he catches it coming at him with some speed. I recommend against tennis balls, but if you do let your dog play with them, limit the usage to joint games of fetch, but don't let the dog keep the ball as a chew toy.

Old Household Items: As mentioned above, household items such as socks, shoes, treated wood, ropes, cardboard boxes, etc. are not safe for dogs to chew on and can lead to the development of destructive chewing habits. Some of these materials (especially treated lumber) can contain toxic chemicals which your dog will absorb into his system if he chews on them. Others like rope and cardboard, can be shredded and swallowed creating intestinal blockages which can be difficult to clear. All in all, it is better to invest in your dog's safety and happiness by buying him a few solid, well-made dog toys. His risk of choking on dog toys will be low if you choose well-made and appropriate items. A few safe dog toys are better than many cheap or poorly selected toys.

Very Hard Toys or Bones: Surprising as it may seem, some aggressive chewers can go after toys with such vigor that they actually break, crack or chip their teeth going after very hard chew toys. Bones, sterilized or not, can be too hard for a dog's teeth. If you wouldn't want it to bang into your shin or furniture, it is probably too hard for your dog's teeth.

Don't want your dog choking on dog toys? Read These Articles and Learn What's Safe!

1) Thoughts on selecting appropriate Dog Toys!

2) Worried about your dog choking on dog toys? Opt for these fun, Safe Dog Toys - Kera's Top Picks!