Nearly half of all tested pet products contained “detectable levels” of hazardous chemicals, including lead in a quarter of all products and nearly half of tennis balls intended for pets!

Are these dog toys safe?

The testing was done by HealthyStuff.org, which focuses primarily on children’s toys. This is what they have to say:

HealthyStuff.org tested over 400 pet products, including beds, chew toys, stuffed toys, collars, leashes, and tennis balls. Since there are no government standards for hazardous chemicals in pet products, it is not surprising that toxic chemicals were found.

• 45% of pet products tested had detectable levels of one or more hazardous chemical, including:
• One-quarter of all pet products had detectable levels of lead.
• 7% of all pet products have lead levels greater than 300 ppm — the current CPSC lead standard for lead in children’s products.
• Nearly half of pet collars had detectable levels of lead; with 27% exceeding 300 ppm — the CPSC limit for lead in children’s products.
• One half (48%) of tennis balls tested had detectable levels of lead. Tennis balls intended for pets were much more likely to contain lead. Sports tennis balls contained no lead.

You can read the Overview of HealthyStuff.org Findings, but it doesn’t say much more than I’ve quoted here. They do list products by brand, type, and level of concern, but I was unable to find the pet products tested. If you see it, let me know! According to their methodology:

The sampling was not random or necessarily designed to be representative of all products on the market.

It is possible most toys are safe. My recommendation, buy sport tennis balls, avoid painted and dyed products, and do some research. I wonder how much a portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer costs???

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Have you ever looked at dog toys and baby toys side-by-side?  My dogs would argue that they cannot tell them apart and therefore all toys, baby or dog, are fair game if left on the floor.  Result: Baby toys find there way out the doggy door and are turned into tug toys if they are not picked-up.   Consequently, I have been diligently picking up baby toys and throwing them into the play pen when they are not being used. 

Tip #1: Set your dog up for success by keeping temptations away from your dogs.

In reality, it is nearly impossible to keep toys picked-up which means that some baby toys destined to become dog toys.  Despite my acceptance of this reality, I about blew a gasket when I found our baby’s 1st teddy bear shredded in the backyard.  First reaction was anger towards the dogs followed by a realization that I shouldn’t have left a cuddly teddy bear on the living room floor.  I then remembered a tip we had learned at our Introducing Baby to Dog class…

Tip #2: Rub a small amount of baby lotion on the baby toys and then scatter a variety of baby and dog toys on the floor.  Let your dog select a toy and reward when he or she selects a dog toy.  If your dog selects a baby toy, replace the baby toy with a dog toy.

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