Study Finds Lead in Quarter of Dog Toys
As I was perusing the North American Veterinary Conference Clinician’s Brief the other day, a blurb about lead in canine tennis balls caught my eye. A quick Google search brought up the article mentioned in the Brief.
Healthystuff.org has been independently testing various consumer products for toxins over the last few years. Here is a bit of what the site had to say about pet toys.
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.
Lead poisoning affects many systems in the body. Learning and cognitive difficulties are a common feature of lead poisoning. This means that my pal Buster, who loves playing fetch and no doubt has consumed ample lead from various balls, may have to give up on his dream of a Nobel Prize in economics.
Photo: I hope that’s a sport tennis ball. By Bruce.
Editor’s Note: Here is a list of toys, beds, collars and more Healthy Stuff has found with high levels of lead. Also see their list of pet products of medium concern.
You have questions. 
I’m concerned about my dog Chuppy now, all we buy him are squeak Tennis balls from Petsmart, which he loves. They squeak non-stop! Chuppy’s a fetchaholic, but really, tennis balls for fetch have lead rather than real tennis balls?! Maybe I should switch to the Rubber Chuck it balls…
I’m not finding a list of the products they tested and the results? What are we supposed to do with this information if we don’t know what products had high levels and which ones didn’t? Just worry? Not give our dogs any toys, don’t use collars and leashes?
I agree Addy. We need a list.
Our dog Shadow just had a bit of a vomiting episode from a tennis-style ball that was part of a larger chew toy. Two days later and I’m still shampooing the carpets. Hopefully the ball in question didn’t have lead in it but the odds seem to be against us.
Thanks for the article!
You can find the whole section with lists at the site here:
http://www.healthystuff.org/departments/pets/
I will have to check out the list. This is concerning to me because of course dogs put everything in their mouth! Even their collars! The law for children has actually gone overboard — items that won’t ever come (or shouldn’t come) close to a child’s mouth are being forced to submit to the standards; for example the metal parts on a bicycle which a child should not be “playing with.”
But for dogs (and of course the wee children) it ALL goes in the mouth, and dogs don’t routinely wash their hands!
That is terrible, my boys love all toys and now I am scared to by them new toys because I dont want them getting sick.
This article is useless without info and probably is the build up to dogsters next toy ad campaign. I have gone to http://www.dogsunite.com. Far more informative.
wow this is RIDICULOUS. I just cannot believe that tennis balls for sport have no lead as opposed to the lead amount in tennis balls for pets. People playing tennis are not going to be putting those balls in their mouths!!!!! I am outraged.
This is simply not either useful information of helpful in any way. As retailers and consumers, we are all concerned with what our pets come into contact with, but to publish this kind of information, without any details of the products that were tested is both irresponsible and very damaging to retailers in what already is a terribly difficult economy. You guys really need to clean up your act and to take more responsibility for the materials you distribute. Pretty pitiful.
We use sport tennis balls because Jack won’t play with plain ole balls. They have to be REAL tennis balls that bounce and squish and get real slobbery. :) As for the other toys I guess I just take my chances… I grew up with lead in the paint and where ever else it used to be and I’m as normal as normal can be. :)
I have gone back and read over this material in detail and am still shocked by the “National Enquirer” tone of this press release. It states rather dramatically that “1/4 of all pet products had detectable levels of lead” It then says that “7% had lead levels above the current CPSC standards for lead in children’s toys”. First off, the first statement should have been qualifed with the obvious fact that they have no knowledge of what percentage of types have detectable levels of lead because they only tested 400 items. Secondly, a 7% figure of wat they did test coming out higher than the current standards for lead in children’s toys is not acceptable and it should be changed…but that is a heck of a lot less than the 25% figure stated earlier. Let’s get rid of the chemicals in the toys and products our pets use but lets be real too: your pet probably gets more chemicals and poisons from the rocks he/she picks up, the dirt and feces routinely swallowed and the rocks they bury than in the toy bone you give them. Stop yelling fire in a crowded theatre!
So….where’s the list?
Here’s the list — http://www.healthystuff.org/departments/pets/product.least.php?rank=high
You can select the different levels (None, Low, Med, High) at the top to view the different lists.
please tell me what product are safe and what are not my dog seems healthy but just cant imagen what would i would do if somthing happend to my dog so ya please tell me
can anyone PLEASE tell me where i can go to get lead free toys? or where i can find a list of products that are? please email me at badgirl34608@hotmail.com thank you
How amazing! My yellow lab won’t touch pet store tennis balls, preferring human playing tennis balls and she’s adicted to fetching only tennis balls. Maybe she knew there was something funny tasting about the pet store ones all these years. Also pet store tennis balls aren’t the standard size of human tennis balls, which can either be too small she’d choke on them or too big to get in her mouth comfortably. Either way, score one for Mommy never buying pet store stuff and keeping the loving play time safe! :)
This is disturbing. Our dogs have been chewing on the tennis balls contaminated with lead. Something else I’m curious about it the country of origin. I read an article a couple of days ago about tainted drywall from China. Apparently it’s making people sick and it also causes damage to some electronics and appliances over time. But we are importing a lot of cheap products that apparently don’t maintain any safety regulations. They have also been the source of tainted dog food in the past.
Tiffany if you click on the link next to Editors Notes. Sign up for the information and it will give you 4 list. Low, Med, High and None. So the list with None is the one that has the safest products :-)
I have been buying my dog Beannie Babies and other toys for children to try to get a safer product. Even for human toys, we cannot be sure 100% can we?
I have a yellow lab that like to have something in his mouth most the time (being a retriever). Just checked the toys I bought for him and been a good product and most of their toys are considered low in lead. Click on this link: http://www.healthystuff.org/departments/pets/product.searchbrand.php ….. then click the brand JW Pet Company and their toys are low in lead. Just thought I’d share it.
Wow! Thanks for this piece it is super informative.
If most of our pet’s toys come from China, it’s no wonder they are full of lead.
Very Concerned
Interesting!
Sam would like to wish all his friends in the USA a very happy Thanksgiving. God bless the USA.
[...] Dr. Eric Barchas on Dogster’s VetBlog, a report from HealthyStuff.org: HealthyStuff.org tested over 400 pet products, including beds, [...]
Wow! I would never have thought that dog products would contain that much lead! My dog Zeek isnt a huge fan of toys, but he does like a new toy that has two ropes to play tug with and there is a plush bone in the middle with a squeaky. I hope that toy is okay. I will keep an eye on him. Thanks for the info!
[...] Dr. Eric Barchas on Dogster’s VetBlog, a report from HealthyStuff.org: HealthyStuff.org tested over 400 pet products, including beds, [...]
[...] Study Finds Lead in Quarter of Dog Toys (post includes links to lists of toxic toys and more) [...]
I’m wondering where the offending articles were manufactured?
A German study found there is a chemical reaction from the GLUE on tennis balls. The dog’s saliva and the glue cause a chemical reaction that rots the enamel on the dog’s teeth.
Do not use any Tennis balls during play with your dog! Also, the tennis balls are choking hazards as they can become lodged in the larger breeds throat.
[...] Dr. Eric Barchas on Dogster’s VetBlog, a report from HealthyStuff.org: HealthyStuff.org tested over 400 pet products, including beds, [...]
I stopped buying toys for my dogs. They all ended up being “eaten” which as we know is dangerous. I save my husband’s old 100% cotton white socks he uses with his sneakers and knot it 2,3 times. Not only do my terriers love playing tug with them, but it helps clean their teeth! Sometimes when they finally wear out, I cut pieces of it, put a bit of peroxide on the piece, and clean their teeth with it. Be sure not to soak the sock with peroxide, just put a bit. The only tennis balls they play with are the professional ones from the sporting goods store. They are safer. Look at the toy ones from China, etc. they have some rubbery glued white on them to make them look like the real thing. That is poisonous! Make your pets’ toys by using things with no chemicals, nothing to come apart and choke them, etc.