by Evangeline Uriyu

Created on: December 23, 2009   Last Updated: December 24, 2009

The most important factor in choosing a toy for Rover is safety.  There are thousands of dog toys available, but not all are safe.  In fact, some can cause choking hazards while others can contain dangerous chemicals.  Take a few minutes to read this article so you can make some educated choices when buying toys for your fur-kid.

First, do not buy vinyl toys for your dog or your cat.  Did you know that vinyl toys are banned for use by human children?  Also many countries have now banned vinyl toys for animals. They are still available here in the U.S.  I’m sure you are wondering why there is a ban in at least eleven countries on vinyl toys for companion animals.

Vinyl is a cheap plastic that’s used to make all kinds of things including dog toys.  One of the primary chemical building blocks of vinyl is Chlorine which produces some of the most dangerous pollutants known to man: Dioxins. Dioxins cause cancers, reproductive and developmental problems, and immune system damage in animals.

In addition to Chlorine vinyl may contain other toxic substances such as lead, organotin, alkyl-phenols and bisphenol-A to name some.  The worst of these are phthalates.  These chemicals are what make vinyl soft and pliable.  It is the phthalates that give vinyl its familiar strong smell.  The stronger the smell is usually the more phthalates it contains, but not always.  Over time phthalates leach out completely into skin, other living tissue, water, air and anything else it comes in contact with.  Have you ever noticed that old vinyl becomes dry and brittle? The reason is that all the phthalates have leached out into the environment or living tissue.

Phthalates do several things to the body.  They cause toxicity and biochemical changes in the kidneys and liver.  They also cause serious reproductive damage and birth defects in children as well as puppies Breast milk can carry these chemicals if the nursing mother is exposed to these chemicals.

Why dogs are at special risk:

1. Chewing (mechanical pressure) Saliva (liquid)

2. Body heat (increased temperature)

3. Digestion (when pieces of vinyl get swallowed)

4. Inhalation (of airborne chemicals) Skin contact (sleeping on or laying on something vinyl

The Danish Ministry of the Environment published a report called “Evaluation of the health risk to animals playing with phthalate-containing toys.” http://www2.mst.dk/udgiv/publications/2006/87-7052-1 92-1/pdf/87-7052-194-8.pdfThe

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