Why My Dog Is Banned From Tennis Balls (And Became a Garden Footballer Instead)

Recently we’ve had to start being a bit stricter about tennis balls.

Pepper absolutely loves them. The problem is she loves them a bit too much. She doesn’t just chase them – she chews them constantly too, and we’ve started noticing her teeth wearing down because of it.

So the tennis balls have mostly been banned.

I still wanted to let her play outside in the garden this afternoon though, so I decided to pop her muzzle on just to stop the constant chewing.

Discovering Pepper’s Hidden Talent

With the tennis balls off limits, Pepper spotted an old football in the garden.

She’s always loved chasing footballs before, usually while carrying a tennis ball in her mouth.

But this time, instead of simply chasing it, she started dribbling it around the garden with her nose and paws.

Not just pushing it randomly either.

She was genuinely controlling it.

If Pepper were human, I’m fairly sure I’d be sending her straight to a football academy.

She would nudge the ball forward, run after it, spin around it, and push it again like she was practising drills.

Meanwhile Heidi was watching from the window looking slightly confused.

Why It Actually Works So Well

The funny thing is that the football ended up being a much better toy for her than the tennis balls.

Because it’s bigger, she can’t chew it constantly. It also takes a lot out of her – it burns her energy and turns into a really fun game for both of us.

I’m no footballer myself, but it’s surprisingly hard to get the ball past her.

And with the muzzle on, I could relax knowing she wasn’t grinding her teeth down on anything.

Football We Use In The Garden

We use small human footballs instead of the ones made for dogs.

They’re big enough that she can’t chew them constantly, which helps protect her teeth, but still light enough for her to dribble and chase around the garden.

Because we go through them fairly often (Pepper is still a dog after all), I usually just buy inexpensive ones like this: Mitre Football size 5.

They’re durable enough for garden play and cheap enough that it doesn’t matter if they eventually get destroyed.

Final Thought

Reactive dogs can sometimes get labelled as “difficult”, but this is a good reminder that they’re also funny, clever and full of personality.

Even if that personality involves attempting a solo football career in the garden.