Give a Dog a Ball

So I felt guilty the other day since my dog, Otis, has been chewing up the same toys and I have had no time to go buy him a few new ones. I hauled my butt over to one of the big pet chain stores we all know and lingered too long over all the gadgets and gizmos dog owners can buy today. Now, Otis is a ball boy. We’ve tried squeaky toys, stuffed animals, the usual suspects, but he reliabilty chooses a nice firm tennis ball. Now, cheap imitation don’t do the job. I’ve tried the dollar section specials. Pieces of black and yellow ball have dotted my floor on numerous occassions. Instead, this time I opted for the Industrial Strength Tuff Mint Balls. Smelled minty and didn’t budge under pressure. I was pretty excited about these. Even shared one with the neighbor.  Not more than 20 minutes had gone by when the dog developed a rash on his belly. Seemed awfully coincidental.  We’ve had to become experts with Otis when identifying allergy triggers. His puppy booster even gave him hives the size of pencil erasers. Did you know you can give Benadryl to a dog? Apparently dogs, like people, have allergic reactions.  So, although I loved the idea of the new ball, I’ll need to go back to good ‘ole Penn brand. Probably never intended for dogs, but durable and no obvious side effects when chewed, chased after, and retrieved. I better head out to my local sporting goods store this time.