Veterinary dental specialists and welfare organisations — including Cornell, VCA, RSPCA Australia, and Pet Circle's own veterinary team — consistently warn against chews too hard to dent with a thumbnail, tennis-ball felt, and easily-removed squeakers, and recommend correctly-sized, rotated toys instead.
Play matters — it's real mental and physical enrichment, and a big part of what keeps a clever, easily-bored dog like an Oodle out of trouble. But even an ordinary-looking rubber ball or chew can turn into a genuine problem if it isn't actually the right fit for your dog's size or the way they chew. The outcomes nobody wants are exactly the boring, preventable ones: an intestinal blockage from a swallowed fragment, or a fractured tooth from something too hard. No toy is truly indestructible, so knowing how to actually evaluate one matters more than trusting what's printed on the packaging.
When it comes to what goes near your own family, most of us do real research — what's actually in a baby bottle, what a car seat is rated for, what a pediatrician actually recommends versus what's just good marketing. Your Oodle is part of the family too, and their toys spend hours in their mouth every week. So we went looking for what veterinary dental specialists and major animal welfare organisations actually publish about chew toy safety — not pet blogs, but the people who treat tooth fractures and toy-related emergencies for a living.
Here's what we found, and how it shaped what we did and didn't put in the Oodle Club range.
Common Chew Toy Hazards to Avoid
- Toys too hard to dent. Bones, antlers, hooves and heavy nylon chews don't "give," which is exactly how teeth fracture. If a chew doesn't dent under a fingernail, it's too hard. (Cornell, VCA, Pet Circle)
- Removable or easily chewed-off parts. Squeakers, eyes, or small components that come loose can be swallowed or inhaled. (RSPCA Australia)
- The wrong size for the mouth. A toy that's too small can be swallowed whole or lodge in the throat during high-energy play. (Pet Circle)
- Abrasive surfaces. Ordinary tennis-ball felt wears down tooth enamel over time, especially once it's picked up dirt and grit. (American Kennel Club)
- Rope, string or ribbon swallowed whole. These can bunch the intestines and often need surgery to remove, regardless of whether the material is natural or synthetic — which is why interactive rope toys are a supervised-play category, not a leave-it-with-them chew. (Pet Circle)
Key Takeaways
- The thumbnail test: if a chew doesn't dent under fingernail pressure, it's likely too hard and risks fractured teeth.
- Cornell and VCA both flag bones, antlers, hooves, and nylon chews as fracture risks.
- Ordinary tennis-ball felt is genuinely abrasive and wears down teeth over time.
- RSPCA Australia names removable squeakers as a specific risk to avoid.
- There are currently no mandatory safety standards for pet toys in Australia.
- RSPCA Australia recommends rotating toys, not relying on one.
- Pet Circle's Head Veterinarian independently agrees on both the hardness risk and the value of rotating toy types.
The single strongest point of agreement: "too hard" is a real risk, not just a durability win
Veterinary dentists commonly use what's known as the thumbnail test: if you press your thumbnail into a chew and it doesn't leave a dent, it's too hard for safe chewing. Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine — one of the most established veterinary teaching hospitals in the world — puts it plainly through Dr. Nadine Fiani, their associate clinical professor of dentistry and oral surgery: chews should be soft enough to dent with a fingernail, and owners should avoid antlers, hooves and bones, which "may break a tooth, or splinter." (Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine)
VCA Animal Hospitals, one of the largest veterinary networks in North America, is even more direct about which materials to eliminate after a tooth fracture: "bones, antlers, cow hoofs, nylon chews, and pizzle sticks." Their standard: throw out anything that doesn't readily bend. (VCA Animal Hospitals)
Australian vets say much the same thing. Pet Circle's Head Veterinarian, Dr Teagan Lever BVSc (Hons), writes that toys "that are too hard — such as natural bones, antlers, or heavy nylon chews — don't 'give' when a pet bites down," and that this "can lead to painful tooth fractures, especially in puppies or senior pets." (Pet Circle)
This is exactly why we didn't chase maximum hardness when we designed our range. A toy that survives everything but risks a fractured tooth isn't actually a win — it's a different kind of failure.
Even tennis balls aren't as harmless as most owners assume
This one surprised us too. Dr. Thomas Chamberlain, a board-certified veterinary dental specialist quoted by the American Kennel Club, explains that ordinary tennis-ball felt is genuinely abrasive — and it gets worse with use, not better: "the fuzz is actually quite abrasive, and accumulated dirt and sand increases the abrasive quality of the ball." As a dog chews, that felt "acts like sandpaper, gradually wearing down her teeth" over time. (American Kennel Club)
It's a genuinely useful reframe: the everyday tennis ball sitting in most toy boxes isn't a neutral, risk-free choice just because it's familiar and cheap.
Squeakers, sizing, and rotation — three more things the experts actually flag
- Removable squeakers are a named risk, not a vague worry. RSPCA Australia's own published guidance is specific: "Toys that tear apart easily, contain squeakers that are easily removed, or have feathers and pieces of string that come away causing serious issues when ingested, are ones to avoid." (RSPCA Australia)
- Size matters more than most owners think. A chew should be sized so it genuinely can't be swallowed whole — not just "small/medium/large" on a label.
- Rotation isn't just a merchandising idea — RSPCA Australia recommends it directly: "Rotating your pet's toys is a great idea and helps add some variety to their daily lives," since pets "may become bored if presented with the same toys day in, day out." (RSPCA Australia)
- Pet Circle's own vet team makes the same case, for a slightly different reason. Dr Teagan Lever recommends offering a rotated variety of toy types because individual dogs' play styles genuinely differ — a "power chewing" dog will make short work of a soft toy, while a lower-drive dog "may prefer a comfort toy to snuggle instead." One toy, in other words, was never going to suit every dog. (Pet Circle)
One thing worth knowing if you're shopping in Australia
RSPCA Australia states plainly that there are currently no mandatory safety standards for pet toys in Australia. That means "sold in a pet store" doesn't automatically mean a toy has met any required safety bar — it's on individual brands to actually test and design responsibly, not a legal requirement. We think that's worth knowing before you buy from anyone, including us.
What this actually means for how we build Oodle Club toys
We designed around the same principles these sources consistently point to:
- Give, not rock-hardness — our chews are built to flex rather than chase maximum hardness for its own sake. Every rubber toy in the range passes the same thumbnail test vets use: press a fingernail in and it leaves a dent, with real bend and give, not blank resistance.
- A single-mould rubber body, not felt — so there's no fuzzy surface to trap dirt or wear down teeth the way tennis-ball felt is known to.
- A squeaker that's built in, not loose or removable — a specific factor RSPCA Australia names directly.
- Sized by category, not guessed — Little for smaller Oodles under 13kg, Big for larger ones 14kg+.
- A rotation system, not one toy expected to do everything — chew, fetch, squeak, tug, each with its own role, which is the same underlying idea RSPCA Australia's and Pet Circle's own guidance both recommend.
- Tug & Tumble is built for supervised play, not solo chewing — because interactive rope toys are consistently treated as a supervised-play category by welfare and veterinary sources, not a leave-it-with-them chew.
None of this makes any toy indestructible, and we'd never claim that — no dog toy is. But it's the difference between a product built to survive a durability test, and one designed with the actual, published thinking of people who treat dogs for a living. See exactly how that plays out feature-by-feature in our full materials comparison table →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the thumbnail test for dog chew toys?
Press a fingernail into the chew — if it doesn't leave a dent, it's likely too hard for safe daily chewing, per veterinary dentists including Cornell's Dr. Nadine Fiani.
Are tennis balls safe for dogs to chew?
Not entirely. The felt is genuinely abrasive, and it gets worse with accumulated dirt and sand, gradually wearing down teeth with repeated chewing, according to the American Kennel Club.
Are pet toys regulated for safety in Australia?
No — RSPCA Australia states there are currently no mandatory safety standards for pet toys in Australia, so it's on individual brands to test and design responsibly.
Why do vets and welfare groups recommend rotating dog toys?
RSPCA Australia recommends it because pets can become bored with the same toys day in, day out. Pet Circle's Head Veterinarian, Dr Teagan Lever, makes a related point: dogs' individual play styles vary so much that no single toy type suits every dog, which is its own reason to rotate rather than rely on one.
Curious what a rotation built this way actually looks like? Explore the Play Packs →
Related reading: Why One Toy Isn't Enough for a Smart, Easily-Bored Oodle →
