Vet gives warning to dog owners as he says they should 'avoid tennis balls' which can lead to health issues

A vet has provided a stern warning to dog owners who let their adorable pups play with tennis balls.

Let's be honest, the vast majority of dogs have a least one tennis ball among their flurry of toys that they play with on a daily.

While other toys are fun, there is nothing like a tennis ball from an owner's point of view as we can always be involved in the fun by hurling the ball across the park for our dogs to go fetch.

However, a vet has now warned that allowing your dogs to have tennis balls can lead to health issues in the future.

Hunter Finn, a vet based in the US state of Texas, regularly shares pet advice on TikTok to his 2.1 million followers.

In one of his more recent videos, the vet discussed the serious harm that tennis balls can do to a dog's mouth.

"Stop giving your dog tennis balls. Right now you’re probably thinking, ‘Dr Finn, how does [a tennis ball] harm my dog?’” Dr Finn said.

"Well, when you’re playing fetch with your dog and throwing this thing, it’s getting caught in saliva and dirt and sand and just basically turns into sandpaper.”

And that rough surface of the tennis ball will start to do serious damage to a dog's mouth over time, the vet added.

He continued: "As that ball turns in your dog's mouth as it's playing with it, and you're grabbing it, and it's being thrown and picked up multiple times... your dog's will start to look like this," showing on-screen of a dog's less than healthy teeth.

Dr Finn went on to say that the teeth shown don't always have to be removed when they get into that condition, though he did encourage dog owners to provide their dogs with a 'rubber ball or a smoother ball' instead.

The video has been viewed more than 200,000 times on TikTok, with hundreds flocking to the comment section to provide their thoughts.

Some admitted that taking the tennis ball off the dog will be harder than many think, as one dog owner wrote: "So… are you going to tell my dog? Because I’m not going to break his heart."

A second added: "I stopped immediately a few years ago after my dentist told me the same thing."

While a third penned: "My dog has eaten so many! I stopped giving them to him after I noticed but we live by a tennis court."