Pet toys are like two sides of a coin; on one side, they help develop your pets’ physical and cognitive abilities while keeping them engaged. On the other side, they can cause severe injuries to your pet if you don’t take extra preventive measures. Not to worry, the tips below will ensure that your pets are kept secure from toy hazards.

1. Pet Proof your home

Pet proofing is a sure way to ensure your pet’s safety, especially when you’re not home. You can do this by altering all toy attachments that can harm or choke your pet. Remove or trim all ribbons, strings, labels, beads, and metal that can harm your pet if ingested by accident.

You can also try building barricades to limit your pet’s movement to prevent them from playing and chewing harmful objects when you are not around. Also, discard balls that your pet has chewed through so that they don’t choke on them or ingest it and get plagued by gut issues.

2. Pay attention to the size.

As a rule of the thumb, you should always steer clear of toys with small parts that can be inhaled or ingested. Also, be sure that the toy has no attachment that can be easily removed or get thorned. More importantly, Pet toys do not come in one size for all; be sure to choose a toy based on the size of your pet. If your pet is huge, be sure to buy an appropriate toy for its size. The opposite should apply where the pet is on the small side.

Also, make it a habit to monitor your pet regularly and where you suspect that it has ingested a toy part or anything of that sort, take it to a veterinarian.

3. Material of the toy

Some toxins found in pet toys are very harmful, such as Polyvinyl Chloride used in most dog toys. It produces dioxins which can cause cancer and damages the immune system in animals. Phthalates, Bisphenol A, and lead are other harmful toxins present in toys and can be detrimental to your pet’s health. So,  try to inspect the substance of your pet’s toy while paying extra attention to the labeling and content of your toys. As a pet owner, you are responsible for researching the content and choosing your pet toys carefully.

4. Proper Maintenance

Proper maintenance is a sure way to protect your pet against hazards. There are two ways; dirt from toys, especially outdoor toys, can have serious health consequences on your pet. As you much ensure proper and regular cleaning of your toys. You can create a cleaning and inspection schedule where you give toys a thorough cleaning and toss damaged ones away.

Inspecting your pet toys is also necessary to fish out damaged toys that can become a potential health hazard.

You should also watch out for the pet toy quality testing and control to ensure that you get a safe toy for your pet.