My dog has a favorite ball that he has been playing with for nearly two years now.
The ball is really squishy and soft compared to others on the market and unfortunately, I cannot find the same one on the market anymore.
The ball has started to tear in the middle where, by the looks of it, it was originally glued together.
I want to fix the ball by gluing it back but I am not sure which is the best glue for the purpose and one that is also non-toxic and non-harmful to pets.
Glue is usually toxic to pets and humans, because of these harmful ingredients in it:
Because of this, it was hard to find a non-toxic option. I did find one brand, but I would still be extra careful with it and immediately call a veterinarian if your dog digests the glue or starts to act weird after being in contact with it.
According to trendhunter.com, Eco-Bond's glue is pet safe.
The source claims that Eco-Bond is completely non-toxic and safe for children and pets.
I didn't find too many of their non-toxic choices on Amazon (I did find this currently unavailable option on Amazon though), but Eco-Bond does have a website where they display around six non-toxic glue choices to choose from: https://www.ecobondstore.com/.
Assuming that this is legit, the glue would work on your dog's toy.
However, the glue won't last forever (and you wouldn't want your dog swallowing parts of the toy if it did come apart again) and even this non-toxic choice isn't the best for pets, so I would consider buying a different toy.
By thinking about glues and the safety, I thought about the question: which risks glue in general would provide?
Licking:
The glue (and all its components) needs to stay at the ball when coming in contact with saliva and dog teeth.
Swallowing:
If the dog swallows parts of the ball, I would assume that the glue is not the main cause of what you would be worried about. (Please correct me here, if you know more.)
Following this thinking, I would assume that even glues with toxic components are safe for a dog, as long as they do not lose small parts and are not soluble in water. For me then, some kind of two-component glue - which stays flexible - would work. And while gluing, I would make myself absolutely sure to only glue the inside of the ball (there seems to be a groove and tongue for this purpose: the surface of the glued together border is not plain, but has some kind of slit).
