Leerburg Dog Training Podcast The Danger of Using Certain Toys as Rewards in Detection Dog Training
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Nov 24, 2025 
Ed Frawley, an experienced detector dog trainer and former handler for law enforcement, dives deep into the surprising dangers of using common toys like Kongs and tennis balls as rewards in detection dog training. He highlights issues such as safety risks, contamination, and conflicts with the dog’s obedience. Frawley introduces a safer alternative—scented cotton towels—explaining their training advantages and how they can be adapted to individual dogs' drives. Prepare to rethink your reward choices!
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Stop Using Kongs And Tennis Balls
- Avoid using Kongs and tennis balls as primary rewards in detection training due to serious safety risks.
- Replace them with safer items to prevent injuries, ingestion, and dental damage.
Accidents From Erratic Toy Flight
- Trainers have seen dogs run into plate glass windows or suffer fractures chasing unpredictable toys.
- Those real incidents illustrate how erratic toy flight can cause severe physical harm.
Reward Material Can Contaminate Alerts
- Detection work faces a unique contamination risk when dogs associate reward material with the target odor.
- Dogs can alert on the reward object itself rather than the trained scent, producing false positives.