You take your dog out in a routine walk, but a few moments later the dog eats an airsoft pellet (BB) and you start to fear whether it may hurt him or will he digest it?
We all know that dogs like to sniff and eat random things they find on the floor and in this case I do understand your concern because I would also have suspicions.
Also check whether the dog actually ate the BB or it just seemed so, I do not think that dogs like to eat plastics but in case that you are sure that the dog did indeed eat one, I will try to explain this as much as I am capable of.
Airsoft pellets do not seem to be dangerous unless you get hit from a gun at high velocity and at the right spot, they are neither something that will seriously hurt you if you eat it, so in short words we could conclude the following.
There is a lack of scientific research that would mark airsoft BBs as dangerous for dogs and I believe that they are mostly safe for dogs and the worst thing that may happen is a digestive blockage.
Now, some people may disagree with me and say that there are no concerns regarding a dog eating the airsoft BBs and that even digestion issues may not occur, however everything may lead to complications in certain cases and judging on a lesser evil, we could conclude that the biodegradable pellets are a lesser concern.
Therefore, I like to take the safe approach and based on the experience and stories that I have heard, I will try to determine what is the best possible solution and the safest way in a given scenario.
I will explain what are the BBs made of and how theoretically they could hurt or cause problems to your dog and what should you do in case that you notice any concerning symptom.
The composition of regular plastic airsoft BBs
These BBs are the most common type of BBs that can be found in airsoft and they are made of plastics also know as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. This kind of plastic is used in manufacturing of electronic, housing, auto and other consumer products.
In terms of a danger that may be caused if a living being consumes such BBs, I can conclude the following. On the scientific data of understanding the properties of plastics there are known threats such as the leach of chemicals that may be hazardous to the health by disruption of hormones. Another fact about digested plastics is that it may cause certain digestion issues, such as blockages.
These threats are spotted and tested on humans, but we could say that dogs are less sensitive and can digest far more of the stuff that would otherwise cause us serious issues.
The chemicals that the plastic may release into the body and disrupt the hormones only occurs and gets to the serious proportions in a case that bigger amounts of plastics were digested.
Therefore, I believe that it is safe to say that if your dog eats plastic BBs, the worst possible condition could be a blockage, but even a blockage is very unlikely unless the dog has eaten over 30 BBs.
The composition of Biodegradable BBs
Bio BBs are the future of airsoft and a big thing for environment. They are made out of polylactic acid (PLA), also known as polylactide. This polylactide is known for being highly degradable in water and is made from renewable resources such as corn starch, sugarcane or tapioca roots.
As it can be seen this material can be often found in food, supplementation and medical industries and is known for its natural biodegradability properties within the body.
Therefore, if your dog has eaten one of these bio BBs, there are no concerns that anything terrible could happen and you can relax, I mean after all even humans have eaten this and did not show a single sign of poisoning ,digestion problems or anything similar to it at all.
We could also say that dogs got better stomachs then us and even if they had not it still would not hurt them, so any concern stops right here.
The conclusion
Have I heard of any stories of people complaining about their dogs getting in troubles after eating airsoft BBs? I have not, but I have heard people asking this question many times.
We all want to protect our pets, so any information to the owner may be a relief they just needed to hear. After all, I am not a doctor nor a veterinarian, so if you want to be sure about this question you can call the local one and ask for more information if your concerns persist.
Only animals that could get hurt in my opinion are chicken, birds, mice, squirrels and similar small creatures and that only in case that they have eaten the plastic non-biodegradable ones.