Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast

Episode 90

Carbon Paw Prints: Tips for Sustainable Pet Ownership Part Two

Welcome back folks to the second episode on sustainable pet ownership. In part one I tried to get you prepared for the fact that the dogs and cats that we keep as pets do in many ways have a significant environmental impact. Mostly I talked about  food and poop, what goes in one end and what comes out the other end.  

Now in this episode I am going to cover several other topics that will help you to be a more sustainable pet owner. And lastly I am going to talk about a couple of very important sustainable practices with pet ownership that most people never even think about. And finally I am going to round out this episode with a discussion on how we can change. 

So stick around for more tips on sustainable pet ownership.  

Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E90 which is called 

Carbon Paw Prints: Tips on Sustainable Pet Ownership Part Two.

So if you remember from episode one of this series, we talked about the importance of diet and proper pet waste disposal from the aspects of sustainability.  I discussed that first because typically those are the first two aspects of pet ownership that we are confronted with when acquiring a new pet. What most people do not realize is that just feeding our pets adds 64 million tons of carbon dioxide to the climate each year, which is the equivalent of almost 14 million cars. 

In this episode I am going to expand that thought process to  several other aspects of pet ownership, more specifically how we manage their lives, at least beyond feeding them. In particular I am going to talk a bit about environmentally friendly pet toys and accessories, how to best control fleas, ticks, and other parasites and the environmental value of regular grooming. Beyond that I am going to discuss the value of natural cleaners for unexpected messes, why spaying and neutering is environmentally friendly, and lastly I want to mention adopting rescue animals. Then in the end I am going give you some tips on how we can all change.

Environmentally Friendly Pet Toys

Most of us who own a dog or cat love to buy them things such as toys. This provides some environmental stimulation, keeps them busy, entertained, and hopefully prevents them from being destructive.

The challenge for most pets owners is that the majority of pet toys and accessories are made of synthetic materials, especially plastic. So once again we are confronted with the plastic problem.  And of course as of this writing I look around my own home and can easily point out plastic items that I have purchased for the dogs, that mostly being the big Kong toys that are virtually indestructible. But as with other things made of plastic, once these are in the landfill they are harmful to the environment or they simply never degrade. 

As with many things these days, our choices drive the market place. More and more people are becoming environmentally conscious even when it comes to purchasing things for their pets.  Consequently, companies that produce pet products are looking for new ways to support environmental sustainability by using up-cycled, recycled and natural materials in their products. 

And just to give you a few examples of what is out there: 

-Planet Dog makes a chew toy that is made from chemical free, eco-friendly material tough enough to withstand some heavy chewing. 

-West Paw, which is a company based in Montana, markets their Heyday Bed which is filled with IntelliLoft, which is an proprietary eco-fiber made from nontoxic recycled plastics. The manufacturing process diverts somewhere between 28 and 72 plastic bottles per dog bed from going to the landfill. 

-The Beco Company has a tug toy for dogs made from rice husk ash and recycled cotton. This company actually won an award from the Ethical Company Organization.

-There is a cat ripple rug, which is a play mat, is made from recycled materials. 

-And I found many other items such as leashes, collars, coats, snacks, cat litter, squeaky toys, etc.  

The point here is that there are now numerous companies, both big and small, that provide a wide range of pet accessories and are made of numerous environmentally friendly materials, all because our choices influence the market place. At this point the pet market is in a place where there are plenty of alternatives. So when it comes to proper choices for your pet, be responsible and be sustainable. 

One other thing to consider when making purchases for your pets. Refrain from over buying. We are surrounded by so much marketing and advertising it is so easy to purchase things that we truly do not need. So, just purchase responsibly. 

Pest Control

The next topic I want to cover is proper pest control, things such as fleas, ticks, and internal parasites. Now I am going to apologize up front here because this is where I am going to sound a little bit like a sales person. But it is only because I have seen so many disasters in the emergency room from people using over the counter products (OTC) in order to save money. 

First of all, you have to understand that our pets are exposed to numerous parasites every day. This is especially true if you live in a warmer, more humid climate. Some of these parasites are transmissible to humans and can cause some fairly devastating diseases including liver failure, kidney failure, debilitating arthritis, and even blindness. 

In the course of my career as a veterinarian I have seen very few problems with prescription products that are used for parasite control. These products are often tested for toxicity at 10 times the effective dose and go through long clinic trials. On the other hand I have seen numerous problems with OTC products. 

Now I am not going to stand on my soap box and attempt to sell you one product or another. That is not my purpose here. All I am saying is purchase a product that is developed and sponsored by a company that focuses on the research, development, and proper production of anti-parasitic products for your cat or dog.  These products are typically safer, more effective and require a much smaller dose than the average OTC product.  

Now that’s not to say that there aren’t problems with veterinary sponsored products because I have seen it. However, in my experience those instances are rare relative to the number of problems I have seen with OTC products. Plus you are typically using a smaller dose and using something that does not contaminant the environment.  

Regular Grooming

And still on the subject or parasite control, one of the best natural preventative measures you can take is grooming and bathing you pet regularly. This goes a long way toward preventing flea and tick infestations and may in fact reduce your need for commercial prevention products. And don’t forget to wash their bedding regularly as well. 

When it comes to bathing, there are plenty of natural, non-toxic products on the market designed specifically for dogs and cats. If you are even more creative, you can make your own doggie shampoo.  We started making our own soaps and shampoos a couple of years ago and then extended that to our dogs by making soap specifically for them. 

Natural Alternatives

I did come across an interesting article on natural flea and tick prevention. The prevention consists of using vinegar and/or various essential oils as additives to your normal dog shampoo. Things such as Lavender, Lemon grass, peppermint, and rosemary essential oils can be added to your normal shampoo. These apparently work well as a natural deterrent to fleas and ticks. Although I am going to have to admit I have never tried any of them.  But, I do have a link to the article which is sponsored by the AKC, which is the American Kennel Club. Additionally, I have some links to other commercial products as well. I do not have affiliation with any of these products so please do you due diligence.  

Other things that do a long way toward prevention of fleas and ticks is simply keeping your yard clean, trimmed, and free of debris that provides a nice warm, moist environment for fleas and ticks. All of these little tricks may at least help reduce the amount of commercial products used on your pets. But, if you live in a warm and humid climate where parasites thrive it may in fact take a combinations of efforts.  

Use All Natural Cleaners

Now let’s get down to actually cleaning up after your pets, which is truly not that much different from cleaning up after yourself. Just remember that as consumers we are often convinced that we need all of these different products in our homes that are just not necessary. The reality is that all of our basic cleaning and hygienic needs can be taken care of with only a few basic, natural, biodegradable, environmental friendly products. 

If you have a dog or a cat, you cannot prevent them from making a mess sometimes, having an accident in the house, or even getting sick and vomiting. Sooner or later you are going to have to clean up a mess. When that time comes, use a natural product instead of something that contains harsh chemicals that gets washed down the drain and into our water supply. Very effective products can often be made from water, vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice and essentials oils. If you take a few minutes and do a simple internet search I can almost guarantee you to find some simple recipes. 

Now this is an area in which I have a lot of experience.  We have almost completely eliminated commercial cleaning products from our home. All of our home made products work quite well. The only reason we presently have commercial cleaning products is that we are slowly using up the ones we had already purchased. 

So, check out the reference section for this episode and you will see a couple of links to homemade cleaning products.  

Spay and Neuter

Now, we so far covered some very important, and maybe some very obvious topics when it comes to being a sustainable pet owner.  But there are a couple of more things I want to mention that most people may not even think about.  

Unless you work directly in the veterinary profession, you may not be familiar with the magnitude of pet over population. No where is this so evident as it is in developing countries where hundreds and even thousand of dogs and cats roam the streets and are often under fed and even starving.  But even in the United States, as of the date of this writing, according to the ASPCA, which is the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, there are approximately 6.5 million unwanted animals that go into shelters every year. Roughly 50% or more of those animals are euthanized. 

One of the most environmentally friendly, sustainable things you can do is spay and neuter your pets and prevent unintentional breeding and unwanted litters. I say a client just the other day that brought in her dog and she admitted that she finally decided to have her dog spayed after she produced 30 puppies.  In my opinion, what a waste of resources when there are so many unwanted dogs and cats in shelters.  

But besides the aspect of sustainability, spaying and neutering helps with a whole list of potential health problems and study and after study has shown that spayed and neutered animals live longer.  So, do yourself, your dog and cat, as well as the environment a huge favor and simply spay and neuter your pets. And this brings me to my next point. 

Rescue and Adopt

There has only been one time in my life that I purchased a dog from a breeder. I lived in the mountains and spent a considerable amount of time outdoors. Consequently  I wanted a northern breed because they were very hardy.  But that was when I was 20 years old and did not know any better.  

What I can tell you from the prospective of being a veterinarian, study after study has clearly shown that mixed breed dogs have fewer health problems and live longer. So, instead of purchasing a dog from a breeder, go to a shelter or a rescue organization where so many nice friendly dogs and cats need homes. The two dogs that we have now were both rescues and former street dogs. One was from a Caribbean island and the other was caught by an animal control officer after she had been hit by a car. A couple of surgeries later and she was good to go. They have both turned out to be fantastic dogs. Additionally, we have one cat and just showed up as a stray. 

Rescues and shelters are one of the best places to find kind and lovable cats and dogs. By adopting you are helping with animal over population and preventing yet another animal from being senselessly euthanized.

Summary

So far in these two episodes about sustainable pet ownership, we have covered a number of topics: 

-Proper diet and proper feeding are important because we are essentially feeding carnivores. These animals need a high value protein source which typically means a meat based diet. Just as with humans, how those ingredients are produced, harvested and processed has an impact on the environment. 

-Avoid over feeding your pets because this is wasteful and produces even further unnecessary strain on the environment. 

-Proper disposal of their poop is important because canine fecal material is high is nitrogen and phosphorus. The average dog produces 247 pounds, or about 112 kilograms of poop every year. If you have cats, then avoid using clay litter.

-I have offered numerous examples of alternative pet toys and bedding that are made from recycled, up cycled, or natural materials

-Then I discussed proper pest and parasite control and the use of natural alternative. And of course the use of natural cleaners

-Then I rounded this off with a discussion of the important of spaying and neutering as well as adopting shelter animals.  

But now that we’ve discussed all of that, I want to finish up by answering the question of how can we change. 

How Can We Change?

I know this is a lot of information. Most people that I speak with are still just on the verge of developing a sustainable lifestyle for themselves and have not even considered such a thing for their pets.  

In the end the question for our pets is the same as it is for us.

How can we change?

Underneath it all, one of the key concepts with sustainability is to accept the fact that everything we do has an impact. That includes all that we do with our pets. The key to sustainability with our pets is the same as it is for humans. 

By far one of the best things you can do is to be a responsible consumer. That means being aware of the environmental impact of the decisions we make. As you may well know by now our consumer decisions drive the market place and as such our decisions have the ability to drive change in the manufacturing of pet foods and products. 

The bottom line is that we have to feed our pets a balanced diet in order to maintain good health. That means they must be fed a balanced source of protein. Presently, that means some sort of meat product. On one hand meat production is known to be one of the greatest drivers of environmental changes. 

On the other hand one of the challenges in the pet food industry is that instead of using meat by products for pet foods, the market is being flooded with deluxe meat based foods that could go into the human supply chain instead. If we are going to produce meat, there are going to be meat by products which humans are not going to want to eat anyway. So why not use that resource to feed our pets. 

People are going to eat meat and that will not change any time soon. If we are going to produce meat then we need to use it wisely. Consequently, when it comes to purchasing pet foods avoid the high end products that use choice meat. Instead choose a quality product from a company that produces things sustainably and is environmentally responsible.

Another environmentally friendly alternative would be to purchase foods and treats that have an insect based protein. Dogs and humans have been eating insects for thousands of years. And this source of protein is far more environmentally friendly relative to standard meat production. For example, 1 gallon of water is required to produce 1 pound of cricket protein. But 2,900 gallons of water is required to produce 1 pound of beef protein. 

In my opinion this is a potential resource that we cannot afford to ignore. But I do think that the folks in Europe are much more likely to accept this than the average American. That said, I actually have a supply of freeze dried crickets at home which I consume on a regular basis.  They are actually pretty darn good. Now if you want to know a bit more about this, then go back and listen to E50 where I devoted the entire episode to edible insects. 

Furthermore, as consumers it is now possible to source biodegradable pet toys and products. These types of products can now be easily found  and I have included some links to several companies. So check it out. 

Being responsible and making the choice to spay and neuter your pets reduces pet over population which puts a further strain on the environment. Adopting from rescue organizations and shelters reduces the number of unwanted pets that are euthanized every year. According to the ASPCA nearly 6.5 million animals go into shelters every year. Animal shelter statistics from 2022 reveals that nearly 3 million of those were euthanized. From the perspective of a veterinarian, this is the result of irresponsible human behavior. 

Owning a pet is truly a privilege not a right. Our pets are a huge portion of our lives. It is our responsibility to properly care for them. But it is also our responsibility to reduce their carbon paw prints as we also attempt to do that for ourselves.

We truly live in a world of dwindling resources in the face of growing human and pet populations. Not only that we are truly in a crisis of our own making which is the result of decades of ignoring the environment. Numerous factors including mounting concerns over food scarcity, food waste, environmental degradation, climate change and over population is creating escalating dilemmas and problems that we are going to have to deal with well into the future. 

At this point there may not be any easy solutions. What is more important is that we all do our part. I truly acknowledge the fact that we live in exceptional times. It is easy to get stressed. It is easy to criticize someone for their lack of effort at being sustainable when you feel as if you have gone to extreme measures to do all you can. 

Instead of being critical, be kind. Encourage people in their efforts and continue to show people that a good life and lifestyle is not only attainable but is also sustainable. Remember that we don’t need a small group of people who are perfect at zero waste. What we need is millions of people doing it imperfectly. Because what that means is people are trying and that means something.  And it is far better to do something meaningful than to do nothing at all. 

In my opinion, a big part of being sustainable is a matter of changing your perspective.  Knowledge is one of those things that can change our perspective. For example, it never occurred to me that purchasing clay cat litter was detrimental to the environment. Now that I know that, I have a different perspective and will change my behavior accordingly. I truly hope that the last two episodes have given you a different perspective about the dogs and cats that are a part of our families. So, in your quest to go green, don’t forget about them. 

And please take the time to download the transcript of this episode because I have numerous links too helpful references that will get you started in the right direction. 

In closing I truly hope you have enjoyed this episode. And if you have then please take the time to leave me with a review and subscribe to the Adventures in Sustainable Living podcast as well as my companion blog Off Grid Living News.

Alright, that is all until next week. Please join me again next week for another informative episode. Until then, this is your host Patrick signing off. Always remember to live sustainably because this is how we build a better future.  

Patrick

Resources

Natural Flea and Tick Prevention for Dogs

20 Best Flea and Tick Prevention Products in 2022

8 Home Made Cleaners That Actually Work

How to Make Homemade Cleaners With Simple Ingredients

Environmentally Friendly Pet Toys

Sustainable Pet Products

West Paw

The Environmental Impact of Dogs