Dogs - how green are they?

There are over 13 million dogs in the UK, living in 36% of our population’s households. They give us a lot of happiness and we give them a lot of ‘things’ many of which are made of plastic or come in plastic packaging. Your pet relies on you to make all their choices for them. So any impact made on the environment through pet ownership is down to us humans. From feeding, entertaining them and cleaning up after them – your pet can end up fetching you mountains of unwanted plastic waste. Too much of this stuff doesn't get recycled and hangs around in the environment, posing a threat to wildlife.

We feed many of our pets lots of meat based products and processed foods, which are often transported from afar, increasing the pet’s carbon footprint without them knowing it. Fewer than 1 in 20,000 wet food pouches are recycled– making them more of a burden than single-use coffee cups!

In trying to keep our pets healthy, we apply pesticides to them which can wipe out millions of pollinators. Some of the tick and flea treatments contain insecticides banned in farming, but they still find their way into our pet products. We then release our lovely cats and hounds into the countryside armed with a fatal weapon to wipe out bees, bugs and vital aquatic life.

That’s the bad news, the good news is we can all do something about it and continue to love, spoil and enjoy our pets whilst being environmentally aware and responsible.

Our tiresome (yes it’s a pun), environmentalists BEA (Buriton Environmental Association) would like to tell you a bit about owning a green dog. You might not have the time and resources to be super green but any little bit you can do will help. I am sure many of you will already have some good ideas too and we would love to hear about them. In the meantime, here are the ones that BEA recommends. 

BEA’S GREEN DOG TIPS

Adopt rather than buy

A dog which comes from a rescue centre is carefully chosen to fit in with a prospective new owner’s life and surroundings. Adopting means that you’re lowering demand for breeding new pets. Fewer pets mean using fewer resources like food, toys and shelter. And that means less plastic waste. You usually find that rescue centres offer lots of advice and support for pet owners which can really help your new family member settle in. 

Avoid plastic food pouches and try a greener diet

Consider how your pet food it packaged. Buying paper-wrapped dried food in bulk helps avoiding plastic waste. Some brands use recyclable aluminium trays and tins instead of pouches for its wet food supplies. 

Investigate alternatives to meat based products and try to shop local. Have a look at YORA, insect based food – tried and tested by many a pet, see www.yorapets.com for more details.

The supply chain is never simple, but just a little bit of investigation might help you to source something very satisfying for your pet, made close by. Buying locally helps reduce the travel carbon footprint.

Very close to home is home, so what about making some of your own pet food – with guidance from the experts and, of course, avoiding anything that should not be in your pet’s diet. You could also reduce your own food waste by using leftovers which are healthy for your pet to consume too. Make a start by looking at the RSPCA website for a healthy dog treat you can bake at home. Always consult your vet before making any drastic dietary changes.

No need to rush out and buy new pet feeding bowls, charity shops often stock hand me down items, or you may well already have your own unused suitable bowl at the back of a cupboard. If you really are desperate to buy new then why not treat your pet to a bamboo or rice husk bowl.   

Buy eco-friendly pet toys

Some pets have more toys than children (and some of those toys may well have been stolen from children). There are lots of things available for pets in charity shops. Some are especially made for dogs and just need a new home, others might be children’s toys, so check that they are safe for your pet with no dangerous stuffing or glass eyes.

If you are buying new, look out for toys made from hemp, bamboo and wood from sustainably managed forests. Hemp and bamboo are often labelled as environmentally friendly. In comparison, cotton toys require large amounts of water, pesticides and cheap labour. You can find stuff like hemp dog bones, canvas squeaky toys and sisal-wrapped scratching, a natural plant fibre like hemp.

Don’t walk on the wildlife

Let your best friend lead you down the right path, literally, with an environmentally friendly hemp collar  and dog lead.  Hemp is strong, washable and antimicrobial. It's the eco warrior of the plant world - great for the soil, naturally resistant to most pests and less water-needy than other crops. Or again, try the charity shops. In particular, RSPCA and Dogs Trust usually have good quality second hand leads, collars and harnesses.

When out and about in the countryside abide by the ‘take the lead’ rule. Don’t let your pet upset the local wildlife. Particularly, where there are ground nesting birds, keep your pet on a short lead and closely supervised – or leave your pooch to snooze at home if you are visiting a sensitive site. When they are off the lead, in suitable areas, keep them under control. Remember your pet may well have been treated with tick and flea treatment that is very harmful to pollinators. If you treat your pet with spray or spot on applications, keep in mind that the active ingredient has a long-time residual which can last up to 90 days! Some of this can be particularly damaging to the wildlife in ponds and rivers.

If your pooch has had a wildlife friendly swim, or rolled in the mud (or something worse), they may well need a freshen up. Hosing down is usually sufficient but stubborn whiffs can be dealt with using organic pet shampoo. Or even better a plastic free organic pet soap bar.

Pooping the Green way - Compostable poop bags – good or bad? - let's clean up this mess right now!

Brits are crazier about dogs than any other pet. There are over 13 million pet dogs in the UK. They produce 1,000 tonnes of poo a day. That means a mountain of plastic poop bags. So should you buy compostable ones? The easy answer is yes, but …..   

If you dispose of them in the correct way (ie compost them), they're more environmentally friendly than standard plastic ones (the compostable bags are made from plant starch instead of climate-changing petroleum). But compostable bags need oxygen and light to break down. Unfortunately, the vast majority of poop bags end up in landfill where there is no light and very little oxygen. Basically they'll mummify and stick around for absolutely ages.

There isn't a perfect solution right now. As well as smelling bad, dog faeces can contain nasty parasites and possibly insecticides from digested tick and flea treatment. This led to warnings against both composting it and flushing pet poop down the toilet.

Don't lose hope – biodegradable or compostable, has got to be better than standard plastic. The most important thing though is, pick the poop up and take it home or put it in an appropriate bin whilst out. That takes very little effort and has a massive positive impact.

Let your pet sleep in a dreamy green environment

Recycling old plastic bottles into fleeces and pet supplies has got to be eco, right? Not so. People doing sciency things have discovered extremely small pieces of plastic in our oceans. Apparently, these bits have come from, you guessed it, products made from recycled plastic. Meaning this stuff is finding its way into the ocean anyway. Worse still, it draws in toxins like a sponge – which marine animals then ingest.

So why waste your money on those items, which are liable to come wrapped in plastic too? Why not be green and original and try something like an old suitcase and duvet topped with a second hand throw for your green dog’s bed? There will be plenty more creative ways to make sure that Fido or Felix get a good night's sleep minus the plastic and manufacturing pollution. Create one yourself and send us a picture of your comfy green pup having a snooze.

If you’re short on materials to use, again, we have the jolly old charity shops to fall back on. Loads of lovely sheets, throws and blankets, available to pile on your old duvet or pillows. Your green dog will love to mess them all up and snuggle down knowing we are all being kind to the planet!

THANK YOU TO FRIENDS OF THE EARTH FROM WHOM WE HAVE PINCHED LOTS OF THIS ADVICE.  ALONG WITH ANY LOVELY GREEN DOG PHOTOS YOU MIGHT HAVE TO SHARE, PLEASE ALSO PASS ON YOUR OWN GREEN PET TIPS BY EMAILING US AT buritonbea@gmail.com