5 Unique Ways to Help Your Pet Go Green on Earth Day

Before we get started on today’s episode, we wanted to share something with you. We live in Alaska, and we see climate change happening on a rapid scale. Our winters are getting shorter, we get more rain in the fall and honestly if we don’t do something quick it may be too late. Here at Dog Works Training Company we do what we can to help, and starting in 2022, we decided that a portion of our proceeds are going to help climate change initiatives and coming later this year we are going to launch a full campaign with the help our friend, Jeremy T. Grant who will be travelling up here from Maine, to record some awesome footage that we will use to share our story.

Pets bring a lot of positive benefits into our lives. Studies show that they help keep us happy, reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and they can help us stay fit. However, pets have a surprisingly negative impact on the earth.

The impact a person or thing has on the earth is called a carbon footprint – the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels by a particular person, group, thing, etc. In the case of pets, this includes the carbon emitted by the creation of the products they use, the transportation of those products from where they are made to your home, the resources needed to grow the meat and vegetables their food is made of, and their waste. When this impact is made by a pet, it’s commonly called a “carbon pawprint.”

A study by New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington concluded that pet dogs have carbon pawprints double that of a typical SUV. Cats are better than dogs, but they still leave a carbon pawprint equal to that of driving a compact car for a solid year. According to the American Pet Products Association, it’s estimated that 70-80 million dogs and 74-96 million cats are owned in the United States alone.  Together, they have a significant impact on our environment.

So what can you do to lessen the impact of your dog on the earth? You’ve probably heard all of the standard things you can do to help your dog go green like picking up your dog’s poop, using natural, biodegradable poop bags, and using environmentally friendly cleaners. 

Here are 5 simple, unique things you might not have heard of though:

  1. Buy a digital ID tag for your pet – Instead of throwing out your pet’s tag and getting a new one every time you move or get a new phone number, get one that you can use over and over again. A digital ID tag, like one from Amazon, links to an online profile you can update every time your contact information changes.
  2. Don’t overfeed your pet – The production of meat, and beef in particular, takes a large toll on the environment because of the resources it takes to produce that meat. In addition to potentially making your dog fat and hurting their health, feeding your dog more than they need (check the package for feeding recommendations) uses more “protein-producing resources” than are needed. As a bonus, feeding your pet less means they will produce less waste so you’ll be picking up the back yard less too!
  3. Consume less things – Don’t buy your dog things they don’t need and choose products with less packaging. Ask yourself if they really need that extra collar or that fifth costume. Choose to order online from companies that use less shipping materials or use recycled packing materials.
  4. Recycle – Donate gently used dog supplies like toys, bowls, blankets, coats, etc. to a shelter or rescue to reduce the need for new materials and help keep stuff out of landfills. Also, be sure to recycle the packaging of what you do buy and choose products that are made with recycled materials when you can.

 

  1. Shop locally made – Buying what your dog needs from a local pet store reduces shipping and transportation over ordering stuff to be delivered directly to your door. However, a lot of products on store shelves still may have had a long journey to get there. You can further reduce the need for transporting these items by buying dog food, treats, toys, beds, etc. at local farmers markets or from a local company.

There are a lot of ways to help your dogs have less of an impact on the environment. The choices can be overwhelming and not every option is practical for your lifestyle though. Remember, it’s not about doing everything right, it’s about doing one or two simple things right. If everyone made even one small change, together it could have a big impact.

So what do you guys think? Do you have any other tips and tricks to help your dog go green? Let us know in the comments below or on our social channels, just search dog works radio.

I am Michele Forto for Dog Works Radio and First Paw Media, see you next time!

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