Greening Your Pet Care

Darcy Matheson

Description

- 'Greening Your Pet Care' is a guide for safe and sustainable pet care, from nutrition to habitat to activities, to minimize your environmental footprint.
- This is the definitive guide for environmentally conscious pet owners.
- There are an estimated 80 million cats, 80 million dogs, 10 million birds and 8 million horses owned as pets in North America, along with millions of other pets.
- More than one-third of all households have a pet dog.
- This book is the latest in the Self-Counsel Press series of Green books that includes Greening Your Home, Greening Your Office, Greening Your Boat, Greening Your Community, and Greening Your Hospitality Business.
When you care about the environment, you care about the footprint --- and, for that matter, the pawprint.
You can minimize your pet's environmental impact: how it is fed, how it stays clean, and how it is housed. This book by journalist Darcy Matheson, a regular broadcaster and writer on animal care, examines the best practices to keep any pet environmentally friendly. She identifies pet care tips and ideas to reduce and deal with waste and to take care of your pet's well-being with the most sustainable approaches. This is a book for the modern owner that thinks not only of the joy of pets but their responsible care.
'Greening Your Pet Care' is a guide for safe and sustainable pet care, from nutrition to habitat to activities, to minimize your environmental footprint. It's the definitive guide for environmentally conscious pet owners.
Introduction ix
1 Ten Simple Steps to Going Green 1
1. Step 1: Avoid beef 1
2. Step 2: Reduce Your Transportation Footprint 2
3. Step 3: Don’t Let Your Pet Run Wild 3
4. Step 4: Remove Plastics and Chemicals 4
4.1 Use your nose to sniff out toxins 5
4.2 Plastic bags 5
4.3 Search for sustainable products 5
5. Step 5: Think before You Buy 6
6. Step 6: Recycle 7
7. Step 7: Shop Locally 8
8. Step 8: Buy Big 8
9. Step 9: Make Your Containers Count 9
10. Step 10: Get on the DIY Train 9
2 Adoption: A Lifetime Commitment 11
1. Adopt Don’t Shop 12
1.1 The horror of animal mills 12
2. Breed-Specific Rescues 14
3. How to Find a Responsible Breeder 14
4. Short-Term Love: Fostering 15
5. Microchipping and City Licenses 16
3 Greening Your Home 19
1. Household Cleaners That Are Toxic to Pets 19
1.1 Corrosive products: Drain and toilet bowl cleaners 20
1.2 Detergents and laundry pods 21
1.3 Floor cleaners 21
1.4 Bleach, dishwasher detergents, oven cleaners 21
1.5 Deodorizer sprays 21
2. Eco-Friendly Retail Cleaners 22
3. Go Green When You Clean: Make Your Own Cleaners 23
4. Green Your Plants 24
4.1 Pretty but deadly: Lilies 24
4.2 Decorative danger: Sago palm 24
4.3 The dangerous green: Marijuana 24
4.4 Most common dangerous plants and flowers 25
4.5 Pet-safe plants 25
5. Your Lawn and Garden 26
5.1 Insecticides 26
5.2 Snail and slug killers 26
5.3 Gopher and mole bait 27
5.4 Blood and bone meals 27
5.5 Compost piles 27
5.6 Naturally green lawn solutions 27
iv Greening Your Pet Care
6. Pet-Proof Your Home 28
6.1 Garage 28
6.2 Bathroom 29
7. How to Treat a Poisoned Pet 30
4 Greening Your Vet Care 31
1. Don’t Contribute to Pet Overpopulation 31
1.1 Health benefits of spaying and neutering 32
2. How to Find a Great Veterinarian 33
3. Alternative Medicine: Holistic Vet Care 34
4. Vaccinations 34
5. Hidden Dangers of Flea and Tick Medications 35
6. Preventative Medicine: Annual Checkups 36
7. How to Dispose of Unwanted Medications 37
8. Slim, Trim, and Happy: Avoiding Pet Obesity 38
9. Consider Pet Insurance 40
10. The Greenest Goodbye: Humane Euthanasia 40
5 Dogs 41
1. The Stinky Truth: Dog Poop 42
1.1 How to dispose of dog waste 43
2. Dog Food Dilemma 45
2.1 Decoding mysterious labels 47
2.2 Rendering: The ultimate recycling? 48
2.3 Raw diets 49
2.4 Becoming a natural dog chef 50
2.5 Veggie dogs? 51
3. Green and Clean: Eco-Friendly Grooming 52
3.1 Decoding grooming product labels 52
3.2 Retail grooming supplies 54
4. Flea, Tick, and Insect Control: The Natural Way 54
5. Dental Care 55
5.1 Antlers: An eco-friendly tooth cleaner 56
6. Playtime, Exercise, and Enrichment 56
6.1 Toy time 57
6 Cats 59
1. Health and Wellness 59
1.1 Avoiding the fat cat 60
1.2 Flea and tick control 60
1.3 Natural solution to hairballs 61
2. The Problem with Poop 61
2.1 Eco-friendly litter 61
2.2 How to dispose of kitty litter 62
3. Indoor versus Outdoor Cats 62
3.1 Safe outdoor time: Leash walking and catios 63
4. Natural Alternatives to Declawing 63
4.1 The four Rs of appropriate scratching 64
5. Playtime: The Cat’s Meow 64
6. Cat Food 65
6.1 Decoding labels 65
6.2 Ditch the beef and lamb 67
Contents v
6.3 Feeding to stay lean and trim 67
6.4 Age-appropriate food 68
6.5 Is raw food good for your kitty? 68
6.6 DIY pet chef 69
6.7 Can cats go vegetarian? 69
6.8 Garden of eating: A feline-friendly garden 69
7 Rabbits 71
1. Vet Care: Seek a Specialist 72
1.1 How to find a rabbit-friendly vet 72
1.2 Teeth that keep growing 72
2. Rabbit Food 73
2.1 Rabbit-approved veggies and fruits 74
2.2 Hop to it: Sourcing fruits and veggies 75
2.3 Farm-to-rabbit: Grow your own rabbit food 75
2.4 Become friends with a farmer 76
3. Compost Your Rabbit Poop 76
3.1 Litter box 101 77
4. Indoor Living Equals a Safe, Happy, and Long Life 77
5. DIY Rabbit Toys 78
8 Small Animals 81
1. Finding a Little Buddy 81
2. Vet Care for Small Animals 82
3. A Balanced Diet 82
3.1 Variety and veggies 83
3.2 Five ways to reduce food waste 83
3.3 Foraging: Natural health 84
4. Cage Bedding, Litter, and Cleaning 84
4.1 Cage cleaning 85
5. Composting Small Animal Poop 86
6. A Little Playtime 86
6.1 Branching out: Sourcing wood for chewing 87
9 Mini Pigs 89
1. Little Pigs, Big Problems: Will They Really Stay Small? 89
2. Zoning Considerations 90
3. Ethical adoption 91
4. Green Food Choices 91
4.1 Best veggies and fruit for piggies 92
4.2 Grazing and foraging 92
5. Waste Not: Pig Poop 93
5.1 Disposing pig poop 94
6. Bored Pig Equals Bad Pig 95
7. Specialized Vet Care 96
7.1 Spaying/neutering 97
10 Birds 99
1. Eco-Friendly Bird Adoption 100
2. Home Hazards and Environmental Toxins 101
2.1 Teflon and nonstick cookware 101
2.2 Aerosol sprays and air fresheners 102
vi Greening Your Pet Care
2.3 Ammonia and bleach 102
2.4 Smoke 102
2.5 Paint fumes 102
3. A Green Diet 103
4. Cage Care 104
4.1 Eco-friendly cage cleaning 104
5. Exercise and Enrichment 105
5.1 Safe-flight space 105
5.2 Easy and eco-friendly enrichment 106
6. Bird-friendly vets 107
11 Reptiles and Amphibians 109
1. Eco-Friendly Adoption 109
2. Veterinary Care 110
2.1 Seek a specialist 110
2.2 Zoonotic concerns 111
3. Enclosures 111
3.1 All-natural vivariums 112
3.2 Substrates and eco-friendly bedding 113
3.3 Go green when you clean 114
4. Heating and Lighting for Enclosures 114
4.1 Timers and thermostats 115
4.2 Lighting 115
4.3 Heating 116
5. Feeding 117
12 Fish 119
1. Choosing Your Fish 119
1.1 Wild versus farmed 119
1.2 Saltwater versus freshwater 120
1.3 Ethical and local sourcing 120
2. Environmentally Responsible Coral 121
3. Tanks 122
3.1 Size 122
3.2 Lighting 122
3.3 Heaters and chillers 123
3.4 Water filters and air pumps 123
3.5 Tank cleaning and water changes 124
4. Benefits of Live Plants 125
4.1 Battling algae naturally 126
5. The Green Good-bye 126
Permissions 129
Download Kit 131
Checklists
1 Should I Buy It? 7
2 Should I Adopt a Pet? 13

Sujets

• Reference
• PETS
• Sustainable living
• Self-help

Informations

• Publié par: Self-Counsel Press
• Date de parution: 30 avril 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781770404663
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Greening Your Pet Care
Reduce Your Animal’s Environmental Paw Print
Darcy Matheson
Self-Counsel Press (a division of) International Self-Counsel Press Ltd. USA Canada

Copyright © 2016

International Self-Counsel Press All rights reserved.
Contents

Cover

Title Page

Introduction

Chapter 1: Ten Simple Steps to Going Green

1. Step 1: Avoid Beef

2. Step 2: Reduce Your Transportation Footprint

3. Step 3: Don’t Let Your Pet Run Wild

4. Step 4: Remove Plastics and Chemicals

5. Step 5: Think before You Buy

Checklist 1: Should I Buy It?

6. Step 6: Recycle

7. Step 7: Shop Locally

8. Step 8: Buy Big

9. Step 9: Make Your Containers Count

10. Step 10: Get on the DIY Train

Chapter 2: Adoption: A Lifetime Commitment

Checklist 2: Should I Adopt a Pet?

1. Adopt Don’t Shop

2. Breed-Specific Rescues

3. How to Find a Responsible Breeder

4. Short-Term Love: Fostering

5. Microchipping and City Licenses

Chapter 3: Greening Your Home

1. Household Cleaners That Are Toxic to Pets

2. Eco-Friendly Retail Cleaners

3. Go Green When You Clean: Make Your Own Cleaners

4. Green Your Plants

5. Your Lawn and Garden

6. Pet-Proof Your Home

7. How to Treat a Poisoned Pet

Chapter 4: Greening Your Vet Care

1. Don’t Contribute to Pet Overpopulation

2. How to Find a Great Veterinarian

3. Alternative Medicine: Holistic Vet Care

4. Vaccinations

5. Hidden Dangers of Flea and Tick Medications

6. Preventative Medicine: Annual Checkups

7. How to Dispose of Unwanted Medications

8. Slim, Trim, and Happy: Avoiding Pet Obesity

9. Consider Pet Insurance

10. The Greenest Goodbye: Humane Euthanasia

Chapter 5: Dogs

1. The Stinky Truth: Dog Poop

2. Dog Food Dilemma

3. Green and Clean: Eco-Friendly Grooming

4. Flea, Tick, and Insect Control: The Natural Way

5. Dental Care

6. Playtime, Exercise, and Enrichment

Chapter 6: Cats

1. Health and Wellness

2. The Problem with Poop

3. Indoor versus Outdoor Cats

4. Natural Alternatives to Declawing

5. Playtime: The Cat’s Meow

6. Cat Food

Chapter 7: Rabbits

1. Vet Care: Seek a Specialist

2. Rabbit Food

3. Compost Your Rabbit Poop

4. Indoor Living Equals a Safe, Happy, and Long Life

5. DIY Rabbit Toys

Chapter 8: Small Animals

1. Finding a Little Buddy

2. Vet Care for Small Animals

3. A Balanced Diet

4. Cage Bedding, Litter, and Cleaning

5. Composting Small Animal Poop

6. A Little Playtime

Chapter 9: Mini Pigs

1. Little Pigs, Big Problems: Will They Really Stay Small?

2. Zoning Considerations

3. Ethical Adoption

4. Green Food Choices

5. Waste Not: Pig Poop

6. Bored Pig Equals Bad Pig

7. Specialized Vet Care

Chapter 10: Birds

1. Eco-Friendly Bird Adoption

2. Home Hazards and Environmental Toxins

3. A Green Diet

4. Cage Care

5. Exercise and Enrichment

6. Bird-friendly Vets

Chapter 11: Reptiles and Amphibians

1. Eco-Friendly Adoption

2. Veterinary Care

3. Enclosures

4. Heating and Lighting for Enclosures

5. Feeding

Chapter 12: Fish

1. Choosing Your Fish

2. Environmentally Responsible Coral

3. Tanks

4. Benefits of Live Plants

5. The Green Good-bye

Permissions

Download Kit

About the Author

Dedication

Notice to Readers

Self-Counsel Press thanks you for purchasing this ebook.
Introduction

Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill.
— Stephen Hawking
They’re small, they’re adorable, but few of us realize the enormous impact our companion animals have on the environment.
In their 2009 guide to sustainable living, authors Brenda and Robert Vale found that a medium-sized dog has a carbon footprint of 2.1 acres, roughly twice the 1 acre for a gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle driven 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles) a year. [1] It’s not just dogs that are contributing to pollution. The couple found that cats occupy the same footprint as a small Volkswagen, while two hamsters equal the same emissions as a plasma-screen television.
By their very nature, many family pets are carnivores, and it’s that meat-eating diet that contributes to their substantial carbon footprint. Producing the grain and meat for pet food consumes a vast amount of resources — specifically land, energy, and water. That meat production belches harmful greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere in staggering amounts. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates livestock production is responsible for 18 percent of all CO 2 emissions worldwide. [2]
Putting that into perspective, my 15-pound terriers each eat one cup of meat-based kibble every day. That’s 730 pounds of pet food required for two small dogs in only one year. Using the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ (ASPCA) pet population statistics that means 29.2-billion pounds of food is produced for dogs in America in a single year. Consider that the average dog lives for 12 years.
Beyond their meaty diets, there are other factors bumping up that carbon “paw print.” Animal waste and the plastic bags used to throw it away contribute to millions of tonnes of waste in municipal landfills each year, and pollute rivers and streams used for human drinking water. In my hometown alone, an estimated 97,000 tonnes of dog waste is disposed of in Metro Vancouver regional parks each year.
There’s also all the bedding, clothes, toys, and supplies we lavish on our pets. Spending for pet products reached an all-time high of $60.5-billion in the US in 2015. [3] We’re shelling out big bucks for many products that are plastic, bad for the planet, and not necessary to enhance and enrich the life and well-being of our pets.
The carbon footprint of our family pets is poised to grow exponentially in coming years. The number of household pets has more than doubled in the US since the 1970s, says the Humane Society, and tens of millions of North Americans now share their homes — and lives — with animals. [4] Fifty-seven-percent of Canadian households [5] and 65 percent of American households are now pet guardians. [6]
It’s estimated there are up to 86 million dogs and 103 million cats owned in North America, and millions of rabbits, reptiles, snakes, turtles, hamsters, guinea pigs, and other small animals. More than 105-million fresh and saltwater fish are kept in home aquariums. [7]
Unlike previous generations where dogs were relegated to the backyard, it’s now much more likely to see the family Fido in its master’s bed than in a wooden doghouse. The vast majority of pet owners surveyed in 2014 (86 percent of dog owners and 89 percent of cat owners) said they considered their pets to be a part of their family. [8]
There are good reasons they are called companion animals. Pets provide friendship, lower our stress levels, act as emotional support, and have huge positive effects on our mental well-being, fitness, and happiness. So while we as human beings strive to make positive eco-friendly choices in our daily lives to reduce our own carbon footprint, it makes perfect sense that we extend those efforts to our family’s smallest members.
This book will give you tips and strategies to become an eco-conscious pet owner, from the food and treats you buy to veterinarian care and the products you use in your home and garden. Each chapter provides simple everyday hints and actions that will lower your pets’ carbon footprint for the sake of their health and well-being — and the future of our planet.


1. Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living , Brenda and Robert Vale.
2. “Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options,” Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, accessed January 2016. ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/a0701e00.pdf
3. “Pet Industry Spending at All-time High,” The American Pet Products Association (APPA), accessed January 2016. media.americanpetproducts.org/press.php?include=145554
4. “Animal Sheltering Trends in the US,” The Humane Society of the United States, accessed January 2016. humanesociety.org/animal_community/resources/timelines/animal_sheltering_trends.html
5. “Consumer Corner: Canadian Pet Market Outlook, 2014,” Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, accessed January 2016. www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/sis14914