Eco Dog
What is a Green Dog?
By Leslie May and Johann, the dog, of RaiseAGreenDog.com
With over 75 million dogs in households throughout the United States, you can bet dogs are leaving a pawprint on the environment. And as our dogs live in an increasingly contaminated and dangerous human environment, we all want to know how to keep them as safe as can be, to live the healthiest, happiest, longest life possible. So what can you do?
Help your dog go green!
We look at being a “Green Dog’ as a two part approach; making choices that help them live a healthier life and helping your dog leave the lightest carbon pawprint on the environment.
We believe that being ‘green’ is a lifestyle, a whole new way of living. But, the best part is you don’t have to do an ‘overhaul’ overnight. You can make subtle and important changes in your life and your dog’s life to help your dog be the healthiest they can be and help the environment be a safer place for both of you to live.
One way to find out your dog’s impact on the environment is through their carbon pawprint. A dog’s carbon pawprint measures the impact a dog, and their activity, has on the environment in terms of how much greenhouse gases are produced from that activity. The less of a pawprint a dog leaves, the better it is for our environment.
By putting to use some of the general practices below, you can have a healthier and happier pup, and help the environment at the same time:
• Utilize environmentally and dog-friendly products and processes to help keep your dog’s environment safer and healthier, inside and out.
• Learn about and how to find dog products that are eco-friendly, organic, and are made of recycled and/or sustainable materials and fabrics.
• Select the healthiest foods and treats and learn how to keep your dog’s water safe.
• Seek out alternative and holistic veterinary practices as preventable measures to supplement your dog’s healthcare.
• Utilize the green system of ‘reducing, reusing and recycling’ to help the environment.
Over the next weeks we will be posting detailed tips, information and processes to help you achieve a greener dog. So, stay tuned!
About Leslie and Johann: Leslie May was raised in a green family and learned early on the importance of eating healthy and the effects of everyday life on the environment. So naturally when she adopted Johann she wanted him to live the healthiest, most eco-friendly life possible. Soon she was researching and applying green and eco-friendly practices to Johann’s life and writing about it on Johann’s personal blog. That’s when she discovered that others were very interested in information about raising a green dog, too. So in 2007 RaiseAGreenDog.com was born. The site has grown from a blog to a full website devoted to providing a wide variety of tips, information and ‘green’ dog products to help other learn how they can raise a green dog. Johann and Leslie enjoy their spare time training and competing in agility, hiking, and learning new tricks.
All blog post images copyright © JohannTheDog, Inc.
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