RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Portuguese water dog Bo Obama is now officially making waves at the White House. The new addition to the first family is also the Obamas’ first-ever family dog, so they’ll likely need advice for proper pet ownership. Naturally, with a family that’s growing its own organic vegetables and sending the children to perhaps the greenest school in the country, it stands to reason that the family dog should be ecofriendly too.
So for the Obamas and any other new pet owners, here are 5 ways to keep your pet’s pawprint as light on the earth as possible:
1. Go for organic dog food. Organic kibble uses ingredients raised without hormones, antibiotics, or genetically modified plants—just like people kibble. It also doesn’t contain unhealthy fillers like melamine, implicated in the massive pet-food recalls that took place in 2007.
2. Fight fleas without chemicals. Traditional flea treatments are harmful for both pets and owners, even more so when those owners are 7- and 10-year-olds prone to burying their faces in a pet’s fur. Many conventional flea sprays and collars contain organophosphates and carbamates, two classes of pesticides that have been linked to nervous-system disorders, according to Greenpaws.org, a website operated by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The NRDC has found that flea-control pills, such as Comfortis, have little effect on people, but recommends sticking with chemical-free control methods as your primary defense:
‣ Use flea combs.
‣ Shampoo once a week (no need to use flea-control shampoos here, either; regular soapy water is just as good at controlling fleas as chemicals); this also helps reduce the allergens found in pet dander.
‣ Vacuum pet beds, and other lounging spots favored by your dog, regularly (which, will also reduce allergenic dander).
‣ Keep grass and shrubs clipped to limit flea-friendly breeding areas.
3. Use re purposed poop bags. There are unpleasant tasks that accompany responsible pet ownership, such as collecting the pooch’s, um, leavings when you take him for walks. The popular method of reusing plastic grocery or bread bags to scoop the poop is a good idea, since it avoids adding an extra piece of trash to the waste stream. Or you can order recycled-cardboard “scoops” online from poopscoop.biz. Compostable dog-waste bags are easy to find, but only make sense if there’s a municipal compost facility in your area that will take them. Never put dog waste into a backyard compost pile, by the way. It could contaminate the pile with unhealthy bacteria.
4. Choose ecofriendly toys. Most vets will tell you to skip the organic-cotton doggie shirts that say “I Love Mommy,” and spend the money instead on high-quality food. But like every pup, Bo needs toys, lest he find his way into the presidential quarters and chew on Abe Lincoln’s bedpost or, worse, Michelle Obama’s shoe collection. You can recycle to create a fun homemade toy: Any T-shirts or socks tied into knots will do (as long as your dog won’t confuse them with other items you don’t want him chewing on). But a company called West Paw Design
5. Pick a green dog bed. Just like chew toys, dog beds are getting greener too. And that benefits not just the planet, but any allergy suffers in your home as well. Scientists have found very high levels of dust mites in conventional pet bedding, while fillers like untreated wool and natural latex are not only produced in a more ecofriendly manner, they’re also less hospitable to asthma-triggering dust mites than materials that absorb moisture, such as cotton. Another tip for allergy sufferers: Keep the pet’s bed outside your bedroom.