New! Hemp Dog Toys
Hemp is naturally sustainable. It's also super sturdy & strong, so go ahead and toss one of these funky flat characters to your furry friend. Each comes with a squeaker.
Colored by nature and 100% certified Non-Toxic dyes, these toys help to make your home a safe and chemical free environment.
Reduce Your Dog's Footprint on the Earth
Organic Foods: You can be an eco-friendly dog owner by buying organic foods for your dog. These foods are made from cows, chickens and crops without pesticides or hormones, which is better for the Earth. Quality food will also help your dog live a longer and happier life.
Earth Friendly Dog Beds: Look into beds made with organic cotton, hemp or recycled materials. These dog beds, by West Paw Designs, are actually made from recycled soda pop bottles!
Waste Removal: Dog feces can actually benefit the planet if you use it wisely. Never wrap your doggy poo in a plastic bag and then throw it away. The plastic will not decompose and it will preserve the waste for hundreds of years. Instead, use a biodegradable waste bag and try composting the waste, or use a pet septic tank. Improperly disposed pet waste can wash into storm sewers by rain, thus carrying pollutants directly into our lakes and streams.
Use Natural Grooming Products: Lather pets up with detergent, alcohol and pesticide-free grooming products. This is especially important when bathing your pet outside- all those nasty chemicals go right down the storm drains and straight into lakes and streams. Instead of buying regular flea shampoo look for plant based products, or even better yet try tea tree oil to keep fleas and ticks away and to soothe skin. You can also clean up dog accidents with vinegar and baking soda rather than chemical cocktails.
Recyclable Or Sustainable Pet Toys: Toys made with organically grown cotton or natural dyes aren't only pesticide and chemical free, they also reduce pet allergies and are biodegradable. There are also some great toys made from recycled or recyclable materials.
Hemp Collars: Almost all pet collars are made of nylon, which is made from petroleum. Check out these hemp collars, as a great alternative. Hemp does not need many nutrients, so it does not require chemical fertilizers. Hemp outcompetes other weeds, so it does not need herbicides to thrive. Even hemp strains that are 100 percent THC-free produce their own resins that make the crop naturally pest-free, so unlike cotton, it doesn't require toxic chemical pesticides. Hemp actually leaves the soil in better condition than before it was planted.
Going green will keep the planet as well as your dog healthy.
A Pet Friendly Garden (Part 2)
Snail and slug bait: Even fans of escargot hate the slime trails and mutilated buds left by voracious snails and slugs. Every spring I do battle with hordes of snails intent on devouring my flowers before they even have a chance to open, so I do understand why people march off to the store in search of a chemical solution. Unfortunately, the snail bait they most commonly come home with is truly horrible stuff: metaldehyde, which causes severe seizures in mammals, and for which there is no antidote. Animals that eat metaldehyde generally die without treatment, and even with treatment end up unconscious in intensive care for days. Animals that survive the seizures can suffer liver failure weeks or months later.
The good news is that there are some effective, animal-safe alternatives; Sluggo is widely available, made from iron phosphate, a nontoxic, natural compound, and is quite effective if applied regularly. Copper strips around the bases of containers can turn back inquisitive snails and slugs, and if you have a fireplace or wood-burning stove, a trench dug around the perimeter of your garden and filled with a few inches of wood-ash will keep the slimy marauders at bay. And if all else fails, there's always the beer approach.... some say shallow dishes of beer will attract the slugs to drown; others say that if you drink enough of it, you'll stop caring about the darned slugs!
Pesticides: There are several categories of pesticides commonly available for gardening, and some are quite dangerous, especially for cats. The most common pesticides work by disrupting the nervous system, and most are very nonspecific ---they are toxic to everything. Signs of pesticide toxicity can include trembling, excessive salivation, dilated pupils, watery eyes, urination and defecation, and seizures. Organophosphates are the most powerful, but synthetic pyrethrin derivatives can be quite toxic as well.
But never fear, less toxic, environmentally friendly alternatives abound. I mentioned in my last post that plants actually produce more nutrients when they have to defend themselves against pests, so we don't really want to get rid of all the bugs anyway! And remember, good organic techniques grow healthy, robust plants that are naturally more resistant to pest damage. Insecticidal soap can be quite effective, but needs to be reapplied regularly. Soft bodied pests like aphids can be controlled by simply spraying your plants with a good blast of water from a hose, and natural predators like ladybugs and preying mantises can be purchased at many garden centers or ordered online. Neem oil and diatomaceous earth are also effective and safe.
There are also companion plants that can help ward off pests, like catnip and strongly scented varieties of African and French marigolds, which can be planted with your other plants as a natural pest control. Of course, I can't guarantee that the neighborhood cats won't throw a party in your garden one night....
Come to think of it, plants aren't the only things that get doused with pesticides come spring.... In the next post, I'll talk a bit more about the hazards of pesticides, including flea and tick treatments, and finish up my review of garden and yard hazards.
A Pet Friendly Garden (Part 1)
Did you hear about the letter that agri-business lobbyists wrote, complaining about Michelle Obama's plans to have an "organic garden?" They encouraged her to consider using some "conventional" gardening techniques, including chemical fertilizers and pesticides. (as an aside: I've never quite understood why an approach to farming created within the past 150 years is called "conventional," when you consider the 7-10,000 year history of human agriculture.... Seems like the other 98% of human experience would be more appropriately termed "conventional!").
But Michelle Obama knows that studies have shown organic foods are substantially higher in vitamins and micronutrients than their chemically plumped "conventional" counterparts. In fact, recent studies at UC Davis indicate that part of the reason for that may be exactly those darned bugs the chemical companies are so keen to eliminate. Turns out that the stress of fighting off pests actually induces the plants to produce more antioxidant metabolites to ward off the bugs. So no pesticides in the White House garden, and a second helping of compost, if you please!
This is an approach we should emulate. It's springtime, and everyone wants to get out and dig in the garden.... some of us because we want to grow some pretty flowers or veggies, and others of us because we want to bury a tasty bone! There are some important things to consider before we start, to safeguard the health of our pets and the health of our environment.
It makes sense if you think about it ----many of the things that are bad for the environment are bad because they are toxic. And I don't know about your pets, but mine are quite good at immersing themselves in their environment--- they sniff it, they lick it, chew on it, roll around in it.... We go through a lot of Funky Dog Shampoo around here, oh yes indeed! But while the rugs are in constant need of protection, we know the pets are already safe.
In the second part of this post, I'll talk about some of the hazards commonly found in our yards, and we'll make sure that your garden is as healthy for your pets to play in as it is for you to eat.
Have a question for the Veterinarian? Use our Ask The Vet Form here.
This post was generously contributed by Dr. Stanley of Housecall Of The Wild.
Reduce Your Cat's Footprint on the Earth
Gardens are becoming increasingly important as providers of food and shelter to many birds, because of a decrease in natural habitats and food sources. Red-listed species such as the house sparrow, starling and song thrush are becoming more concentrated in gardens and therefore in closer contact with pet cats.
According to a poll conducted by volunteer cat owners from across the UK, a correctly fitted cat collar with a bell reduced cat predation by upto a third. Results showed that cats equipped with a cat collar and bell returned 41% fewer birds and 38% fewer mammals than those with a plain cat collar. (RSPB Public Affairs 6 June 2005)
Birds are most active in the garden an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset, so it is helpful to regularly feed cats indoors at these times.
The Great Litter Debate.
Clay litter- Traditional clay litters are not the best choice for the environment, as they are not biodegrade and instead pile up in landfills. The clay is obtained through strip-mining, a practice that causes adverse environmental effects on surrounding soil, water and air. Clay litter is also not the best choice for your cat because they produce dusts that contain silicon particles, which are known carcinogens.
Recycled newspaper litters- Recycled newspaper litter is biodegradable, flushable, burnable and 99 percent dust-free. Some people claim that this litter has poor odor control and that the Purina version, Yesterdays News, is way over priced. Fibre Cycle, out of Australia, seems to be well received and I like the ethos of the company; their primary mission is to find innovative and environmentally friendly uses for recycled paper. If you’re really motivated (or broke), I found this great tutorial on how to make your own here.
Plant-based litters- There are a number of choices of plant based litters such as corn, corncobs, cornhusks, wheat by-products, wheat grass and beet pulp. We used to use World’s Best cat litter, which is made from whole kernel corn, but had problems with flies breeding in it (I think because they ate it) and, no matter where we put the bag, the rabbits would find it, chew a whole in it, and have a tasty corn snack (I even caught Peter in the cat box eating it once(Gross!)).
Pine/Cedar saw dust litters- The pellets that pine and cedar litters contain are made from natural scrap materials that are biodegrade (this litter can be emptied into your compost or mulch pile). They also eliminate odor naturally—due to the innate ability of both pine and cedar to absorb and neutralize ammonia—rather than cover up odors with chemicals and perfumes. Feline Pine is a wood litter, made from 100 percent natural pine, that claims to have had the harmful wood oils removed; the veterinarian of the house is skeptical, though, as the great smell they boast is a product of the natural wood oils.
Organic Food is Not Just For People
Today’s factory-raised cow is not a solar-powered ruminant but another fossil fuel machine. Read our previous post on earth friendly bison, and this one on how to get cheap free range beef. There are tons of organic cat foods on the market now, so look around, some are not even that expensive.
Hemp Collar Giveaway
This giveaway has ended.
Happy Earth Day!
In celebration of Earth Day, we are giving away a Hemp Dog Collar or a Hemp Cat Collar!
To enter, simply visit TheModernPet.com and find your favorite earth friendly product. Come back and leave a comment containing the following information:
- The name of the product.
- What makes that product earth friendly.
- If you would prefer a dog or cat collar.
Good Luck!
Earth-Friendly, Pet-Friendly Cleaning
The grocery store shelves are loaded with toxic substances claiming to make domestic life easier, but do they really? Most of these cleaning products are just a soup of synthetic detergents that leave residues and attempt to mask odors with overly pungent fake floral or fruity scents. Take a note from your grandmothers book and go back to basics with homemade cleaning supplies. You and your pets can breath easy in your non-toxic home, and as an added bonus, you’ll spend about 1/10th as much on the homemade versions.
Don’t forget to store your creations in recycled bottles to make them even more earth friendly!
*Castile soap is natural soap made from olive oil.
Please click here to download a PDF version of these cards to print and cut.
Earth Day 2009
To celebrate Earth Day and the launch of our blog, we are offering a giveaway: One of our popular hemp dog collars or one of our soon-to-be-released hemp cat collars.
Be sure to vist The Modern Pet Blog on April 22 to enter!
(Pssst! Other giveaways are going on right now!)
Plus special Earth Day blog posts all week!
* Download free earth-safe, pet-safe cleaning product recipes to save money and the Earth!
* Veterinary advice on how to feed your pet sustainably, while improving their health.
* Tips on how to reduce the impact your pets have on the environment.
* ...and more!
The Hebivore Feeding Project Part 2: It's sprouting!
So, here are the pictures of our herbivore feeding table that was described in the previous post (bonus points if you can spot the tortoise and the dog in these pictures).
As you can see, we have some tiny baby greens! It’s all very exciting but as of yet, we have not accomplished any of our three goals: feed our herbivores, save money, and be more earth friendly.
I have high hopes that these tiny sprouts will eventually feed the lettuce eaters of our house, but if we set the buns loose on them now, I’m afraid they wouldn’t even make an afternoon snack. As for saving money, obviously that is not happening yet because we are not feeding the home grown greens. And finally, the earth friendly aspect... We discovered the first possible flaw in our plan here. We mixed too much peat moss in with our compost and soil, so the bed is a little too efficient at retaining water, and thus does not drip down to water the lawn below. Even though this was not the intended result, I’m not sure it’s a bad thing. We have to water the lettuce bed less often than expected, but we still have to water the lawn. Also, because the bed retains so much water, it can get quite heavy, so we have to plan its rotation more carefully then expected.
I’ll post our materials list and plans soon, I just wanted to make any necessary adjustments based on our experiences before I unleash the official version upon the world.
The Hebivore Feeding Project
We currently share our home with three herbivores: Peter- an 8 year old black and white rabbit, Flopsy- a young lop eared bunny that we recently rescued, and Sherman- a 70+ lb. Sulcata Tortoise (also a rescue). We also plan on adding chickens to the menagerie soon, but more on that later...
Peter
Flopsy
Sherman
Sherman’s only food source is our lawn, so in the dry California summers we have to water it, which is not very earth friendly and can be expensive. The rabbits eat only fresh organic greens, which is earth friendly, but also expensive. The drought this year has finally given us the motivation to come up with a new system.
We are planning to build several very shallow vegetable beds on long 30” legs. The beds will only be about 2”-3” deep, because we plan to grow mixed greens with very shallow root systems for the rabbits. The beds will be on the long legs for two reasons: One, we want Sherman to be able to walk under the beds instead of plowing over the top of them, and two (this is the earth friendly part), we are making the bottom of the beds out of mesh screen. As we water the greens, any excess water will drip down onto the lawn below, watering that as well. We also plan to put wheels on two of the bed’s legs, like a wheelbarrow, so that we can move it around to different areas of the yard throughout the summer.
We’ll post our plans, pictures of the project as it comes along, and let you know if this system actually meets all of our goals.
View the next posts in this series:
Why you should be a Pet Detective: reason #5
Don’t Support the Wild Bird Trade
Thousands of parrots are taken from the wild each year to be sold as “pets” in Asia, Europe, and even the United States. The initial shock of losing their freedom and being confined to a cage can kill 10-20% of wild-caught birds. Of those who survive capture, half will die of starvation, dehydration, suffocation, or disease before reaching their final destination. Researchers in Nicaragua estimate that, to compensate for mortalities, up to four times as many parrots are captured than make it to market. In fact, recognition of the unacceptably high rate of mortality among imported birds helped prompt the U.S. Congress to pass the Wild Bird Conservation Act in 1992. Though the Act effectively reduced the United States from the largest importer of wild-caught birds to one of the smallest, up to 150,000 parrots are illegally smuggled into the U.S. across the Mexican border each year.
Grassfed for fluffy and fido?
The next time you reach into a bag of pet food to get dinner for your beloved pet, pause for a moment and read a few of the ingredients that appear on the side of the bag. What exactly is “chicken by-product meal”? What is meant by “thickened fat preserved with mixed tocopherols”? What is “monosodium phosphate”? We know that for people, a good diet requires a variety of healthy, clean, fresh foods, yet why do we assume that a daily regimen of highly processed food from questionable sources is acceptable for our furry family members?
....
One of the best sources for many of your pets’ nutritional needs is your local farmer. Although you may not want to purchase an expensive rack of lamb or beef tenderloin for Fido’s supper, there are some inexpensive, wholesome options that ensure good nutrition for your pet. Farmers periodically have to cull, or remove, old animals from their herds. These animals are often sold at auctions for very low prices. Given a choice, many of these farmers would happily sell you these animals, which can be ground up for clean, nutritious pet food, Processing livestock also generates a surplus of bones that make for nutritious and inexpensive snacks (provided you do not cook them first), as well as organ meats. Consider asking your farmer to sell you a few of these items. I guarantee your pet will reward you with a kiss on the nose or a purr of thanks
Brighter Planet
Who is Brighter Planet?
Brighter Planet helps people measure, reduce and offset their carbon footprints. They are committed to demonstrating that small, day-to-day actions can make a huge difference for the environment.
Why carbon offsets?
Carbon offsets play a crucial role in building a sustainable society. Many renewable energy projects are well suited to produce energy and meet stringent standards, but lack sufficient financing. Carbon offsets fill that void by investing in these projects.
Who is paying for these offsets?
Brighter Planet purchases and donates the 350 pounds of offsets for every participant in the 350 Challenge. They feel that's a small price to pay to help generate awareness for the fight against climate change.
Grassfed bison benefits animals and the environment!
Nutritional studies show that grassfed and grass-finished meat contains more beta-carotine, more omega 3s, more CLA’s and more natural Vitamin E. Grassfed meat has less fat and cholesterol than its feedlot counterpart. Because bison carry most of their fat in their hump, they are especially low in fat.
The USDA has calculated the following values for various meats. Per 100 grams of cooked lean meat
Meat Fat Calories Cholesterol Iron Skinless chicken 7.41 grams 190 89 mg 1.21 Pork 10.5 grams 190 92 mg 1.1 Beef 9.3 grams 211 86 mg 2.99 Bison 2.42 grams 143 82 mg 3.42
Grassfed bison promotes humane treatment of animals:
Grassfed and finished animals remain on pasture their entire life and forage on a variety of grasses. Grain is not a natural food for ruminants; it is documented that ruminants cannot tolerate the high acid content of grain much more than 60-90 days, at which time the liver begins to fail. The liver, which cannot pass inspection, is rejected for human consumption, one of the reasons liver is rarely for sale in supermarkets (but is often made into pet treats).
Grassfed bison is good for the environment.
Bison were a keystone species, whose grazing habits profoundly shaped the ecology of the Great Plains. Grass seeds caught up in the winter fur of bison would be distributed when the fur was shed in the spring. Also, seeds ingested by grazing bison were later passed intact to germinate in their droppings. Their grazing kept the grasses short, allowing the other grassland plants to grow and thrive, plants which without bison would be choked out.
Studies indicate that bison and other native herbivores like to eat many nonnative, exotic plants, which helps suppress the invasions that plague grasslands.
Grassfed Bison Pet Treats
Plastic Toxins in the News
Have a question for the Veterinarian? Use our Ask The Vet Form here.
This post was generously contributed by Dr. Stanley of Housecall Of The Wild.
ECO PET PRODUCTS ARE SAFE FOR MORE THAN JUST MOTHER EARTH, THEY ARE SAFE FOR YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!
“The Öko-Tex Standard 100 Certification is an important component of our total ecological commitment,” says Spencer Williams, President of West Paw Design. “We strive to design and produce our products in ways that do not harm the Earth. Our Öko-Tex certification adds the reassurance that our products are also safe for the home environment and the people and animals who live there.”
West Paw Design's Öko-Tex certified Eco line includes Eco Slumber™ Beds , Eco Nap® mats, and Eco Toys for dogs and cats. Products in the eco line have fabric covers and filling made with IntelliLoft™, eco-fibers that are produced from recycled plastic. The eco line products are incredibly soft, machine washable, and come in an assortment of modern designs and colors for pets who want it all—environmentally-friendly, certified safe, and stylishly comfortable.
Hello, and welcome to our new blog!
So we're here to help you learn how to keep your beloved pets happy and healthy, while promoting an environmentally conscious, sustainable lifestyle. We want to keep our planet vital and healthy too, for all the creatures out there who depend on clean air, clean water, and functioning ecosystems.... we all have to live here, after all!