We have a lovely dog who is very much part of our family. I’m interested in thinking about ways that we can care for her that are more green/eco/natural/ethical. My main area of concern/interest are..

Diet, she currently has dry kibble, premium brand from pet shop, I think i could do better but don’t know how.

Vaccination/worming/flea/tick treatment, any alternatives? How often is really necessary versus vets profits?

I’m interested in all points of view and opinions and a good discussion on all aspects of green pet care really

Many thanks, Kate xxx

Our cat has Organipets, which seems to go down well. He is wormed reg,as he likes to go out and meet and eat (sigh) the local wildlife. For the same reasonn he has Neem spread all over him for the fleas. Don’t use spot on or other such flea treatments…. He has had injections, for FIV and others, and has been neut to avoidunwanted kittens, but aside from that he only ever goes in for boosters, not the reg check ups our vet sends us.

I was reading the other day that having a dog creates the same amount CO2 as having a four wheel drive…depressing thought.

Dogs, unlike cats, can be vegetarian. There are a number of vege dog foods on the market including wet and dry ones. I looked into this when we were thinking of getting a dog, as there is no way I could have a meat eating animal. If you do a search for it you could research it more-I think its one of those things you need to be well informed about so that your dog stays healthy.

Uma x

Thats an interesting idea, owning a dog being equal to driving a 4x4, strange how despite feeling I am quite aware of green issues the scale of things I couldnt guess.

Although I can see the impact on the environment a dog could have I do think since we got ours (2 years ago) we do do a lot more walks/visiting dog friendly outdoor places rather than driving to/paying for activites indoors. We have also not taken so many holidays/travelled around the country seeing people and things, which is actually for me the biggest down side (but greener) and we have had some really lovely camping trips nearer to home. This year now he is older and a little bit more sensible (maybe), and dd is that bit older and for example can be left in the van/tent/at an activity with walkie talkie contact, we are thinking of trying a dog friendly festival.

There was an intereseting article in permaculture magazine (I think) about feeding a dog a more natural diet, i.e. raw meat recently which I thought was interesting although Im not sure i could do it and how it compares greenwise.

By footprint, a raw meat diet would be worse environmentally.  But better in terms of distance travelled, processing/factory emmissions, etc etc.

There’s a great book out there comparing different diets and pets, but it’s not a pet-specific book as a whole more about the entire green living thing. 

“Time to Eat the Dog?”  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Eat-Dog-Sustainable-Living/dp/0500287902/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299847816&sr=1-1  It’s not as practical as it makes out and tries to jam a LOT in a small space.  Some of the information about cars vs walking doesn’t include a whole lot of other factors but is fascinating reading.  Likewise the stuff about (human) food - did you know that cheese is more environmentally damaging to eat than chicken??  Recommend it for pet diet issues (as well as other interesting information about all green choices).

We had dogs and cats growing up and apart from the shots given when the animals are young we only went to the vet to prevent unwanted kittens/ puppies and if there was a problem or illness.  And with regard to cats never fed em - they hunted for their own food, nor did we have litter trays.  Animals were treated for fleas if they had them, which was rare despite living rurally.  Worming was done about 3 to 6 months.  The dog food we used was from a animal feed merchant looked similar to bakers stuff.  And our animals were healthy.

There was an intereseting article in permaculture magazine (I think) about feeding a dog a more natural diet, i.e. raw meat recently which I thought was interesting although Im not sure i could do it and how it compares greenwise.

We saw that too and DH was very taken with it.  Our dog is very old now and we would not change his diet at this stage, but we bought this book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Herbal-Handbook-Dog-Cat/dp/0571161154/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1299876455&sr=8-16
and have learned a great deal from it. 

xx