Eco-Friendly Dog

When you start living a more sustainable lifestyle, it’s easy to forget your pet. So many pet accessories are made of plastic but there are lots of eco-friendly options available, if you know where to look. Here are some tips on how to have an eco-friendly dog and how to be an eco-friendly dog parent.

Please note that a few of the links below are affiliate links, meaning I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you if you purchase something.

How To Be An Eco-Friendly Dog Parent

1. Recycle Pet Food Packaging

Recycling is not just for human products but for products you buy for your pets as well. Dog food generally comes in tins or pouches and both can be recycled. Pet food pouches can’t be left in your normal recycling bins but Terracycle has collection points all over the country (and it raises money for local charities to you as well). Terracycle accepts Lily’s Kitchen pet food pouches in one scheme and all dry food and treat packaging and all wet food pouches in another scheme.

2. Make Food For Your Dog At Home

A more eco-friendly option is to make your pet food at home yourself. Here are 10 simple dog food recipes you could try out. Vegan diets are more environmentally friendly, and dogs can thrive on vegan diets, however always make sure your dog is getting all the vitamins and minerals it requires. Not all vets will agree that a dog should be given a vegan diet, but it’s always worth having a chat with your vet before any drastic change in your pets diet.

3. Choose Ethical / Eco-Friendly Companies

For anything you buy for your dog do a bit of research into the company. There are so many companies with dubious ethics that it’s everyones responsibility to buy things from companies whose ethics and values align with your own, wherever possible.

4. Reduce Plastic Dog Accessories

There are certain things we all want or need to buy for our pets, like dog leads, toys and beds. Always try to buy the plastic free version of all of these products. I’ve included a few options below.

5. Donate Old Pet Toys / Beds etc

If your dog no longer uses his bed or just wasn’t keen on some of the toys you bought him you can donate them to a local animal shelter. If you’re donating pet beds give them a good wash beforehand!

How to Have an Eco-Friendly Dog

Being an eco-friendly dog parent means thinking about everything you buy for your four-legged family member. Here are some of the eco-friendly dog products you can find and buy.

Dog Food

Like most cheap people food, cheap dog food can be full of nasty ingredients and be overly processed. When choosing dog food, try to buy organic or natural. Vegetarian and vegan dog food is also widely available. Here’s a good range of ‘eco-friendly’ dog food. If you’re buying tinned food, you can buy eco-friendly can covers to keep the food fresh (and to stop the smell of the food ruining the inside of your fridge!)

* Lily’s Kitchen are recognised by the Good Shopping Guide as the UK’s Most Ethical Pet Food Company.

Food Bowls

Probably the best type of dog food bowl is to use something you already own. Alternatively you could use a porcelain bowl or Beco sell biodegradable food bowls. A Beco Bowl “is an award winning, eco-friendly pet bowl made from sustainable materials. The toxin-free food bowl is made from waste plant fibres found in bamboo and rice husks and is biodegradable once you’re finished with it.” I’m always a little sceptical when a company calls something biodegradable but doesn’t mention how long it takes to biodegrade though.

Dog Beds

Like many terms and phrases there are several ways to interpret them. It could be called greenwashing in some cases, or you could look at it as varying levels of eco-friendliness. For example this dog bed from Barks and Bunnies does contain plastic but it’s recycled plastic that would have gone to landfill otherwise and the rest of the bed is made from 100% recycled fabrics. Alternatively you could go for this dog bed which is made from compostable and biodegradable 100% natural renewable fibres (no synthetic materials at all), and where possible the materials are sourced from the UK to reduce the carbon footprint. Obviously you have to take your budget into account, but with the right care your dog bed could last you a lifetime.

Dog Leads

Personally I feel uncomfortable buying something for my pet to wear that is made from the skin of another animal, so leather dog leads are not an option for me, even though they are technically a natural material. These dog leads from Furzu are made from “Post-Consumer Recycled Materials”. Furzu use old bike tyres to make their leads, preventing so many discarded inner tubes from going to landfill. These dog leads from Barks and Bunnies are made from recycled water bottles. However my favourite have to be the rope or cork dog collars and leads from Dog and Coast.

Poo Bags

When dog parents were told they had to clean up their dogs poo everyone was thankful that we would see far less of it on pavements. Unfortunately it means we now see little black bags filled with poo hanging off bushes and tree branches instead (because there are a lot of irresponsible and lazy dog owners out there). At least if the poo bags being used are biodegradable there is less plastic littering our towns and rural areas. Biodegradable poo bags are easily found in major shops, but again you need to look into what the bag is actually made of. These Beco poo bags are made entirely from natural materials, so I’d probably trust them more than some other brands.

Dog Toys

There’s such a large variety of dog toys available that I’ll keep it simple. Try to avoid anything made of plastic and wherever possible buy toys made from natural, renewable materials. When that isn’t possible buy toys made from recycled materials. The Ethical Superstore has a decent range of eco-friendly dog toys available as do Barks and Bunnies.

Hopefully that gives you some good ideas for how to have an eco-friendly dog and how to be a more environmentally responsible dog parent. Do leave a comment below if you feel I’ve missed something out.

Got a cat? Here’s how to have an eco-friendly cat!

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