I know a lot of my subscribers own and love their pets, so here are a few helpful, green tips to keeping them happy. Animals are perhaps even more susceptible to harmful chemicals because they just don’t know any better! So here are some simple ways to improve their quality of living:
- Use cloves and eucalyptus oil to help control fleas! Collars, shampoos, etc. that are made to kill fleas tend to use harmful pesticides. My sister-in-law once used a well known flea killing oil on her Maltese. Within a few hours Princess was horrible sick and had to be taken to the vet. Not only is your pet affected by these pesticides, but it gets all over your house as well. This solution is a natural flea repellent, and it smells a whole lot better! Rub the eucalyptus oil on his fur, or feed him a few cloves of garlic every few days.
- Get rid of PVC toys! Instead stick to rope toys, tennis balls, pieces of fabric etc. PVC contains phthalates that are known carcinogens.
Make a compost pile!
- Use natural pesticides and fertilizers! Pets get into anything, and especially love to spend time on your lawn. Synthetic garden sprays and pesticides contain chemicals that accumulate in their systems, which is definitely not good!
from simplybecka's flikr
- Wash your pets bed weekly in hot water! Their beds are prime nesting grounds for dust mites and other nasty things, so keep them clean.
These are just a few ways to help make your pets life AND your life a little greener, and a little healthier. Enjoy!
~Maria
Janine
8 months ago
Love these! Pesticides are so gross. We had to do a flea treatment living with my parents, which I hated doing. He was fine, but I prefer your remedies. Dog FOOD is also really disgusting and full of non-food and chemicals. Our dog is small, so we just cook batches of ground meat, garlic, and bits of leftover bread and pasta. You can really see a dog’s energy level go up when they get real food. If it isn’t good enough for me to eat (human FDA-approved), I try not to give it to my pup! (Dog’s digestive systems are stronger than ours, but some dog food has been said to include euthanized pets!)
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admin Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
I am super impressed that you take the time out to make your pooch’s food. That’s something I hope to do in the future. Right now I buy Nature’s Best (real ingredients), but it’s still a hard dog food composite that I’m sure is nothing as good as fresh food. Ugh, your last bit of info is so sick and wrong and makes me mad!
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