How to become a more sustainable dog owner

At Animates we're on a journey to become more sustainable and are working on providing conscious pet parents with more sustainable choices to help reduce the ecological impact of our canine companions.

To help get your started, here's 8 tips for reducing your dog's carbon pawprint:

1. Recycle your empty pet food packaging

The next time your pet finishes off their favourite food bag, head into your local Animates store or Animates Vetcare clinic and pop your empty packaging into the collection box to be recycled via the the Royal Canin Recycling Program. From there, we collect the bags and arrange for delivery to TerraCycle for recycling. 

Can accept:

• All brands
• Wet cat and dog food pouches
• Dry cat and dog food bags
• Soft plastic treat bags

Learn more about Royal Canin Recycling Program here.

Every time you buy a bag of food, treats, cat litter etc these items will be individually wrapped. Buying bulk means less overall waste and it usually works out to be a more economical option. Purchasing food and other pet supplies in larger quantities can also help you cut down on shopping trips, reducing your transport carbon footprint too.

3. Use recycled or compostable poop bags

Being a sustainable dog owner also means disposing of your furry friend’s poop properly. To dispose your dog’s waste sustainably, look for dog poo bags that are labelled recycled, compostable or biodegradable. 

We recommend using Beco poop bags – as they’re just as big and strong as plastic poop bags, while being plant-based. Beco poop bags come in both recycled and compostable varieties. Here’s a flow chart to help you decide which bag option is right for you…

Compostable bags: If you can compost your dog's waste at home, compostable poop bags are the best option for you. They are made from cornstarch and completely biodegrade back to their natural elements. This means that they can break down in your home compost system, leaving no trace. Only use the compost to feed non-edible plants though, not fruit or vegetables.

Even if they find themselves in landfill, these compostable bags are still an environmental step up from virgin plastic. Their partly plant-based composition makes their manufacture less carbon intensive than virgin plastic, whilst reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, using a renewable resource instead.

Recycled bags: If you dispose of your dog's waste in park bins or general waste, we’d recommend using Beco recycled bags (scented and unscented). The benefits of recycled bags are that they have an 86% lower carbon footprint than virgin plastics, they’re 44% more efficient to manufacture than virgin plastic and are made from 100% post-consumer waste. 

4. Reduce your plastic use

An important step towards becoming a more sustainable pet parent is reducing your plastic consumption where you can. In addition to avoiding products that use single-use packaging, we recommend choosing products made from more eco-friendly alternatives to plastic. For example, some pet food bowls, bedding, toys and accessories are now made from recycled or plant-based materials, promoting the movement from petroleum plastic to renewable resources.

5. Choose toys made from recycled materials

Whether you're on the hunt for chew toys, tug toys and toys to chase, try options made from recycled materials. These products reuse what’s already here, giving waste a second life while encouraging its collection and reuse.

While our pets might be downright adorable, we mustn’t forget that they are natural predators of many types of animals including birds, lizards and smaller mammals. Although it’s important to satisfy our pet’s hunting instincts, don’t allow your dog the opportunity to hunt wild animals or birds. To protect our native wildlife, always make sure that your dog is leashed in forests, parks and reserves where they’re not permitted to run free. 

If you want to indulge your pooch in the thrill of the 'chase', there’s a number of toys and activities which can help redirect this behaviour in a safe and fun way – including tug toys, foraging activities and playing a game of fetch! 

7. Walk more and drive less with your dog

Since car use is a major contributor to carbon emissions, choosing to walk your dog straight from the front door, rather than jumping in the car for short trips to the park, will help reduce your carbon footprint.

Safety tip: When walking your dog in summer, please remember the '5-second rule'. Hold the back of your hand on the pavement or sand for five seconds to check if it is a safe temperature for your dog to walk on. If it is too hot for you to hold your hand there, it is too hot to walk your dog. Instead, exercise early in the morning or late afternoon to keep your dog's paws safe.

 
8. Opt for greener dog grooming products

If you tend to choose eco-friendly cleaning and beauty products for yourself, don’t forget to do the same for your furry friend too! When shopping for your dog’s shampoos and grooming products, select ones made from natural ingredients, are free from harsh chemicals, and come in biodegradable or recycled packaging. 

Life Of Riley shampoos are made from all-natural ingredients, are NZ made and packaged in biodegradable bottles made from wheat straw material. 

At Animates, we’re on a journey to becoming more sustainable. From removing crystal litter bulk bins in our stores, to launching New Zealand's first pet food bag recycling program in partnership with Royal Canin, we're heading in the right direction! Find out more about our sustainability goals and initiative here.