Eco-Friendly Poop Bag Winners

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© AllThingsDogBlog.com
Hands Free Carabiner
Clips Bag to Leash

Thanks to all of you who have supported this Eco-friendly poop bag giveaway. While it may not be the most "fun" product to come along, it sure will be great to see more people finding greener options for waste disposal.

The sharing about this giveaway on Twitter was especially brisk and we know that Poo Pooh was thrilled with the buzz. You guys did a great job!

For those of you who are not winners today, we encourage you to take advantage of the promo code that Poo Pooh is running 

Now comes the fun part. I've got 3 winners who'll each receive a box with 28 PooPooh bags and a clip with carabiner to attach to their leashes. Walking will be easier when you're hands free of that icky plastic bag!

Winners will receive their good news via an email from AllThingsDogBlog@gmail.com.

Watch your inbox and spam file for this important correspondence. Congratulations to our winners: Tiersa J., Christine A., and Sherry B. Thank you for doing your part to clean up after your dogs.

Happy tails,

We shared this giveaway of PooPooh dog waste bags as a part of our work with PooPooh to help you find more options for your green lifestyle. All Things Dog Blog was not compensated for the review, but we are hosting an advertisement for this brand.

Eco-Friendly Poop Bag Giveaway

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Buffer

© AllThingsDogBlog.com
Don't Forget the Affection After Your Walk

Welcome to our giveaway on behalf of PooPooh Dog Waste Bags. Each of 3 winners will receive a box of 28 bags, suitable to handle the waste of most any dog for about a month, or 28 serious visits to the grass, as I often call them. As an added bonus, our winners will also receive the bag carrier clip with carabiner for attaching your bag to your leash handle or Fido's harness.

The folks at PooPooh have provided this giveaway and we'll be leaving it open here for two weeks, to allow you plenty of time to get your entries in. Keep in mind that some entries allow you to participate daily, if you really wish to increase your chances. To be sure you keep it fun, just use those entry methods that you find enjoyable.

3 Winners!

Be sure to visit our review, watch the How-to video and the animation about the products and its benefits. You'll find answers to some of the Rafflecopter entries in these places. 

Our Rafflecopter, found at the bottom of this post, will accept your entries with pleasure. Here's the thing, though. Sometimes it has business to take care of out in the grass, so if you don't find it down there, just give it a whistle by clicking on the post title above to call it to action. It will finish its business and return to your feet immediately. 

Entries will remain open for 2 weeks, closing promptly at 11:59 PM on Thursday, July 31. Winners will be announced here following our drawing on August 1.

If you prefer the sure thing of purchasing, rather than entering, feel free to visit PooPooh at this link. They are offering 15% off to All Things Dog Blog readers who use the Promo Code "AllThingsDog" when placing their order between now and December 31, 2014. 

PooPooh can be purchased online at their store at this link. The bag carrier clip that you see attached to our leash is a one-time purchase. After that, you can enjoy all your walks hands-free of poo bags. What a great way to walk!

Happy entries,

We are sharing this giveaway of PooPooh dog waste bags as a part of our work with PooPooh to help you find more options for your green lifestyle. All Things Dog Blog was not compensated for the review, but we are hosting an advertisement for this brand.

Poo Pooh Biodegradable Bags

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© AllThingsDogBlog.com
Home From Our Walk. Hands Free of Poop Bags!

Today I'm here to ask you to Think Outside the Bag, the plastic poop bags, I mean!  I've had a chance to give PooPooh a try and found them to be quite workable, while also totally biodegradable. We love all things Green and Eco-friendly! For those of you who live in places where plastic bags are being taken off the market entirely, this is an especially good option.  

PooPooh bags are made out of 100% renewable, biodegradable and compostable material. It allows for touch free and quick collection of dog waste through in-built scoops so it is better for hygiene. But that's not all - it is also supports rural communities since all these bags are hand made by women working from their own homes in rural Sri Lanka. 

As part of their efforts to be Eco-conscious, PooPooh tries to minimize and reuse

Bag with Handles or
Use Carabiner to Attach to Leash

packaging. Their individual boxes are designed to be shipped without any further packaging, reducing weight, waste and shipping cost. 

PooPooh can be purchased online at their store at this link. The bag carrier clip that you see attached to our leash is a one-time purchase. After that, you can enjoy all your walks hands-free of poo bags. What a great way to enjoy the walk!

PooPooh bags can be ordered in packages ranging from 28 to 280, depending on your preferences. One box of 28 should last the average dog nearly a month. Bags have plenty of space for even your largest Fido's deposit. Got a Great Dane or Newfoundland--no problem!

I would encourage you to watch the video to see just how easy it is to use PooPooh. Note that the handle is reinforced with corregated cardboard, so if you opt not to use a carrier clip, you'll be sure that the handle won't break from the weight on the cargo in the paper bag.

Wondering what other users are saying? Check out PooPooh's Facebook page to ask your questions or check out others' comments. You'll also learn more by viewing their animation of the differences between plastic and paper collection of your dog's deposits. Watch for an entry in our giveaway that you'll find an answer for in the two videos mentioned in this post. #extracredit


For those of you who prefer a sure thing to a giveaway, I recommend purchasing direct from the PooPooh website. You can benefit from our partnership with PooPooh by using the discount promo code "ALLTHINGSDOG" to get 15% off through the end of 2014. Although the ad, shown below, indicates the expiration is 9/30/2014, it has been extended through 12/31/2014. Time to stock up!

If you come back to AllThingsDogBlog.com trying to find this discount code, you'll see it on the ad in our sidebar, or you can click the ad here to visit PooPooh's website. No worries!

If you'd like to enter our raffle and take your chances, watch for the giveaway to begin shortly. You'll have 2 weeks to enter with various options such as following PooPooh and yours truly on our social media sites to make sure you're up to speed on all the best products and services for your dog.

Now, enjoy the video. It's 19 seconds long, so don't get too comfortable. No time for popcorn!

We are sharing this review and upcoming giveaway of PooPooh dog waste bags as a part of our work with PooPooh to help you find more options for your green lifestyle. All Things Dog Blog was not compensated for this review, but we are hosting an advertisement for this brand.

Doggie Doodie: Keeping Our Waterways Clear of Bacteria

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Be sure to stop by Btc4Animals and thank them for this quarterly awareness day. I hope you'll find time to read through some of the other postings at their site today.


Have you read your state or county's website on the water quality of your area's natural waterways? Well let me clue you in. We're in a sad state of affairs. Runoff is our largest offender. Drainage after a hard rain such as last weekend's 20-hour-long deluge in Central Florida carries all manner of pollutants through our drainage systems and right into our lakes, rivers, streams and retention ponds.


When tested, these runoff waters have picked up, among other no-nos, fertilizers that cause algae bloom, pest control chemicals that poison fish and waterfowl, and you guessed it--doggie doodie. That means coloform bacteria is carried in small brown packages right into our recreational areas for swimming, boating and fishing.


Think again if you're telling yourself you don't live near a waterway. The maze of drainage systems in any developed community--urban or suburban--will amaze you if you look into it. It's like this unseen rat's maze under the streets that carries rain and floodwaters to its final destination in our favorite watering holes. What a shame that some pet owners are contributing so unknowingly to this pollution.


It's not too late, though. You can do your part. I'll start with the toughest idea and move toward the easier. Here's a simple plan:

• Vow to stop using toxic chemicals on your lawn. That's major, I know. I made the switch to organic lawncare in 2007. It has been 4 1/2 years and I still have a full lawn that is lush and green. Sure, I have a few more weeds. But that's mostly because I don't work terribly hard at removing or killing them naturally (Sprinkle yours will baking soda and they'll wither just as good as with weedkiller). You can read more about Eco-friendly lawncare here.
• Clean up after your dog in your own yard. If you're like my family, our two pups often make their deposits here at home. A bucket and scooper will allow you to quickly collect these daily, to avoid their bacterial runoff with the eventual rainfall. To best reduce pollution, you can dump this waste into your toilet and flush. The sewer systems were created for processing and treating omnivorous waste. That's what you've just collected, so why not dispose of it without making your trash can stink and spreading bacteria? You can find the Petmate Clean Response system here.
• Use an outdoor disposal option that is Eco-friendly. Rather than tossing your canine's castoff into the trash, drop it into an in-ground biodegrader, without the bag. This terrific gadget called a Doggie Dooley, is inserted into the ground outside. With a flip-open top, it provides hands-free operation when you drop Fido's load into the container, which then proceeds to biodegrade the material and allow it to be absorbed into the soil below. Check it out at the link above. 
• Follow through with cleanup when away from home. Carry a bag with you when you walk your dog or take him with you anywhere. Better yet, keep a package of doodie bags in your car and in a leash attachment. I love Flush Puppies because they were made to dissolve in water, therefore making them flushable and allowing the contents to be treated in our waste system. Anything is better than putting a lifetime of plastic bags in the landfill, only to biodegrade in a hundred years.  I did the math and was not impressed. Two dogs x 3 bags on average per day at an average of 14 years per dog = 15,330 bags just for my 2 dogs alone. With 40-60 million dog owners in the U.S., depending on which estimates you read, that's a ton of dog poop in landfill. Worse yet, the plastic bags are a nightmare for our environment. Even the so-called "biodegradable" poop bags that are not flushable will take years to biodegrade. 

© courtesy pontchartrain.net

The point is you do have choices. You can contribute to a cleaner world moving forward, or you can tell yourself it's just one bag each time you put it in the trash. Next time you visit your nearby lake or riverfront, don't be surprised when you see a sign posted " No Swimming. Water Tests Reveal Coloform Bacteria". This doesn't just mean you; it includes your dog too. Where will you swim now?

Need help getting started? Check out my giveaway at Pawsome Pet Poop Prizes! You'll also find this link in my center sidebar.  And good luck to you in whatever way you to choose to do your part. You've taken the first step by reading this Be the Change for Animals post. Grab the badge and write your own cause. It's good karma.

Creating an Eco-friendly Yard for Your Dog

by Carrie Boyko

(c) Carrie Boyko

Natural Lawns Can be Green too

I suppose your first question is why? What possible reason is there that a dog owner would want to concern herself with providing her dog with an Eco-friendly yard? If you have to ask this question, you're probably not ready to hear the answer, so strap on your seat belt.


Let me begin with a telling tale. A neighbor's dog once had a seizure and fell quickly into an irreversible coma. The cause? My friend's dog had succumbed to the pesticides that were sprayed on their yard that day. Toxins in products such as fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, car wash preparations, anti-freeze, and many other products we use outdoors can be harmful, if not fatal to our furry friends who frolic in the air where the toxins blow and roll in the grass where it lands.


Speaking of the landscape, there are many plants that are poisonous to our pets, as well as those that are not sustainable and offer little to help us retain our beautiful yards and gardens without significant overuse of important resources such as water. Tanner and I encourage you to learn more about poisonous plants that might be lurking in your yard, before the unthinkable happens. You can visit our page, Pet Emergency Resources to read about poisonous trees and plants. You'll find all sorts of info on first aid, poison control numbers and emergency help there.


Speaking of the unthinkable, here's a few considerations you can look into to assure a safe refuge for Fido:

• Organic or all-natural pest control for indoors and outside are both now available to the public. I have been on a program like this for a couple of years, and have had an excellent experience. Xena, my 13 1/2 yr old Retriever mix, who once had a recurrent problem with hotspots, now has overcome these. We credit this to the absense of chemicals on our lawn--her favorite place to lounge during the cool times of day.
• Flea and tick control are also attainable via natural means--with a little extra diligence--for your pets, your home and your lawn. The pay off is a healthier, longer-living best friend, and less toxins in the environment in which you live. After a recent camping trip with my dogs, we unknowingly brought home a houseful of ticks. The cure was a few blasts of peppermint oil, a treatment that had our neighbors wondering what we were up to! Nevertheless, we're tick-free and used no poisons to handle the problem. You can read more about this adventure at No More Ticks for Tanner.
• A number of natural, vegetable oils can be used as pesticides for diseased plants, while natural fertilizers made from worm guts and fish emulsion are highly effective. My lawn screams GREEN and the funny part--the dogs think it smells great. Fortunately for me, we can't smell it; they just have highly developed sniffers that find every unsavory smell there is.

Perhaps you are giggling at my apparent nuttiness, wondering why I'm not discussing the doggie landmines that Rover leaves around the yard. These too can be handled in a more Eco-friendly way, with the help of products such as Doggie-Dooley, that biodegrade the dog waste inside an in-ground container that then allows the biodegraded material to be absorbed into the earth below. Neat idea, huh?!


I like the way it works--a foot pedal for opening (no hands!)--and a scooper for dropping the contents inside. You get all this and a supply of enzymes to speed the process all for one quite reasonable price.


That's not all, though. There are also companies who manufacture dog waste bags (yeah...dog poop bags!) that are water soluble, like Flushpuppies. Simply scoop and drop into any toilet. The bag disappears and the waste is then flushed away to be handled by our sewer system, a job it was built and intended for.


The amazing thing about working toward having a greener dog is that you'll find it is contagious. Pretty soon, you'll be applying some of the same lessons to yourself, and reaping the health benefits for years to come.

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Celebrate Earth Day with a Greener Dog

(c) photo copyright Carrie Boyko

Xena, Tanner and Oliver Celebrate

Earth Day in Suitable Green

Earth Day is here and your dog is eager to help. How can you participate in greening up our planet with your dog? One question....so many answers. Here are a few possibilities; take your pick and go have some green fun!

Go Greener with Your Active Fitness Options

Building a Greener Dog House

See Spot Recycle

The Benefits of Having a Dog

Get out and Volunteer

Lend Me Your Ears: Organic Lawn Care Information

Adopt a Dog Park

Finally, don't forget to choose biodegradable or flushable doggie poop bags.

Comments? Click the comment link at the bottom of this post and let me know what you think. 

 Visit Adopt a Dog Park to learn

what you can do to help protect our precious dog parks.

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