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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© Carrie Boyko, all rights reserved

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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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Helping Your Dog Adapt to an E-Collar After Surgery or a Hotspot

© photo copyright Carrie Boyko 2008

Xena Models Her E-Collar

Poor Xena could write the book on E-Collars. She has had 3 of them in her lifetime, and spent countless weeks and months living in them. Why? Only now can I explain that. For years, Xena had a constant flow of hot spots. They were nearly always in the same locations--the places that came in contact with the ground, when she layed in our grass. This always was curious to me; I knew there had to be a connection, but didn't know what that connection was. Finally, we have our answer.

These pictures were take about 1-1/2 years ago when Xena had her last hot spot. Before this one, she had them almost back to back throughout her life. Our neighbors probably thought we were torturing her, as she constantly had to wear an e-collar, to keep her from chewing at the spots and infecting them.
Oh, sure, we had cute names for the thing. Lampshade head. Megaphone girl. Conehead. You name it. But it didn't make her feel any better.

Now, after 18 months since I stopped our chemical lawn care, it is clear to me that this was the cause of Xena's skin problems. I wish I could give all those months of itching and scratching and chewing back to her. At least now, with our new organic lawn care, there are not chemicals or pesticides on the lawn to irritate her skin.

Since the change in lawn care, Xena has played freely in our yard without so much as a bug bite. She enjoys the outdoors immensely. Sitting in the grass during the Winter is her favorite way to relax.

© photo copyright Carrie Boyko 2008

Xena's Last Hot Spot--

Only a Bad Memory Now

Sadly, that last hot spot was a really bad one. She got her skin so infected with her chewing, that we had to shave her in order to treat the infection. She began to shake from the chills, as she had always had such a thick coat to keep her warm. It was the shave job that prompted the Lifeguard outfit. We call it her Pamela Anderson imitation. It made a good Halloween costume.

Now that we know what was causing her problems, we've been able to fix them. We've hired an organic lawn care company to service our yard and our home. We use natural flea control on Xena and her buddies, Tanner and Oliver. These include food grade Diatomaceous Earth powder, supplemented with Cedar Oil spray. Both can also be applied to their bedding and carpeted areas. I also use Neem Oil Shampoo and conditioner to help keep her skin healthy. At her age, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. Right?!!