Update: Help Your Pets Make Better Choices

An earlier post Help Your Pets Make Better Choices left off by mentioning some ways of improving your pets drinking water. One of them was to begin filtering out suspended particles left behind after the aeration process. Having returned to the pet fish section at Wallymart for inspiration, a simple and effective solution comes from the same technology used to provide healthy aquatic environment for little Nemo: the Internal Filter.

In addition to providing aeration, the activated carbon filters help remove much of the suspended particles that we are targeting and all of the sediments and light particles left behind after visits to the bowl. The model we used is air driven and our air pump has two outlets so it fits in well with our existing setup. Keeping the bowl full improves efficiency and it's much easier to replenish a dish than wash it twice a day, healthier for your pet, and easier on the environment.

The next stage is to coordinate some lab time and start collecting samples and data to determine how effective this process is and for how long it can operate before the filter needs changing.

Help Your Pets Make Better Choices

Almost everything animals do makes sense. So why is it pets drink from the toilet when they’ve got a perfectly good bowl of water at their disposal? It might just be instinct for choosing the freshest, coolest water available. Yet while the lavatory may meet their standards, there’s more we can do to help our pets make better choices and live longer, healthier lives.

One simple solution towards providing improved quality while minimizing effort is to aerate the water just like in a fish tank. Here’s all you need:
• 2W air pump
• Air stone
• Tubing
• Glass, porcelain, or stainless steel bowl

In our dog’s set-up, well water or tap water is dispensed from a water cooler we upcycled from the trash bin into a glass bowl which allows us to more easily keep it full and fresh. The air pump and air stone in the glass bowl do a couple of things in addition to make it more interesting for your pet; aeration, oxidation, and lower BOD.

Aeration scrubs gases from the water and removes any stale taste and odor. Furthermore, when air is mixed vigorously with water, impurities such as iron and manganese become oxidized and fall out of solution more easily. BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) is a measure of the amount of oxygen being consumed by organic and inorganic matter that accumulates from drool, food particles, and whatever else lands in the bowl. Aeration brings more oxygen into contact with this matter which in turn accelerates its decomposition and subsequent removal. Nonetheless, despite all the agitation and chemical reactions taking place, some matter remains suspended in the water which can't be removed by aeration alone.

All this is to say, it is necessary to monitor the set-up and clean everything once and awhile. When the water becomes turbid, discolored, or cloudy, it's a sure sign things need cleaning, so gauge the set-up and don't wait for it to happen. More testing is required to determine average numbers on how long a bowl of water can go before cleanings, explore the use of different food additives as coagulants that will help remove the remaining suspended particles mentioned earlier, and look for ways to incorporate filtration into the concept and extend the time between cleanings.



Meanwhile, our dogs and cats approve and I know they're getting a better quality of water throughout the day. They’re drinking more readily and seem to have given up on the bathroom as a source of water. What's more, you don't have to worry about sitting on drool in the middle of the night if you still haven't eschewed leaving the lid up!

On a side note - Quebecer's enjoy the third-lowest electricity rates (5.45¢/kWh) in all of North America and the air pump consumes 2W. So it only costs us about 0.95¢ per year to run continuously. The water cooler, however, consumes 100W and costs about $50 per year. Leave it unplugged, since the water in the bowl reaches room temperature quickly anyway.

If you’ve got some ideas for improvements, questions, or comments, I’d like to get your feedback.

Doggy Doo's and Don'ts

Have you ever noticed how dog walks are like social networks? Except they suss through the morning posts with uncanny olfactory precision before ever deciding on a comment. And while this amazing creation of man and nature manages all the pressing business before breakfast, without a computer or cell phone, they still have a long way to mastering the etiquette of our cat or defeating the urge to repeatedly clean our tires. It’s estimated that dogs cause 20-30% of stream pollution through direct runoff into storm drains, which eventually empty into the natural watercourse. What’s worse, a single gram of dog waste can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria while a child only has to come into contact with a single coliform to become seriously ill. Here are the top 5 reasons to scoop and tips towards improving sustainability.

1. To protect the water supply
   Scooping is the most effective way to reduce impact on the water system. It can never be eliminated completely, so shoot for sandy or gravel surfaces which make pick-ups easier and facilitate natural erosion. Most dollar stores sell black scented plastic bags that work great at reducing exposure and nuisance. Keep away from storm drains or other public water works and steer towards overgrown areas rich in vegetation for urination. The high nitrogen and phosphate content can burn grass and plants but are disposed of readily by weed beds our other dense growth.
   
   
2. To protect children from disease
   Pregnant women or children coming into contact with dog feces can become seriously ill, or worse. Safety dictates staying clear of neighbors yards with children, schools, public playgrounds, or anywhere children might play. Encourage children to wash after playing, especially where dogs may be present, and keep dog waste and tools childproof.
   
   
3. To monitor your dog’s health
   Monitoring a dog's stool for changes is not that much different than for humans. Frequency, duration, and all the other fine points can help you gauge if your K-9 needs special attention or it’s just the left-over burrito wrapper absconded from the compost bin. Walk before feeding to reduce bloat and provide your dog the mental satisfaction of working for their food. After walking and feeding they’ll want to sleep for a few hours which helps reduce the anxiety of everyone leaving for the day. Repeat when you get home in the evening and before long the process will run like clockwork.
   
   
4. To respect your community
   Each week local authorities in Britain receive over 5,000 calls concerning dog fouling, and while more is being done to provide sanitary compost bins in public places, it remains the civil duty of owners to uphold the health and safety of the public. Dispose of waste in properly marked containers, compost or bury waste rather than trash it at the curb where it ends up in landfills as a biological pollutant. The simple gesture of picking up and avoiding zones where children play will earn you respect with your neighbors, help reduce environmental impacts, and improve your community’s sustainability.
   
   
5. It’s the law
   In large cities around the world, fines for not picking up range from $100 in New York to $600 in Paris and $750 in London, often times with “zero tolerance” for owners caught in the act. Authorized employees of New York City’s Departments of Health, Sanitation, or Parks and Recreation can act in accordance with Section 161.03 of the New York City Health Code:
   
   
   

   "A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public, or on a fence, wall or stairway of a building abutting on a public place."

If you have a tip for greening up your dog walk or another sustainable story you would like to share, please feel free to send me your feedback. All of your comments and questions are welcome.