About PawProof
Last updated June 2026
PawProof is an independent publication for dog and cat owners in the United States. We write practical guides to the decisions that fill the first year with a pet and keep recurring after it: which food to buy, how many treats are safe, what toys survive a real chewer, how to size a crate, what to do in an emergency, and whether your home suits a cat or a dog at all.
The site is published independently under the PawProof name, with no brand, breeder, or manufacturer dictating which products we recommend or how we rank them.
Why we built PawProof
We started PawProof out of a familiar frustration: the pet pages that rank highest tend to sell a product first and answer your question second. So we built the opposite. Every cost figure, feeding rule, and safety step in a PawProof guide is checked against an authoritative source and dated, so you can act on the page instead of cross-checking it somewhere else. Our aim is narrow on purpose, to give owners honest, current answers to the choices that affect a pet's health and a household's budget.
Built so you can decide from the page, with the sources shown and the marketing set aside.
Who writes PawProof
Every guide carries a named writer who owns that beat. Food and gear are handled by a credentialed nutritionist and a certified dog behavior consultant; health, safety, and first aid are written by a board-certified veterinarian. Even so, every health page defers to the vet who can examine your animal, because no article replaces an exam. Each profile lists what that writer covers and links to their guides.
MS in canine and feline nutrition and author of Dog Food Logic. Translates AAFCO and WSAVA guidance into plain feeding decisions, with the numbers shown.
Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC) and founder of Journey Dog Training. Picks gear by safety and fit, with the training context that makes it actually work.
Veterinarian double board-certified in emergency and critical care (DACVECC) and toxicology (DABT), and an ASPCA poison-control consultant. Owns the health and safety guides.
Our standards at a glance
Every cost, feeding, and safety claim links to a recognized source you can check, such as the ASPCA, AVMA, AAHA, or AKC.
Each guide shows when it was last reviewed and is updated as prices, products, and guidance change.
We give general information, never a diagnosis. Health pages send you to the veterinarian who can examine your animal.
No advertiser, brand, or breeder decides what we cover or how we rank it. Picks are ours.
How we research
Care and safety guidance is built from primary and authoritative sources: the ASPCA and its Animal Poison Control Center, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, the American Kennel Club, the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, and manufacturer specifications for the products we name. Load-bearing facts are confirmed against a second source before we publish, and figures that move, such as prices and product specs, are presented as dated estimates you should confirm before buying.
What we will not do
We do not take payment to place or praise a product in editorial coverage. We do not publish a manufacturer's copy and call it a review. We do not present ourselves as veterinarians or offer medical diagnosis. And we do not pretend every product or every pet suits every household. Our guides flag the wrong-fit cases alongside the recommendations where the evidence supports it.
Advertising
PawProof is supported by display advertising. Ad units are clearly delineated and never dressed up as editorial inside a guide. Where a commercial relationship such as an affiliate link could affect a recommendation, we disclose it where it would matter to your decision.
Contact
Questions, corrections, or partnership inquiries: hello@pawproof.org. We fix material errors in the open and update the review date rather than rewriting quietly.