Effective date: September 26, 2026
Dog Food Scout is an independent informational website created to help dog owners better understand dog food products, ingredients, nutritional information, manufacturer claims, recalls, safety issues, and other factors that may be useful when choosing food for their dogs.
Transparency is important to us. This page explains how Dog Food Scout approaches reviews, affiliate relationships, editorial independence, product information, and veterinary topics.
Affiliate Disclosure
Dog Food Scout may earn commissions when readers purchase products through certain links on this website.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
When you click an eligible Amazon link and make a qualifying purchase, Dog Food Scout may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
Where appropriate, affiliate links may also be identified with wording such as “paid link,” “affiliate link,” or another clear disclosure close to the link.
Affiliate compensation does not determine which products we review, the score a product receives, the strengths or weaknesses we discuss, or our editorial conclusions.
Prices, product availability, discounts, seller information, delivery terms, ratings, and other retailer information can change at any time. Unless clearly stated otherwise, Dog Food Scout does not guarantee that retailer information displayed or discussed on the site remains current.
Editorial Independence
Dog Food Scout aims to evaluate dog food based on useful evidence rather than advertising claims alone.
Depending on the product or article, our research may consider factors such as:
AAFCO nutritional adequacy statements;
whether adequacy is supported by feeding tests or formulation;
guaranteed analysis;
calorie content;
ingredient composition;
dry-matter calculations;
life-stage suitability;
manufacturer nutrition expertise;
manufacturing and quality-control information;
feeding guidance;
digestibility-related features;
prebiotic and probiotic information;
substantiation of product claims;
recall and safety information;
veterinary and regulatory guidance;
publicly available manufacturer information;
and recurring consumer experiences and concerns.
Consumer reports and online reviews may help identify recurring experiences or questions, but they are anecdotal and are not treated as proof that a food caused, prevented, cured, or improved a medical condition.
Product Testing
Unless an article specifically states otherwise, Dog Food Scout has not personally conducted a controlled feeding trial, laboratory nutrient analysis, digestibility study, contaminant test, or veterinary clinical trial of the products reviewed on this website.
Our reviews are generally evidence-based desk reviews prepared from information available from manufacturers, product labels, regulatory agencies, veterinary resources, scientific literature, retailers, and other relevant sources.
We do not claim personal experience with a product's smell, texture, palatability, packaging quality, effect on stool quality, skin response, coat condition, or long-term health outcome unless such first-hand testing is specifically disclosed.
Manufacturer Information and Formula Changes
Dog food formulas can change.
Ingredients, guaranteed analysis values, calorie content, package sizes, feeding directions, manufacturing information, nutritional adequacy statements, and marketing claims may be changed by manufacturers without notice to Dog Food Scout.
We make reasonable efforts to fact-check important product information at the time an article is prepared or updated. However, we cannot guarantee that every page will reflect every subsequent product change immediately.
Always compare information on Dog Food Scout with the label on the product you actually purchase.
If a manufacturer, reader, veterinarian, or other knowledgeable person identifies a material factual error, we welcome verifiable information so the article can be reviewed and corrected when appropriate.
Ratings and Recommendations
A Dog Food Scout score or recommendation is an editorial assessment based on the criteria explained in the relevant review or methodology.
A high rating does not mean that a food is appropriate for every dog.
Dogs differ in age, breed, body size, activity, body condition, medical history, allergies, intolerances, calorie requirements, and nutritional needs.
Our ratings are not guarantees of palatability, digestibility, safety, health improvement, or a particular biological response.
The "best" food is ultimately the food that is nutritionally appropriate for the individual dog and is selected with veterinary guidance when medical conditions are involved.
Veterinary and Medical Disclaimer
Dog Food Scout provides general educational information.
We are not acting as your veterinarian, and information on this website is not veterinary diagnosis, treatment, prescribing, or individualized medical advice.
Articles discussing sensitive stomachs, allergies, diarrhea, vomiting, pancreatitis, kidney disease, heart disease, obesity, skin conditions, or other health concerns are intended to help readers understand dog-food considerations—not to diagnose or treat those conditions.
Persistent vomiting, diarrhea, blood in stool, significant weight loss, appetite loss, abdominal pain, marked lethargy, dehydration, allergic reactions, or other concerning symptoms should be evaluated by a licensed veterinarian.
Veterinary therapeutic diets and veterinarian-supervised elimination diets should not be replaced with ordinary retail food solely because a commercial product is described as "limited ingredient," "sensitive," "digestive," "natural," "grain-free," or similar.
Sponsored Products, Free Products and Brand Relationships
If Dog Food Scout receives payment, free products, discounts, samples, sponsorship, or another material benefit related to content, we intend to disclose that relationship clearly when required.
Receiving a product or other benefit does not guarantee favorable coverage.
Unless clearly disclosed otherwise, readers should not assume that a manufacturer has paid for, sponsored, reviewed, approved, or endorsed a Dog Food Scout article.
External Links
Dog Food Scout links to manufacturers, retailers, veterinary resources, regulatory agencies, scientific publications, and other third-party websites.
We do not control third-party websites and are not responsible for their availability, content, accuracy, security, privacy practices, prices, products, services, or policies.
A link to an external website does not necessarily mean that Dog Food Scout endorses every statement, product, service, or opinion found there.
Reader Comments and User-Submitted Information
Comments and other material submitted by readers represent the views of the individuals who submitted them.
Dog Food Scout cannot independently verify every reader statement.
We may remove comments that are spam, abusive, defamatory, threatening, unlawful, misleading, excessively promotional, unrelated to the discussion, or otherwise inappropriate.
Accuracy and Corrections
We aim to be fair, accurate, evidence-based, and transparent.
Nevertheless, errors can occur, scientific understanding changes, regulatory information is updated, and pet-food formulas are reformulated.
Dog Food Scout does not guarantee that every piece of information on the website is complete, error-free, or continuously updated.
Readers should verify important purchase, feeding, safety, and medical decisions using the current product label, manufacturer information, appropriate regulatory sources, and their veterinarian.