Editorial Policy
How we review. And why you can trust it.
Every product on this site was bought at retail (or disclosed as a sample), lived with by a real pet, and ranked against its peers — never against a brand's press release.
How we test
Every product is purchased at full retail price in almost all cases — no review units, no loaners, no early looks at embargoed news. We live with each pick for at least a month with a real pet: daily use, real messes, real wash cycles, real travel.
Durability is judged after a fortnight of normal use, not a day. Washability means we've actually run the cover through the machine. 'The pet still uses it after a month' is the single test we weight most heavily, because it's the one spec sheets never print.
How we score and rank
Rankings are comparative within a category: a dog bed is measured against dog beds, a carrier against carriers. Weighting favours the things that matter day to day — fit, durability, washability, safety and whether the pet engages with it — over checkbox specs.
A product only earns a recommendation if we would spend our own money on it. When two products are close, we say so, and we name the tie-breaker. Scores are revisited whenever a product changes materially or a new competitor surpasses it.
Independence, affiliate links and corrections
This site is funded entirely through affiliate commissions: when you buy through a link marked as such, the retailer pays us a small percentage at no extra cost to you. Commissions never influence rankings — products we would not recommend are either omitted or clearly labelled with their weaknesses.
We do not accept payment for reviews, placements or 'sponsored' rankings, and brands do not see reviews before you do. Mistakes happen: found an error? Use the contact page and a human will correct the record, with a note explaining what changed.