Editorial policy

Last updated

This page describes how the VitaDog Editorial team writes, reviews and updates the content you read on vitadognutrition.com. We treat dog health content as a YMYL category and hold every published claim to the same evidence and transparency standard.

Our editorial mission

Help dog owners make better-informed decisions about their dog's joint, gut, skin and immune health. We write people-first, not algorithm-first; we cite our sources; we update what we publish when the evidence shifts.

Who writes and reviews

Articles are produced by the VitaDog Editorial team, a mix of in-house writers and freelancers with veterinary nutrition or animal-science backgrounds. Every article is then reviewed by Cameron Main, co-founder of VitaDog, before publication.

We are dog parents and product builders, not licensed veterinarians. We are working toward adding a DVM editorial advisor to the byline by the end of Q3 2026.

Source standards

Every health claim on the site has to map to at least one of the following tiers of evidence :

  • Tier S/A. Peer-reviewed studies indexed on PubMed, Cochrane reviews, position statements from the AVMA, ACVIM or WSAVA, and the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine.
  • Tier B. American Kennel Club (AKC) educational materials, manufacturer technical sheets and product COAs.
  • Tier C. Reputable veterinary blogs and clinics, used to cite an example or to establish how a topic is talked about, not as primary evidence.

When a claim only has tier-C support, we say so explicitly in the body so you can weigh the strength of the evidence yourself.

Fact-checking

Each article goes through three checkpoints before it ships :

  1. Writer drafts the article with citations inline as they research.
  2. Reviewer (Cameron Main) reads every claim against its source. If a citation does not actually back the claim it is asked to back, we either rewrite the claim or remove it.
  3. Style and compliance pass : we strip banned health claims (« cures », « treats », « prevents disease ») and replace them with FTC-compliant structure-or-function language (« supports », « may help with », « is associated with »). The FDA disclaimer below appears on every page making a structure-or-function claim.

Correction policy

If a published article turns out to contain an error, here is what we do :

  • Within 24 hours of confirmation we update the article body to fix the error.
  • An « Errata » block is added at the top of the article describing what changed and why.
  • The « Last reviewed » date is bumped, and the JSON-LD dateModified is updated.
  • If the error materially affects a recommendation, we email anyone who reached out about that article.

To request a correction, email [email protected].

What we will not do

  • We will not write « how to skip the vet » articles. Every guide includes red-flag symptoms that mean a vet visit is the right call.
  • We will not claim a supplement « cures » or « treats » a diagnosed condition. That language is reserved for FDA-approved drugs.
  • We will not run sponsored content disguised as editorial. If a piece is paid, the disclosure appears at the top.
  • We will not run AI-generated articles without expert review. Drafts may use AI as a research tool, but every paragraph passes through a human reviewer.

FDA disclaimer

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products discussed on this site are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment specific to your dog.

Get in touch

Editorial questions, source requests, correction reports : [email protected].