Pet Doctor Guide Editorial Policy

Pet Doctor Guide exists to help pet owners understand their animals’ health and make informed decisions about veterinary care. We publish evidence-based information about pet symptoms, preventive care, nutrition, common conditions, emergency signs, and when professional veterinary attention is necessary. This is not a space for speculation, marketing, or guesswork—pet health decisions can cost thousands of dollars and affect an animal’s quality of life or survival. We hold ourselves to rigorous standards because we’re writing about health and medical decisions, which means accuracy isn’t optional. It’s foundational.

Our Editorial Team

Alex Chen leads editorial decisions at Pet Doctor Guide and has been working in small animal veterinary medicine since 2011. Alex is a registered veterinary technician (RVT)—a credential earned through formal education and state licensure—and spent the first eight years of her career working in emergency clinics, where she managed diagnostic imaging, assisted in surgical procedures, performed laboratory diagnostics, and triage decisions under high pressure with acutely ill and injured animals. The last five years have been in general practice, where she’s worked directly with primary care veterinarians managing chronic conditions, nutritional cases, and preventive care protocols across dogs, cats, rabbits, and exotic species.

This background matters because emergency medicine teaches you what actually happens when owners miss warning signs and what preventive care actually prevents. General practice taught her how owners navigate the gap between what they know and what they need to know—the confusion about vaccines, the misconceptions about nutrition, the reasons people delay seeking care. Alex has documented these gaps firsthand by working with hundreds of animals and their owners, and that’s what informs our editorial voice: we write for people who care about their pets but don’t have a veterinary license.

Alex maintains active membership with the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America (NAVTA) and participates in continuing education annually. She reviews all content before publication and personally researches major articles in her areas of focus: emergency signs, preventive care protocols, and medication safety. For specialized topics outside her expertise—like exotic animal nutrition or specific surgical procedures—we work with board-certified veterinarians and veterinary specialists who meet the same source standards outlined below.

How We Research

Every factual claim in our articles begins with primary sources: government agencies, peer-reviewed journals, and clinical practice guidelines written by credentialed professionals, not marketing departments. When we write about vaccination schedules, we start with the guidelines published by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), which represent consensus among thousands of practicing veterinarians and are updated annually. When we discuss toxicity, we consult the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center’s database and cross-reference with FDA reports. If we mention a disease or condition, we verify the clinical presentation and prevalence using the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) or textbooks like Veterinary Clinics of North America, which are peer-reviewed, citable sources written by board-certified specialists.

The research process looks like this: Alex or a contributing veterinary professional identifies the question, then systematically searches primary sources for current information. We don’t rely on what another website says about what a study found—we read the actual study. We note publication dates because veterinary medicine changes; recommendations from 2015 may be outdated. We check multiple independent sources to see if there’s consensus or if experts disagree. When experts disagree (which happens in medicine), we explain the competing viewpoints and the evidence supporting each, rather than pretending there’s one answer when there isn’t.

For numbers and statistics—prevalence of a disease, percentage of animals affected by a condition, medication dosing ranges—we trace these to their original source, not to secondhand reporting. If five websites say “hip dysplasia affects 10% of dogs,” we find the study that first reported this and verify the methodology was sound. We also note when data is old or limited; if the only study on a topic comes from 2003 and relied on 50 animals, we say so.

We also consult practitioner resources and guidelines that may not be journal articles but represent best practices in the field. The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine publishes safety alerts and drug approvals. Universities maintain veterinary databases. Professional organizations issue position statements. These aren’t perfect or infallible, but they represent current professional consensus, which is the standard we aim for.

Source Standards

We accept and prioritize these types of sources:

  • Government agencies: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, USDA, EPA (for pesticide and environmental toxins), ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
  • Professional organizations: AVMA, AAHA, Veterinary Orthopedic Society, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM), American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS), and comparable specialist boards
  • Peer-reviewed journals: JAVMA, Veterinary Surgery, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Pathology, American Journal of Veterinary Research, and other journals indexed in PubMed or Web of Science
  • University research and extension: Veterinary schools publish research and maintain evidence-based educational resources; these are citable and credible
  • Textbooks and clinical guidelines: Established veterinary textbooks and evidence-based clinical guidelines written by board-certified specialists
  • Licensed veterinarians: When we quote or reference a veterinary professional, they must be licensed and, ideally, board-certified in their specialty

We do not rely on:

  • Manufacturer marketing materials or press releases (even if accurate, they’re biased toward their product)
  • Unverified claims on social media, pet blogs, or forums, even if they sound authoritative
  • Sponsored research without clear disclosure of funding and potential conflicts of interest
  • Anecdotal evidence presented as fact (one person’s story about their dog is not evidence)
  • Websites or books that make money selling the products they recommend without clear disclosure

The reason we’re this strict is simple: someone might spend $3,000 treating a condition based on advice they read here, or delay emergency care, or make a decision that affects their pet’s lifespan. Accuracy isn’t pedantic—it matters materially.

Accuracy and Fact-Checking

Before publication, every factual claim is checked against its original source. If the article says “heartworm disease is transmitted by mosquitoes,” we verify this in AVMA guidelines or a peer-reviewed source, not because it’s controversial but because we verify everything. Numbers—percentages, ages, weights, dosing ranges—are checked against the original publication. If a source says “senior cats are 7 years or older,” we note who defined that (AAHA, for example) and mention whether other organizations use different thresholds.

When sources conflict, we note the conflict and explain why. Veterinary medicine isn’t immune to competing schools of thought. Some veterinarians recommend wet food for urinary health in cats; others recommend specific dry formulations; others say diet matters less than hydration. We explain what the research shows, what the mainstream recommendation is, and where credible disagreement exists. We don’t pretend consensus when there isn’t one, and we don’t cherry-pick sources to support a predetermined answer.

Numbers and statistics require special attention. We report figures in context—prevalence rates, age ranges, study sizes, and publication dates. If we say “50% of senior dogs develop arthritis,” we mention the study this came from, how many dogs were studied, and when. If newer research contradicts an older finding, we update or add a correction note. We also distinguish between what the research shows and what we’re inferring. A study showing correlation is reported as correlation, not causation.

Keeping Content Current

Veterinary medicine advances. New vaccines are approved. Clinical guidelines are updated. Drug recalls happen. Each article on Pet Doctor Guide displays a “last reviewed” date; we conduct a formal annual review cycle where articles are checked against current AVMA, AAHA, and FDA guidance. If standards have changed, the article is updated and the date is refreshed.

Beyond annual review, we monitor for urgent changes. When the FDA issues a warning about a medication, we update affected articles within 48 hours and note the update. When AAHA revises vaccination guidelines, we revise our articles. When a common parasite becomes resistant to a treatment, we update our advice. This sounds like constant work because it is—but it’s the minimum standard for a health information site. An article published in 2020 that’s never touched again will eventually contain outdated information, which defeats the purpose of publishing in the first place.

Readers benefit from seeing when information was last reviewed because they can make their own judgment about whether to check with their veterinarian for updates. A heartworm prevention protocol reviewed in 2024 is current. One reviewed in 2020 might be worth confirming.

Corrections Policy

If you find an error—whether it’s a factual mistake, a source that’s misrepresented, outdated information, or a typo—please report it at petdoctorguide.com/contact/. Include the article title, the specific claim you believe is inaccurate, and if possible, the source you’re citing. We investigate within 48 hours and make a decision within 7 days.

If the error is factually significant—we misrepresented a guideline, cited a study incorrectly, or published outdated information—we correct it and add a correction note to the article explaining what was wrong and what’s been changed. Minor corrections (typos, clarified wording) may not require a note, but major corrections will be transparent. This isn’t about protecting our reputation; it’s about maintaining trust and helping readers know what changed and why.

Editorial Independence

Pet Doctor Guide generates revenue through Amazon affiliate links (when we recommend pet products, we may earn a small commission if readers click through) and through display advertising. Neither of these influences our editorial content.

We do not accept payment from manufacturers for positive reviews or mentions. We do not publish sponsored content. We do not allow advertisers to influence editorial decisions. If we recommend a specific cat food, it’s because the research supports it—not because the company pays us. If we don’t recommend a product, we don’t recommend it, regardless of advertising deals. These boundaries exist specifically to prevent the conflict of interest that exists everywhere else on the internet. Yes, we sell advertising and affiliate links; but what we write about is separate from what we profit from. Advertising pays our hosting costs and salaries. Our editorial recommendations come from research.

This means you might read an article recommending a product that doesn’t generate us affiliate revenue, or that excludes a heavily advertised product. This is intentional. It’s also why you see a corrections policy above—if we’re wrong, we need an honest way to know it, and you need to trust that we’ll fix it rather than defend it to protect advertiser relationships.

A Note on Professional Advice

Pet Doctor Guide is educational. We explain what diseases look like, what veterinarians do, how preventive care works, and when emergency signs warrant urgent attention. But this is not a substitute for professional veterinary care. Only a licensed veterinarian who has examined your animal can diagnose a condition, prescribe treatment, or make medical recommendations specific to your pet’s situation. If your pet shows signs of illness, injury, or distress, contact your veterinarian or an emergency veterinary clinic. If you don’t have a veterinarian, the AVMA website (avma.org) has a veterinarian locator tool.

What We Don’t Do

  • We don’t diagnose. We explain what symptoms might mean and when to contact a vet, but we never tell you what your pet has based on a description.
  • We don’t prescribe treatments or medications. Dosing, medication selection, and treatment protocols must come from a licensed veterinarian who has examined your animal.
  • We don’t recommend specific products for specific animals. We may discuss types of food or supplements and the evidence behind them, but “your cat needs this specific prescription diet” is a veterinary decision, not ours.
  • We don’t replace emergency care. If your article says “this is an emergency sign,” we mean call your veterinarian or emergency clinic immediately, not “read more about this condition.”
  • We don’t practice veterinary medicine. We’re educators, not clinicians. Veterinary medicine is regulated for good reason—anyone offering diagnoses or treatments should be licensed.
  • We don’t make medical decisions for you. We present evidence and explain options. You, in consultation with your veterinarian, make decisions for your pet.

Last reviewed: January 2026. This page is updated whenever our editorial practices change.