The short version
Every article on Mind A Dog is written and edited in-house against a fixed set of rules: no invented statistics, no veterinary claims, no guaranteed outcomes, and no hidden commercial influence. Where a question needs a professional who can examine your dog, we say so rather than guessing. If we get something wrong, tell us and we will correct it in public.
Who writes this site
Mind A Dog is written and edited in-house. We do not buy syndicated articles, we do not republish content from other sites, and we do not run guest posts placed for links.
We are experienced dog owners and researchers. We are not veterinarians, veterinary nurses, or certified behaviourists, and we do not present ourselves as any of those things. That limit is the reason for most of the rules below.
The rules every article is held to
1. No invented figures
We do not publish a statistic, percentage, study count, or “research shows” claim unless it is genuinely sourced and checked. Where we cannot verify a number, we describe the pattern qualitatively instead. We would rather write “this is one of the most common reasons owners contact a trainer” than manufacture a percentage that looks authoritative and means nothing.
2. No veterinary or therapeutic claims
Nothing on this site diagnoses, treats, prevents or cures anything. We do not name medications or supplements, we do not give doses, and we do not describe treatment protocols. We describe what owners commonly observe, and we hand every actual medical decision to the reader’s own vet.
This is a firm line, and it applies even where a claim would be popular or would make an article more persuasive.
3. No promised outcomes
Behaviour work is slow and specific to the individual animal. We use language that reflects that: “often helps”, “many dogs respond to”, “tends to”. We do not write “this will stop”, “guaranteed”, or “in two weeks your dog will”.
4. No shaming
Readers usually arrive here in the middle of a problem, often feeling they have already failed. Articles are written on the assumption that the reader is a decent owner having a hard time, because that is nearly always true.
5. Welfare-first methods
Our training content is reward-based. Where good practitioners genuinely disagree, we say the question is contested instead of pretending it is settled. We do not publish methods that rely on pain, fear or intimidation.
6. Commercial content is separated and disclosed
Advertising and affiliate arrangements never influence a recommendation or a conclusion. Any commercial relationship is disclosed. Our Affiliate Disclosure sets out the detail.
7. Written for the world
Our readers are everywhere. Where law, regulation, veterinary practice or product labelling differs between countries, we say so and point readers to their own market’s authority rather than assuming one country’s rules apply everywhere.
How articles are produced
Each article is planned around one real question an owner actually asks. It is drafted, then checked against the rules above line by line before it goes anywhere near publication. Checks specifically look for: unverified numbers, anything that reads as diagnosis or treatment, any guarantee of outcome, any undisclosed commercial angle, and any claim that would only be true in one country.
Nothing publishes automatically. Every article is reviewed and released by a human editor.
Where our limits are
We will not answer, by email or in an article, any of the following. Each of them needs someone who can see your dog.
- What is causing a specific symptom in a specific dog
- Whether a dog needs to see a vet urgently, in a particular case
- What medication, supplement or dose to give
- Whether a particular dog is safe with a particular child, adult or animal
- A behaviour modification plan for an individual animal, especially where a bite history exists
For those, please contact your vet, a qualified veterinary behaviourist, or an accredited trainer, and expect them to want to observe the dog directly.
Corrections
We would rather be corrected than be consistent.
If you find an error, tell us through the contact page, giving the page and the problem. We aim to look at every correction within a few working days.
- Minor fixes such as typos and broken links are made quietly.
- Factual corrections are made to the article and noted at the foot of the page, with the date and what changed.
- Substantial corrections, where the original advice could have led a reader to do the wrong thing, are noted clearly at the top of the article as well.
We do not silently delete articles to make an error disappear.
Reviews and updates
Articles are revisited periodically and updated where understanding has moved on or where a link has died. Where an article has been materially updated, the page will show it.
Reader questions shape the site
A large share of what we write comes from readers telling us they could not find a straight answer somewhere. If that is you, the Contact page is the place.
A note on this page
This policy describes how we work, not a professional qualification we do not hold. Mind A Dog publishes general educational information for dog owners worldwide. It is not veterinary advice, not behavioural-medicine advice, and never a replacement for a professional who can assess your own dog.