How our guides are made
Who writes them, who reviews them, what they rest on — and where they stop.
What this page is for
Every guide carries a review date and a name. This page explains what sits behind both. Anyone who wants to know how a piece of information came about before acting on it should be able to read that, rather than take it on trust.
It covers the breeder guides, the puppy and adoption guides, and the guides on insurance, dog tax and dog names.
How a guide is made
We write our guides with AI assistance. The draft is produced by a language model working to our editorial rules: which sources count, which phrasings we do not use, which topics we deliberately decline.
We say so plainly, because it is a fair question to ask. What matters to us is not what a text was written with, but whether it is correct, whether it is sourced, and whether someone stands behind it. No draft goes live unreviewed.
From idea to publication
- Topic chosen from what people actually search for — not from what sells best.
- Research and draft, AI-assisted and bound to fixed editorial rules.
- Every claim that needs evidence checked against a named source: statute, regulation, professional body or authority.
- Review and sign-off by a named person.
- Publication with a source list and a review date.
- Re-review when the law or the professional consensus moves.
What the review covers
Review is by Sufyan Osamah, co-founder of HonestDog and the responsible party named in our Impressum. It is an editorial review, not a veterinary or legal one.
Specifically, we check
- that every source cited exists, resolves, and says what we attribute to it,
- that figures, deadlines, statute references and dates match the source,
- that the text makes no recommendation the source does not support,
- that our editorial principles hold — in particular that we produce no buying guidance for breeds with conformation-related health problems.
What the review does not do
It does not replace legal or veterinary advice. The reviewing co-founder is neither a vet nor a lawyer, and we claim otherwise nowhere. That is why every legal and medical guide carries an explicit note to that effect as well.
Where it matters in your specific case, the right address is your local veterinary authority, your vet, or a lawyer specialising in animal law — not us. Specialist second review by veterinary and legal professionals for the most sensitive guides is planned; until it has happened, we do not claim it.
Sources
Claims that need evidence rest on primary sources: the full text of laws and regulations, statements from professional bodies and authorities, veterinary guidelines. Each one is listed with a link at the foot of the guide it supports.
Law and professional consensus change. The review date on each guide says when we last looked — not when the text was created.
Independence and money
Our guides recommend no providers. HonestDog earns money by connecting people with breeders and shelters, and from partner offers in our comparison.
Where a page is monetised, it says so on the page. The insurance comparison contains paid placements and partner links and is labelled accordingly. No guide text is influenced by that, and no partner sees a text before it publishes.
Reporting an error
If you spot something wrong in a guide, write to info@honestdog.de with the address of the page. We check it, correct what needs correcting, and reset the review date.
Responsible for content: Sufyan Osamah, Am Hauptbahnhof 6, 53111 Bonn, Germany.
Sufyan Osamah