This page explains how products end up on this site, how the Vet Finder directory is built, when an external source gets cited in an article, and how the site makes money. I want this to be straightforward, not fine print.

Every product on this site is here because someone who cares for a disabled dog found it genuinely useful, primarily because I’ve used it with Heidi, my dachshund who has IVDD, or because it comes up consistently and credibly in the veterinary rehab and disabled-dog caregiver communities I’m part of.

The starting point is always real use or real community experience. I don’t add products to fill out a category or because they pay to be here. The questions I ask are: Does this product actually help? Is there a meaningful reason to recommend this one versus a generic alternative? Does the evidence (from lived experience, from vet or rehab specialist input, from documented community discussion) support putting it on the list?

Products that don’t clear those bars don’t make the list.

What the Recommendation Tiers Mean

Our Pick — Products I or the caregiving community around me have used and can vouch for based on direct experience. This is the most common tier and covers gear with real-world track records.

Vet Pick — Products that come up with consistent endorsement from veterinarians and certified canine rehabilitation therapists, either through direct consultation or through well-documented professional community consensus. I don’t have the clinical training to evaluate everything vets do. Where the professional recommendation is specific and credible, I surface it separately.

Community Pick — Products that come up repeatedly in trusted disabled-dog caregiver communities: IVDD forums, DM support groups, breed-specific networks, as things that many caregivers find useful. I haven’t necessarily used these personally, but the community track record is strong.

Also Great — Products worth knowing about that didn’t rise to Our Pick, either because they’re a strong second option, suit a more specific use case, or represent a meaningful category alternative.

Some links on this site are affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, this site may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Amazon Associates: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Affiliate commissions help support the time that goes into researching, writing, and maintaining this site. That said: affiliate relationships do not determine which products appear on this site, and they do not influence which tier a product sits in. A product earns its tier based on the editorial criteria above. A product we’d recommend regardless of affiliate revenue is the only kind we recommend, and an Amazon link to a product earns the same small commission whether the editorial copy says “this is essential” or “this is one option to consider,” so there’s no financial incentive to oversell.

Manufacturer-direct links (like the link to toegrips.com for ToeGrips) may or may not have affiliate arrangements. Where they don’t, we link to them anyway because the manufacturer’s site offers the best sizing resources or is the recommended purchase channel.

The Vet Finder Directory

The Vet Finder lists veterinary specialists (neurologists, surgeons, rehab therapists) that I include based on credentials and capabilities — full stop. No clinic has ever paid to appear on this list, and no clinic ever will. There is no listing fee, no sponsorship arrangement, no “preferred placement” tier. If a practice is on the list, it’s because their credentials and patient-facing information meet the bar I set, and nothing else.

If you’re a practice owner and would like to be considered for inclusion, or you notice a practice that should be removed or updated, reach out via the Support page and I’ll review it on the same editorial criteria as everything else.

External Sources Cited in Articles

Articles on this site occasionally link to outside authorities — VCA Hospitals, the AKC, the Merck Veterinary Manual, university veterinary schools (Cornell, UC Davis, University of Missouri), the OFA, the ACVS, and similar organizations. Those citations are editorial decisions. No external source has ever paid, sponsored, or otherwise compensated this site to be cited or linked to, and none ever will. When I link out to an authority, it’s because the claim genuinely benefits from an outside reference and that source is the most credible one I can point to.

The list of organizations the article-writing pipeline is allowed to cite is a curated allowlist I maintain — I add a source only when I judge it independently authoritative on the topic. Money never changes hands for inclusion.

What We Don’t Do

  • Accept payment to feature a product in any tier or category
  • Accept free products in exchange for a positive review
  • Add products to a list because a company reached out asking to be included
  • Claim personal experience with products I haven’t used
  • Accept payment from veterinary practices to appear in the Vet Finder directory
  • Accept payment, sponsorship, gifts, or any commercial arrangement from organizations cited as outside sources in articles (VCA Hospitals, AKC, Merck Veterinary Manual, university vet schools, the OFA, the ACVS, the ACVIM, etc.)
  • Run sponsored content, native advertising, or any “this post is brought to you by” placements

How to Flag Something

If you find a product recommendation that seems wrong, outdated, or inconsistent with your experience, or if you notice a broken link, an outdated product, or anything else that should be corrected, please reach out via the Support page. I read everything that comes in.

The goal of this site is to be the resource I wish existed when Heidi was first diagnosed. That means being honest about what works, what doesn’t, and how I know what I know.