Editorial policy: primary sources, checked dates and corrections

How we research

We go to the source. For Bella & Duke that means its own website, its terms and conditions and its help centre. For ratings we use All About Dog Food’s pages directly. For feeding and safety we use the Royal Kennel Club, the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland and the British Veterinary Association. Every page lists its sources at the bottom, and every figure was last checked on the date shown. Most figures on the site were last checked on 15 November 2026.

How we write about health

We’re dog owners, not vets. So:

Our observations are just that. When we say what changed in Roxy and Bracken after switching, we add: “This is what we noticed in our two dogs, not a promise of what any food will do for yours.”
Brands’ claims are attributed. If Bella & Duke says something about its food, we say “Bella & Duke says”. We never repeat a brand’s health claim as fact.
Feeding figures come with a caveat. “A starting point, not veterinary advice. Ask your vet before changing your dog's diet, especially for puppies, pregnant or nursing dogs, or dogs with a health condition.”
Safety comes first. Wherever raw safety matters, we cite the Food Standards Agency’s survey, which found harmful bacteria in 35% of raw pet food samples, and link our safety guide.
No miracle words. We don’t say any food cures, fixes or prevents anything.

When sources disagree

Sometimes a brand’s own pages say different things. When that happens we say so, or we leave the figure out. For example, Bella & Duke’s pages give two different amounts for the credit a referrer gets, so we never state an amount; we just call it account credit.

How we compare brands

Comparisons use each brand’s own website, checked on a stated date. Where a site blocked our checks or we could only find a figure second-hand, we say “reported” and suggest you check. We say where another brand wins, and we only describe our own experience for brands our dogs have actually eaten: Bella & Duke, Tails.com and Butternut Box.

First-hand versus researched

“We” means Chris and Steph, and our first-hand experience appears in dark “From our kitchen” boxes. Everything else is researched. If we don’t know something about our own experience, we leave it out rather than guess.

Photos

Most photos on this site are our own, of Roxy and Bracken at home, with location data removed. A few images are stock photos from Unsplash. We only use them where they illustrate a topic (treats, puppies, kibble), never next to anything we say about our own dogs, and we never caption one as Roxy or Bracken. We don’t use Bella & Duke’s marketing images or packaging.

What we never publish

Testimonials, star ratings or quotes we haven’t been given.
Review or rating markup for search engines.
Paid placements, sponsored posts or adverts.
Health claims about any food.

Update cadence

Monthly: Bella & Duke’s offer pages, terms and prices; other brands’ new-customer offers.
Quarterly: comparisons and All About Dog Food scores.
As it happens: food safety news, recalls and offer changes, in our news section, dated to the event.

Corrections

If you spot something wrong or out of date, email hello@honestdogfood.co.uk. We fix errors as soon as we can verify them and update the page’s “last updated” date.

Use of AI

We use AI tools to help draft and edit text. We do not use them as a source. Chris and Steph review what is published, every figure is tied to the primary source listed on the page, and external links are checked before they go live. Where a drafting tool can’t know something, such as a detail of our own dogs’ experience, it is left out or asked for rather than filled in.