Disclaimer

1. General information only

Kennel and Kin publishes general information about caring for dogs. Articles are researched against veterinary literature, teaching hospitals, and kennel-club guidance, checked by a second editor, and reviewed on a schedule. We take the work seriously.

None of that turns general information into advice about your animal. The distinction is not a formality. It is the whole point of this page.

4. No professional relationship

Reading this site, emailing us, or leaving a comment does not create a veterinarian-client-patient relationship, and it does not create any professional or advisory relationship between you and us.

If you write to us describing a symptom, we will not give you a clinical answer. This is not unhelpfulness. Giving one would be irresponsible and, in many jurisdictions, unlawful.

5. Every dog is different

Guidance that is right for most dogs can be wrong for yours. What applies to your animal depends on:

• Breed, and the conditions that breed is predisposed to.
• Age — a ten-week-old puppy, an adult, and a fourteen-year-old dog are not the same animal.
• Weight and body condition.
• Existing medical conditions and any medication your dog is taking.
• History, including trauma, rescue background, or prior injury.
• Whether your dog is pregnant or nursing.
• Your climate, your home, and how your household actually works.

A veterinarian who has examined your dog can weigh all of these at once. An article cannot.

6. Accuracy and currency

We work to be accurate and we correct openly when we get something wrong. We do not warrant that everything on this site is complete, current, or free from error.

Veterinary consensus changes. Guidance that was sound when an article was written may be superseded. Each article carries the date it was last reviewed, so you can judge how current it is, and you should treat an older article accordingly.

7. Medication and dosage

We do not publish drug dosages for you to administer at home, and you should be suspicious of any pet website that does. Dosing depends on your dog’s exact weight, its kidney and liver function, its other medications, and the formulation in front of you. Getting it wrong can kill an animal.

Never give your dog a medication intended for humans, a medication prescribed for another animal, or a leftover prescription, without a veterinarian telling you to. Several common household painkillers are toxic to dogs at doses that seem small.

Where we mention a medication, it is to help you understand what your vet may discuss with you — never to help you skip that conversation.

8. Food and feeding

Feeding guidance on this site is general. Portion sizes, diet changes, supplements, and feeding schedules should be confirmed with your veterinarian, particularly for puppies, senior dogs, pregnant or nursing dogs, and any dog with a health condition.

If you are considering a raw, home-prepared, or restricted diet, speak to a veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary nutritionist first. Home-prepared diets are frequently deficient in ways that are invisible until damage is done.

9. Training and behaviour

Our training content is reward-based. We do not recommend aversive methods, shock collars, prong collars, or dominance-based approaches.

Training articles describe general methods. They are not a behaviour plan for your dog. Aggression, severe separation anxiety, resource guarding, and any sudden change in temperament need a qualified professional who can observe the animal — a veterinary behaviourist or a certified trainer — not a webpage. A sudden behaviour change can also be the first sign of pain or illness, which is a matter for your vet.

10. Products and equipment

Where we discuss crates, harnesses, beds, feeders, or other equipment, we explain what to look for and why. We are not the manufacturer or the seller, and we do not warrant any product’s safety, quality, fitness, or availability.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions, check sizing against your own dog, and supervise your dog with any new equipment. Products fail, and dogs interact with them in ways nobody predicted.

11. Advertising and affiliate links

This site carries advertising and contains affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and buy something, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. This is how the site is funded.

Advertisers and affiliate partners have no say in what we publish or how we assess anything. We are not responsible for third-party products, pricing, delivery, warranties, or customer service — your purchase is a contract between you and that retailer.

12. Links to other websites

We link to veterinary associations, universities, retailers, and other outside sources because we think they are useful. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content, accuracy, or practices. A link is not an endorsement of everything that appears there.

13. Reader stories and examples

Articles sometimes include examples, reader experiences, or comments from other dog owners. These are individual accounts, not evidence. One person’s puppy settling in three nights tells you nothing reliable about yours, and results that worked for someone else may not repeat.

Comments are the views of the people who wrote them and are not endorsed or verified by us.

14. Your responsibility

You are responsible for your dog. Any decision you make after reading this site is your decision, made using your own judgement and your knowledge of your animal, and ideally after speaking to a veterinarian who has examined it.

Use of this site is entirely at your own risk.

15. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, KCS Global Group, its directors, employees, and contributors accept no liability for any loss, injury, cost, or damage — including harm to or the death of an animal — arising from your use of this site or your reliance on anything published here.

Nothing here excludes liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or anything else that cannot lawfully be excluded. This disclaimer sits alongside our terms of service, which contain the full liability provisions and the governing law.