Editorial policy

Purpose and scope

A Friendly Dog publishes general educational information about preparing for a dog, puppy routines, rescue adjustment, everyday care, and dog-friendly places. The goal is to make an unfamiliar question easier to understand and help readers identify a sensible next step.

The site is a personal research publication. It is not a veterinary clinic, training practice, rescue organization, testing laboratory, or substitute for an individual professional assessment. Articles should make that distinction clear whenever a topic touches health, behavior, medication, nutrition, or safety.

How sources are evaluated

Sources are chosen for their relevance, authority, transparency, and date. The strongest available source should carry the most important claim. Alicia generally gives priority to:

• Primary and public sources, including government agencies, regulations, original research, and veterinary school or teaching-hospital material.
• Established professional guidance, including recognized veterinary, animal-welfare, and public-health organizations whose methods and responsibilities are clear.
• Qualified expert material, when the author’s relevant credentials, evidence, and limitations can be checked.
• Reputable secondary reporting, when it accurately explains primary material and adds needed context.

Commercial pages, retailer descriptions, anonymous posts, and social media may help identify a question, but they should not stand alone as support for a health or safety claim. Product availability, business hours, local rules, and dog-friendly policies can change, so readers should confirm those details with the provider before visiting or buying.

The editorial workflow

Alicia starts with a practical reader question, defines what the article can responsibly answer, reviews relevant sources, and drafts the guidance in plain language. Important claims are compared against stronger sources before publication. When sources disagree or evidence is limited, the article should say so instead of presenting uncertainty as settled advice.

Use of AI-assisted tools

A Friendly Dog may use AI-assisted tools for limited support such as organizing notes, exploring an outline, checking readability, or identifying wording that needs another review. These tools do not independently research, approve, or publish articles. Alicia reviews and edits the final work and remains responsible for every published claim.

AI output is not treated as a source. Citations, quotations, product details, statistics, and medical or safety statements must be checked against the underlying material before they are used. Content is not published in bulk without human review.

Accuracy and fact checking

Before publication, Alicia reviews names, dates, instructions, measurements, links, and the context around factual claims. Medical or safety-sensitive language receives extra attention, including whether the article clearly tells the reader when to stop relying on general information and contact a qualified professional.

No online article can account for every dog, household, local rule, or changing scientific recommendation. Readers should use the publication date and any update note as context, and confirm time-sensitive details with the relevant veterinarian, business, agency, or service.

Updates and corrections

Articles may be reviewed when guidance changes, a link stops working, a local listing changes, or a reader identifies a possible error. Small edits for grammar or clarity may be made without a note. A material correction or meaningful change should be reflected in the article’s update information and, when useful to readers, explained in a correction note.

To report an error, include the article title or URL, the passage in question, and a reliable source when available. Send it through the contact page. Alicia reviews correction requests and updates the work when the available evidence supports a change.

Editorial independence

Editorial decisions are based on usefulness, evidence, safety, and fit for A Friendly Dog readers. Advertisers and affiliate programs do not receive approval rights over ordinary editorial coverage. Payment, free products, affiliate rates, or advertising relationships should not determine a conclusion or turn an advertisement into editorial advice.

Advertising is labeled and visually separated from publication content. Affiliate relationships are disclosed before or near the relevant links. Using an affiliate link may support the site, but it should not change the price a reader pays. More detail is available in the affiliate disclosure.

Author and editor identity

Alicia is the founder, writer, and editor of A Friendly Dog. She is a real person who publishes under the name Alicia. She is a Connecticut mom of two who began the site while researching how her family could prepare thoughtfully to adopt a rescue dog.

That personal starting point does not create professional credentials. Alicia’s responsibility is to explain what she researched, distinguish general information from professional care, and correct the publication when reliable evidence shows that a change is needed. Readers can learn more on the About Alicia page.