How The Dog Effect Makes Money
We believe in being upfront about how this site earns revenue. Transparency matters, and you deserve to know exactly how our business works before you trust our recommendations.
The Dog Effect is an independently operated website. We earn money primarily through affiliate partnerships and display advertising. Here is what that means in plain language.
Affiliate Links
When we recommend a product on this site, we often include links to retailers where you can purchase it. Many of these are affiliate links. If you click on one and make a purchase, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The price you pay is exactly the same whether you use our link or go directly to the retailer.
We participate in the following affiliate programs:
- Amazon Associates Program – The Dog Effect is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
- Chewy Affiliate Program – We earn commissions on purchases made through our links to Chewy.com.
- Other Affiliate Programs – From time to time, we may partner with other retailers and brands through their affiliate programs. These partnerships will always be disclosed.
Editorial Independence
Here is the part that matters most: affiliate commissions never influence our recommendations.
We recommend products because we believe they are genuinely good for dogs and their owners, not because they pay us the highest commission. In many cases, the products we recommend most enthusiastically are not the ones with the best affiliate payouts. Some products we love are not available through any affiliate program at all, and we still recommend them.
Our process works like this:
- We research a product category thoroughly, looking at specifications, user reviews, expert opinions, and real-world performance.
- We test products ourselves whenever possible.
- We write our honest assessment, including both strengths and weaknesses.
- After the content is written, we add affiliate links where available.
The editorial decision always comes first. The monetization comes second.
Display Advertising
You will see display ads on some pages of this site. These ads are served by third-party advertising networks and help us cover the costs of running The Dog Effect. We do not control the specific ads shown, but we work with reputable networks and do our best to ensure the ad experience does not interfere with your ability to read and use our content.
Why We Use Affiliate Links
Running a website costs money. Hosting, domain fees, product testing, photography, research time – it all adds up. Affiliate commissions and advertising revenue allow us to keep The Dog Effect free to read and to continue producing the detailed, honest content that brought you here in the first place.
We could run a site without affiliate links, but it would not be sustainable. And we would rather be transparent about earning commissions than hide behind a paywall or let sponsored content creep in.
Our Promise to You
- We will never recommend a product we do not believe in just because it pays a commission.
- We will always disclose when a link is an affiliate link.
- We will never accept payment from a brand in exchange for a positive review.
- If our opinion about a product changes, we will update our content to reflect that.
If you have questions about our affiliate relationships or how we evaluate products, feel free to reach out at contact@thedogeffect.com. We are happy to explain our process.
Thank you for supporting The Dog Effect by using our links. It genuinely helps us keep doing what we do.