How to read evidence in pet health

Pet wellness is full of confident language sitting on thin evidence. That is a trust problem, and it is a scientific problem. Better Years uses a public evidence scale so you can see how we are classifying what we say.

Five levels, used in public

Established: widely accepted in practice, with a mature evidence base. Clinical evidence: studies in the relevant species or closely related contexts. Preclinical evidence: laboratory or animal-model work. Useful, not the same as a proven outcome in dogs. Emerging research: early, active, incomplete. Investigational: we are exploring it; you should not treat it as settled.

A preclinical finding is not a canine clinical result. An emerging paper is not a standard of care. We will not blur those lines to make a product feel more certain than it is.

What we will not do

We will not invent studies, veterinarians, reviews or before-and-after results. We will not imply FDA approval that does not exist. We will not promise cures. Citations, when we use them, will point to real sources. If a claim cannot be classified, it does not belong on the site.