About PawBudget

We're a small independent site with one thesis: dog owners make better decisions when they have honest numbers and plain-language health information.

What we do

PawBudget has two jobs. First, our free calculators — the dog cost calculator and the dog age calculator — turn vague "dogs are expensive" anxiety into concrete, adjustable estimates. Second, our senior dog care guides explain the conditions that drive those costs, starting with arthritis, in language a non-vet can actually use.

Everything runs on published assumptions. Our methodology page documents every input to the cost model, where the numbers come from, and where the model is weakest. If you can't see how we got a number, we haven't done our job.

Our editorial principles

• Estimates, stated as estimates. We show ranges and round to the nearest $10 because false precision is dishonest. Your dog, your city, your vet — all vary.
• Conservative on health claims. Our guides describe what veterinarians generally do and say so; they never diagnose your dog or replace your vet. When evidence is mixed (looking at you, joint supplements), we say it's mixed.
• No fake reviews. Product picks are criteria-based and labeled as editorial. We haven't lab-tested kibble, and we won't pretend a commission influenced — or didn't influence — anything. Manufacturers don't pay for placement.
• Senior dogs deserve honesty. The gray-muzzle years are the most expensive and the most emotional. We won't soft-pedal costs or oversell treatments.

How we make money

PawBudget is free and will stay free. We plan to earn through standard affiliate partnerships (pet retailers, pet insurance) and eventually display advertising. Affiliate links are marked, and they never change what we recommend — our picks are made on criteria first, monetization second. Right now, outbound merchant links go to retailer homepages; direct product links arrive once partnerships are approved.

What we won't do

• We won't sell or share your data — the calculators run entirely in your browser and we collect nothing from them.
• We won't publish a guide until it's genuinely useful. No thin placeholder pages.
• We won't give veterinary or financial advice. Estimates are planning tools; health content is educational.