The Best Pet Products | Don't Waste Your Money Reviews

Our Methodology

For most pet owners, pets become valued family members, often being lavished with toys, treats and attention. But the market is overcrowded with products targeted to loving pet owners, making it tough to choose the right items. In some cases, those choices are a matter of safety, making it important to do thorough research before deciding on a purchase.

Don’t Waste Your Money is here to help. We review products in each category in order to pass on the information so that you can narrow down the options. Although you should still check with your veterinarian on choices like food and treats, especially if your pet has special dietary needs, your vet will typically give you a range of options, and our reviews can help you choose the perfect one.

If you’re shopping for an item like an invisible fence or shock collar, your decision goes beyond dietary concerns. You’ll want to make sure your final choice not only is safe, but actually does what it says it’s going to do. Our reviewers go beyond merely researching the item’s features to track down all available information about the results customers have seen when using the products. If customers experience issues with the products we’re reviewing, we weigh that heavily in the review we pass on to you.

In addition to keeping your pets safe, our goal is also to save you time and money on your search. Instead of spending hours in the pet food aisle or reading online product descriptions, you can get a look at the four best products in each category, basing your final decision on personal preference. We even make it a little easier by designating one product in each category as best value and another as best overall. You can review all four and make sure you agree with our assessment before finalizing your decision.

As pet lovers ourselves, we know the importance of taking care of all our family members, human or not. We consider what our own littlest household members would like best in each category. When they’re happy, we’re happy. We pass that same dedication on to our customers by choosing products we know you’ll love.

We don’t just cover products for traditional pet ownership. We also review items like ant farms to help cover every possible pet angle. We know our audience includes both adults and parents of children who are interested in these products, so we try to help make the choice as easy as possible.

In addition to keeping your pets safe and happy, our reviewers set out with the same goal in mind that we have for other products. Durability is important, to ensure that your items last as long as possible to get the most out of your investment. We also look at the typical price for an item in relation to the value you get for it. This helps us determine the Best Bang for Your Buck stamp of approval given to one product in each subcategory.

When you’re shopping for your pets, it’s important to do your research. Our team does some of that legwork for you to save you time. When you start your search with us, you’re guaranteed to learn more about the products you’re buying so that you can make a more informed decision.

Our Trusted Process

Taking care of your pets is likely a top priority, behind making sure the basic needs of yourself and other family members are met. At Don’t Waste Your Money, we have a process in place that ensures you connect with the right items on the first try. We know your time is limited, so our goal is to become your go-to source for researching all your pet product purchases.

To do that, though, we need to have the best possible resources in place from the start. Our team of reviewers is an impressive one, stocked with more than 20 experts who have made a career out of getting to the truth behind things. Many of them have an investigative journalism background, and writing Don’t Waste Your Money’s reviews allow them to put their talents to use helping consumers.

To review products in the pets category, our team first starts with a group of as many as 15 products in each subcategory. If we’re looking at pet treats or toys, for instance, we’ll narrow it down to the best dozen or so and double down on thoroughly researching each item. While reviewing, we assign a rating, which is a number between 1 and 10, based both on the information we find in our own independent research and what other reviews and customers have said.

When it comes to pet products, Don’t Waste Your Money knows customer reviews are essential. Even with extensive testing, reviewers can’t cover how well a product works over the months and years after its purchase. Customer reviews help us determine if our findings will hold up over the long haul, allowing us to recommend the product that will keep your household pets safe long after you’ve put it into use.

Once we’ve gathered all the data necessary to issue a score from 1-10, the Don’t Waste Your Money team can choose the top four products in each subcategory. From those four products, we further designate the “best of the best” by awarding one product Best Overall and another the Best Bang for Your Buck. In rare instances, one product achieves both designations.

We also award a DWYM Recommended designation to select products across our entire site. When you see that badge, you know you’ve found a winner. If you simply look for that badge, you may find you get inspiration for your own purchases, or perhaps even ideas for shopping for gifts during the holiday season or when it’s a favorite pet’s birthday.

No matter what type of pet you have, you can count on the Don’t Waste Your Money team to find the best products to keep you and your little friends happy. Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to find top products in each category, whether you’re shopping for yourself or for your pets. With a team of more than 20 reviewers on your side, you can trust that the information you get on our site will lead you to the perfect products to meet all your needs.