If your pet is unwell or has eaten something, do not email me. I cannot help in time and I cannot advise on an animal I haven't examined. Call your veterinarian, an emergency clinic, or:
ASPCA Animal Poison Control — (888) 426-4435
(24/7, a consultation fee may apply)
Pet Poison Helpline — (855) 764-7661
(24/7, $89 per incident)
I read everything. I reply to most things, though not always quickly — this site is not my day job.
What I'd love to hear about
Corrections. If a number here is wrong, tell me. A correction with a source attached beats a compliment, every time. I'll fix it, and I'll log it in the change log with the date and what changed — including when the mistake was mine.
Sources I've missed. There are gaps I know about and have marked as gaps: no published growth standard for giant breeds, no kcal figures for small cans that trace to a veterinary source, no published spread of adult weight within a breed. If you have a real source for any of those, I want it.
A calculator that doesn't exist yet. If you keep doing the same sum by hand, tell me what it is.
Veterinary professionals — if something here would make you wince in front of a client, I'd rather know. That's the bar I'm trying to clear.
What I can't do
Advise on your individual pet. I'm a veterinary technician, not a veterinarian, and either way I haven't examined your animal. Questions like "is 40 lb too heavy for my dog" have an answer, and your vet has it — they can put hands on your dog's ribs, which is a thing no amount of email can do.
Give medication doses. Not for Benadryl, not for anything else. See about for why that line exists.
Tell you whether it's time. If you're on the quality of life page and looking for someone to tell you what to do, I'm sorry — I understand why you'd ask, and I can't. That conversation belongs with a vet who knows your animal. Print the sheet and take it to them. They will not think you're asking too early.
Press, or using our material
Quote anything with attribution and a link. If you're quoting a threshold or a formula, please bring its source and its range along with it — a number without its caveat is a worse number, and on this subject the caveat is frequently the whole point.