Source standards · PetScored desk
What we refuse to score.
Most dog food rating sites score every bag they can find. We do not. When the evidence is missing, contested, or partial in a way we can’t resolve, we leave the food off the public scorecards instead of inventing a number.
2 bags currently on hold. Every block is a deterministic call against the same rubric we publish.
- 01
Why it’s on hold
- Core label and price evidence the rubric needs is not yet captured from a primary source for this exact recipe.
- The recipe is fresh or custom, so the bag we could score may not be the bag a customer receives.
- We hold the food off the public scorecards rather than fill those gaps with assumptions.
When each open gap is closed by a source, the food gets a public scorecard.
Updated 2026-05-07.
- 02
Why it’s on hold
- This brand is in a source-backed regulatory conflict, so a numeric score would read as settled when it is not.
- We can show the public record and the disagreement, but we will not publish a score while that review is open.
A score returns only if the conflict resolves with source-backed records.
Updated 2026-05-07.
What this proves
Why we leave bags off the list
The fastest way to inflate a dog food rating site is to score every bag, fill the gaps with assumptions, and let traffic do the rest. The fastest way to lose a skeptical reader is to do exactly that.
PetScored takes the slower path. We refuse to score when:
- The label record is incomplete on a field the rubric needs.
- The brand is in active conflict with a regulator and the public copy would mislead.
- The recipe is fresh, custom, or rotated - and the bag we’d score is not the bag the customer receives.
- The source we’d be relying on is too thin to defend.
When a block clears, the food gets a public scorecard. Until then, the absence is the honest answer.
