Roles first, products second
A basket is a list of roles, such as "a crate the puppy can stand and turn in" or "moisture traps for a small bedroom". Each role comes from public guidance where it exists: NHS, RSPCA, PDSA, the Kennel Club, gov.uk and manufacturers' own instructions. Every source is named on the page with the date we checked it.
How a product is picked for a role
For each role we look at the products UK shoppers choose most on that Amazon shelf, then filter for the ones that actually fit the role (size, capacity, pack size, age). Among those we weigh the Amazon rating against how many people gave it, how many bought it recently, and the price per use. The pick, a cheaper option and an upgrade are shown with the reason for each.
What buyers say
For each pick we read the reviews Amazon shows on its product page, usually 13, and count how many make the same point, for example "easy to assemble (6 of 13 reviews)". A point needs at least two reviews. We report patterns in our own words, never quotes, and never use reviewers' names. Amazon pools reviews across sizes and styles of a product, so we leave out points that only apply to another version.
Where a product's reviews contradicted what we had written about it, we changed the product or the words. Beside each pick you also see Amazon's rating, the number of ratings, "bought last month" and the product's rank on its Amazon shelf, attributed to Amazon and dated. They are Amazon's figures, not our score.
Prices
The price beside a product is fetched from Amazon when the page loads. Totals, monthly running costs and the price bands on gift pages are rebuilt every morning from that day's check, and only prices Amazon confirmed that morning are used. The time of the check is printed next to them (latest: 28 Sept 2026, 08:19 BST).
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on amazon.co.uk at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Deal labels
We record each product's price once a day. "Real deal today" means today's price is at least 10% below that product's own median over our daily checks. When Amazon runs its own time-limited deal on a product, we show Amazon's label ("Limited time deal" or "Limited Prime deal") instead; a Prime deal needs a Prime membership. "Worth waiting" means the product was on offer on at least a fifth of our checks, but not today. "Always on offer" marks products that showed a crossed-out price at every single check: for those, the crossed-out price looks like a list price rather than a sale. We never publish past prices.
Data for machines
Add .json to the address of any answer, gift, deals, sign-up or comparison page (for example /a-new-puppy.json) to get the same content as data: roles, products, today's prices with the time of the check, deal labels, Amazon's figures and our review counts. /products.json lists every product we recommend, each with its own file.
What we do not do
- We do not claim to have tested products we have not tested.
- We do not take payment for a place in a basket.
- We do not show star ratings as our own score, and our pages carry no review markup for them.
- We do not give medical or veterinary advice. Where a vet or GP should decide, the page says so.
How we make money
As an Amazon Associate What to Buy For earns from qualifying purchases made through links marked Ad. It costs you nothing extra and does not change which product we pick.