Ride with Marshmallow Product Review Standards
How We Evaluate Dog Car Safety Gear, Travel Products & Local Adventures
At Ride with Marshmallow, our mission is simple: help dog parents live easier, safer, and happier lives with their pets. Whether you are looking for the best car harness, a new grooming tool, or a dog-friendly café to visit this weekend, our goal is to give you honest, research-backed guidance you can actually trust.
Every review we publish follows a clear and transparent process—because pet parents deserve real recommendations, not recycled marketing claims.
This page explains how we evaluate products, experiences, and local businesses; how Marshmallow tests them in real life; and what standards guide every review you see on our site.
Why Trust Our Reviews
Every review published on Ride with Marshmallow follows three essential principles:
• Safety matters most
• Comfort supports safety
• Ease of use leads to better real-world results
We test products in everyday conditions and combine that with expert research, veterinary input, and real-world feedback from dog parents. We only recommend products and places we would personally use or visit with Marshmallow.
Our reviews aren’t sponsored. Brands can’t pay for placement, influence rankings, or change our scores. Our focus is to help you make decisions confidently, whether it’s what harness to buy, what coffee shop to visit, or what grooming tools actually work.
What We Review
While Ride with Marshmallow began as a travel safety resource, our reviews now cover a broader range of dog-parent essentials:
Travel & Adventure
Car safety gear, harnesses, booster seats, carriers, travel bags, water bottles, travel beds, road-trip accessories, and seasonal travel essentials.
Lifestyle & Home
Dog beds, cleaning tools, air purifiers, home organization for pet supplies, feeding solutions, and furniture protectors.
Grooming & Wellness
Brushes, shampoos, detanglers, wipes, paw balms, anxiety products, and overall care tools that make daily life easier.
Local & Experience-Based Reviews
Dog-friendly coffee shops, patios, events, parks, trails, hotels, and small businesses throughout the Twin Cities—and eventually beyond.
Products for Dog Parents
Items made for you: travel bags, apparel, car organizers, and accessories that make outings smoother.
Our Evaluation Framework
Each review uses a consistent scoring system tailored to the product type. We assess the following across all categories:
Specialized criteria apply to different review types:
For Safety Gear:
Crash-safety testing (CPS or equivalent), harness fit, restraint stability, and installation accuracy.
For Grooming Products:
Skin sensitivity, ingredient transparency, scent strength, and coat results.
For Local Guides:
Cleanliness, dog-friendliness, accessibility, staff attitude toward pets, and environment suitability.
For Wellness Items:
Calming effect, ease of administration, and veterinary recommendation consistency.
How We Test Products & Experiences
We test products in realistic conditions that mirror how dog parents actually live:
At Home:
Daily use, cleaning, durability, and odor retention.
In the Car:
Short rides, long trips, stop-and-go traffic, and different weather conditions.
On the Go:
Outdoor parks, local patios, and dog-friendly businesses around Minneapolis and the Twin Cities.
Over Time:
We check whether products hold up months after initial testing, since many dog items look good new but degrade quickly.
Our notes focus on:
• Correct fit and sizing accuracy
• Ease of setup or use
• Marshmallow’s comfort, anxiety levels, and response
• Performance after repeated washes or use cycles
• Owner experience and time efficiency
Affiliate Disclosure & Transparency
Some of our reviews include affiliate links. If you buy something through these links:
• You pay the same price you would normally pay.
• We may earn a small commission that supports our site’s content creation.
• We never accept money for guaranteed positive reviews or placements.
Affiliate income helps keep our reviews independent, unbiased, and ad-free.
All affiliate relationships are disclosed at the bottom of each review.
Veterinary-Backed & Expert-Informed Reviews
We reference veterinary behavior recommendations and recognized industry sources when relevant, including:
• Center for Pet Safety (CPS)
• Fear Free Pets principles
• American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
• American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB)
• American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)
• VCA Animal Hospitals (Knowledge Articles)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
• Pet Professional Guild (PPG)
• International Association of Canine Professionals (IACP)
• American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen Program (AKC-CGC)
• Other evidence-based sources
We do not provide medical or legal advice. Always consult your veterinarian for individualized guidance.
How to Use Our Standards
When you see a product or place reviewed on Ride with Marshmallow, you can trust that:
• We tested or researched it thoroughly before recommendation
• Pros and cons are disclosed honestly
• Transparency is always provided regarding affiliate relationships
• Any bias or partnership is clearly stated up front
We want every review to help you feel confident spending money wisely and safely, because we know pet products add up, and not all of them deliver on their promises.
Safe Rides. Happy Dogs. Real Trust.
The world is full of products designed for pets, but not all of them keep dogs safe in the car. Our mission is to help every dog parent make informed, expert-guided choices.
Marshmallow rides with us everywhere.
We want your dog to enjoy the journey too. 🐾
Want to help us build safer adventures for all dogs?
Join our newsletter for product testing updates and dog-friendly travel tips.