The Bowl Check is the FetchOrSkip newsletter. I send one email a week, on Wednesday. The whole site exists for the moment your dog eats something and you are typing “is this safe for dogs” into your phone with one hand. The newsletter is the calmer, ahead-of-time version of that: the foods worth knowing about before they are in the bowl.
What lands in your inbox
- One food, with a straight answer. Fetch or skip, the amount that changes the answer, and the symptoms that mean the question is now a phone call, not an email.
- The source behind the verdict. Toxicity claims come from veterinary and poison-control references, and I cite them so you are not trusting a stranger blind.
- One reader question, answered without drama. Usually “my dog ate X, how worried should I be,” handled with the actual thresholds rather than panic.
Three or four minutes to read. The goal is that you already know the answer before the bowl is empty.
What you will not get
- A diagnosis by email. If your dog is already sick, the newsletter is the wrong tool. Call your vet or a pet poison line.
- Daily email or fear-bait subject lines. One Wednesday issue, written plainly.
- Sponsored content pretending to be safety advice. Any partnership is flagged in the subject line under the affiliate disclosure.
- Your email shared beyond the vendors named in the privacy policy.
After you sign up
You get a confirmation email within a few minutes, sent through Mailchimp. Click the link to confirm. The next issue arrives Wednesday morning, US Eastern time. If nothing shows up, check spam first, then write through the contact page.
Your email, and what happens to it
- I ask for your email address only. A first name is optional.
- Every issue carries a one-click unsubscribe that works immediately. The address goes on a suppression list only so it is never re-added by mistake.
- The Bowl Check is intended for readers in the United States. Subscribe from the EU, UK, or EEA and the email transfer relies on standard contractual clauses, with all rights in the privacy policy intact.
If it is an emergency
FetchOrSkip is an information site, not a veterinarian. If your dog has eaten something dangerous, or is vomiting, unsteady, or not itself, contact your vet or an animal poison control line now. Do not wait for the next issue, and do not make a dog vomit unless a professional tells you to.
Trouble, or you want back in
If unsubscribe fails, you need to change the address on file, or you want back after leaving, reach me through the contact page. I handle these within a couple of weekdays.
Last updated: 18 May 2026