A better way to find your dog

Animal welfare and a healthy, harmonious life between people and dogs always come first. That's why we vet every breeder through a multi-step application process — identity and document checks (e.g. the German §11 breeding permit or club membership) plus photos of the breeding environment, AI-assisted with our team reviewing anything inconclusive — before a breeder profile goes live. This minimizes the risk of running into an irresponsible puppy mill. We also suggest suitable breeders to prospective buyers and offer support with any questions around buying a dog. In addition, we display the health documents and information breeders provide about parent dogs and puppies on each breeder profile, so you have enough information to make a good decision. Our criteria and information on hereditary diseases are continuously updated to reflect current knowledge, and we actively engage with experts and policymakers to advocate for good breeding practice. Breeding with extreme-breeding traits – features bred to harmful extremes – is prohibited on our platform.

Extreme-breeding traits – features bred to harmful extremes – can severely limit a pet's quality of life and lead to high veterinary costs. This can result in a life of pain and suffering. The higher the breed-specific health risk, the more depends on the breeder. We do not list dogs that themselves show characteristics of extreme breeding. For a few breeds, this can only be assessed using specialized veterinary diagnostics that our verification process cannot currently provide — therefore, we do not list puppies from these breeds for the time being.

At HonestDog, breeders have to meet clear criteria to join. Our review has several levels: Level 1 - Approved on HonestDog: Breeders upload all required documents, including proof of identity and, where applicable, club membership or the German §11 breeding permit. Documents are checked with AI assistance, and our team reviews anything inconclusive. Every breeder also answers questions about their breeding practice and agrees to our standards for healthy breeding. Level 2 - Community feedback: Feedback from the community is an important part of our review. We take reports seriously and act on them. Level 3 - Health documents: Breeders can upload health test results for their parent dogs; we extract the results, check them for consistency with the dog's profile, and display them on the breeder profile. Our goal: every profile is backed by a real, document-verified breeder.

Our breeders set their own puppy prices, and they can vary a lot. Expect somewhere between €1,000 and €5,000 depending on the breed and breeder, with popular breeds often costing more. Keep in mind that a good breeder pours a lot of time, love, and money into raising puppies — they're not in it to make a quick profit.

Here's how to spot a reputable breeder: - Deep knowledge of the breed - No more than 1–2 breeds - Proper socialization and health checks - Open communication - A written contract - Follow-up support Visit the breeder's profile to see photos of the puppies, the parent dogs, and past litters, learn about their breeding program, and pick up care tips — everything you need to decide whether they're the right fit.