Puppies.com Account Guidelines

Welcome to Puppies.com! These Account Guidelines are designed to promote a safe, respectful, and positive community for all users. Please review and follow them to help us maintain a space where dog lovers can connect and thrive in a positive environment. Be sure to check out our Listing Guidelines, too!

1. Users must adhere to the site’s Terms of Service and Community Standards. 
2. In order to use Puppies.com, each user must have:
   1. The ability to access the internet.
   2. An active/valid email address (in order to create an account and complete email verification).
   3. Their own phone number (to complete mandatory phone verification).
3. Users may not create new accounts in order to:
   1. Avoid Negative Testimonials received through older accounts. 
   2. Avoid Blocks/Suspensions/Bans placed on older accounts. 
   3. Post duplicate listings in different city/state locations for better coverage. 
   4. Abuse the complimentary three-day trial membership offered to new users. 
4. Users may not advertise on behalf of 3rd Parties:
   1. Users may not advertise on behalf of a friend, a family member, or a neighbor.
   2. Users may not advertise dogs which they do not personally own. You must own a dog (and the dog must reside at your personal residence/kennel) if you wish to advertise it on Puppies.com.
   3. Each seller must personally respond to buyer inquiries through their account. Third parties may not reply to buyer inquiries on the owner's behalf.
   4. Accounts that are "shared" or operated by multiple owners are prohibited. Only one owner per account is allowed.
5. Each user of the site must use their own contact information and/or ID documentation within their account: 
   1. The primary email address used in the account must belong to the owner of the dogs advertised through the account.
   2. The phone number used to complete phone verification must belong to the account owner.
   3. Any documentation used to complete ID verification must belong to the account owner. 
6. Puppies.com is designed for the use of individual breeders. As such, we do not allow pet stores or third-party sellers to advertise on Puppies.com. 
7. Puppies.com is intended for use by sellers/breeders located within the United States only.
   1. Buyers who are located outside the U.S. are welcome to use the site.
8. Misuse of the Puppies.com Message Center is prohibited. This includes:
   1. Sending unwanted “Spam” or “Solicitation” messages. The Puppies.com Message Center is meant to be used for Sellers and Buyers to communicate regarding the purchase/sale of puppies. Use of the Message Center for any other purpose (such as advertising shipping/transportation services, commercial goods, or personal businesses unrelated to breeding) is strictly prohibited. 
   2. Sending defamatory, harassing, or threatening messages (or any other message content which violates our Community Standards).
9. Misuse of photos uploaded to the site (within listings, profiles, or photo attachments included in sent messages) is prohibited. This includes (but is not limited to):
   1. Use of photos which you do not retain ownership of. All photos you upload to the site should be photos that you have personally taken or retain ownership of; we do not permit users to upload/utilize photos which they do not personally own. 
   2. Photos which contain explicit/inappropriate content. 

Please note that the Listing Rules and Account Guidelines outlined above may be subject to change at any time. These Listing Rules and Account Guidelines are meant to provide an overview of the site’s rules and regulations in order to help users utilize Puppies.com as intended. However, the Rules and Guidelines outlined above may not account for every possible circumstance. For more information pertaining to the use of the site, please refer to our Terms of Service and Community Standards. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Support Staff at support@puppies.com.