Best friends made here. Good Dog makes it simple for people to get dogs from good sources and for reputable breeders, shelters and rescues to put their dogs in good homes. And we provide all the support and guidance you need to feel confident every step of the way!
Good Dog (gooddog.com) has 3,375 customer reviews on Five Star Index, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5.
Also known as
gooddog.com
Website
gooddog.com
Category
Pet Services
Listed on Five Star Index
2026
About these reviews
Replies
The company replied to 10% of reviews.
Latest
Most recent review: October 2026.
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Reviews are shown as their authors wrote them. The company can reply, but cannot edit them.
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Zero communication This is not a good site. Run as fast as you can Please use FB or a rescue site to find a dog. I used Good Dog and against my better judgement and the poor reviews, i picked a breeder who has ghosted me and the puppy has multiple health issues. The breeder's name is Chapel Goldens, Good Dog has not responded and I have called and sent an email. Please protect yourself - don't do what I did.
Response from Good DogOct 3, 2025
Hi Kitty,
Thank you for reaching out. We're sorry to hear about the health issues your puppy is experiencing and that you've been unable to reach your breeder.
A member of our Care team was able to connect with you about this situation and provide more information about our On-Platform Payment Policy. When breeders and buyers connect on Good Dog, they agree to make their payments through our platform, and all buyers are made aware of this before they submit an application to a breeder. This On-Platform Payment Policy is how we keep our community safe.
We understand you completed payments to this breeder outside of the Good Dog platform. As our team shared with you on October 1st, we're unfortunately unable to assist with transactions that occur outside of our platform, as we have no involvement in, visibility into, or control over private transactions.
However, providing a safe and positive experience for everyone in our community is our top priority, which is why our team has taken next steps with you to ensure our standards are enforced.
We wish you and your puppy all the best.
Warmly,
The Good Dog Team
BE
Ben
Good dags Mixed Ethnics
Good dags "Ethics are pic and choose , they claim AKC standard but pick and choose what they want. Go right to AKC puppies and find your wonderful family member.
Response from Good DogSep 30, 2025
Hi Ben,
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We understand you have concerns about how our standards align with AKC requirements, and we'd like to share more information our approach.
Every breeder on Good Dog must go through our comprehensive screening process before joining, which includes meeting breed-specific health testing requirements and agreeing to our community standards and Code of Ethics. Our standards are designed to meet or exceed established breed health testing guidelines, and we also actively review breeders’ programs on an ongoing basis to ensure our standards are being met.
We appreciate you raising these concerns. If you have specific feedback about a breeder's program, we encourage you to reach out to our team directly. You can also learn more about our standards and screening process here: https://www.gooddog.com/standards-and-screening
Warmly,
The Good Dog Team
LP
Laurie P.
They are promoting an unethical breeder
I put a deposit down on one of Jackie Nelson's border collie puppies. Before I clicked to confirm the deposit, the site said it was refundable. After I clicked, the page said it was not refundable. I also discovered that Jackie Nelson is the no 1 High Volume Breeder on the American Border Collie Associations' list, which they say is unethical and harmful to the dogs and the breed. I tried to cancel the deposit, but Good Dog and Jackie Nelson refused. Good Dog never responded to my complaint that they are promoting an unethical border collie breeder on their site.
Response from Good DogSep 29, 2025
Hi Laurie,
Thank you for reaching out. We're glad our team was able to connect with you about this situation and share more information about your non-refundable deposit.
We understand that plans can quickly change on your puppy journey. On August 7th, you shared with the breeder that it wasn't a good time to bring home a new pup. As the breeder explained, your deposit was non-refundable, though we're happy to see she offered to apply it to a future litter whenever the time is right for you.
Every Good Dog breeder sets their own payment policies, including whether deposits are refundable or non-refundable. A deposit is clearly indicated as non-refundable during the payment process on Good Dog. We encourage buyers to choose breeders whose policies align with what they're comfortable with, as we honor the agreements between breeders and buyers. Our team carefully reviewed this situation and determined that the breeder is in compliance with our Community Standards and abiding by the agreed-upon terms.
Our Care team is here to support you if you have any additional questions or concerns, but we recommend continuing to work directly with the breeder about applying this deposit to a future litter.
Warmly,
The Good Dog Team
RH
Ron H.
Good Dog's Vetting If ANY Should Be Better
I recently RESCUED a golden retriever Momma from "Becky Carroll's Golden Retrievers".
We met Becky and Clay Carroll in a park in Spencer IN. We were introduced to Zuzu, (Azealea Zuzu Clover), her picture is still on Becky's profile at the time of this review. We were told ahead of time that she had not been vaccinated.
Took her to the vet on Monday 9/22 to get her shots and a check up. We were told that Zuzu has Heart Worm and Zuzu has two tick born virus's, after a stool sample was tested, we were told she has two intestinal parasites. She is a very sick girl.
As of now we have spent over $2500.00 for the Heart Worm treatment, vet visits, and medication. Hopefully we will be starting a Go Fund Me to help with the cost.
According to the vet, the heart worm is spread by mosquitos biting infected dog and transfer to other dogs. If this is the case, there is a good chance William and Oakley could be infected and possibly puppies too. Parasites passed through feces, same thing, other dogs in close quarters are susceptible to the virus's and parasites.
I am writing this to let people to be careful when dealing with Becky Carroll's Golden Retrievers, if this is how they treat the parents, I personally would not buy from them.
I think Good Dog needs to be a more diligent vetting their breeders if they on going to indorse them on their Website.
Thanks for reading.
UPDATE:
See Good Dog's response below. It's obvious they didn't get the point.
In this case, they are promoting/defending puppy mill practices.
Response from Good DogSep 25, 2025
Hi Ron,
Thank you for sharing your experience with us, and we're sorry to hear about the challenges you've faced with your rescue. We understand you didn't connect with this breeder through Good Dog and don't have an account with us.
All breeders in our community must pass our screening process and meet our community standards, including our Breeder Code of Ethics and our minimum health testing requirements, before joining Good Dog. After breeders join, we have routine check-ins to ensure continued compliance with these standards, which you can read more about here: https://www.gooddog.com/standards-and-screening
We wish you nothing but the best.
Warmly,
The Good Dog Team
NB
Nastasia B.
No integrity. Not trusted. Bad breeders
I used Good Dog when I purchased what I believed to be a 13-week-old Yorkshire Terrier (Yorkie) from Regina Cheslock of Raised by Gemstone Kennel. The puppy, advertised as a purebred Yorkie named Calvin, was later examined by a licensed veterinarian who informed me that Calvin is, in fact, a Chorkie — a mix between a Yorkie and a Chihuahua.
I paid $1,500 for the dog, in addition to incurring significant extra costs. I traveled four hours to pick him up and another four hours to return home. I also purchased food, clothing, essential supplies, and a DNA test to confirm the breed.
Furthermore, the veterinarian noted that I should have been provided with American Kennel Club (AKC) registration paperwork. The vaccination records I received were deemed invalid, as they lacked a licensed veterinarian's signature and proper documentation.
This has been a deeply disappointing and costly experience, and I feel misled by the seller.
Response from Good DogSep 21, 2025
Hi Natasia,
Thank you for reaching out. We take every experience on Good Dog seriously, and we’re glad that our Care Team has been able to connect with you about this situation and take next steps.
As they’ve shared with you, we take enforcement of our standards incredibly seriously and have a process in place to ensure that our standards are being met. We understand you were able to connect with our team directly already to take the first steps in this review process, so we can gather more details and thoroughly investigate this case.
We'll be sure to keep you updated as we move forward with our review process. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] if you have any other questions or if there's anything else we can help with.
Warmly,
The Good Dog Team
CG
Chris G.
Good dog is a rip off
Good dog is a rip off. They have outrageous fees for both the buyer and the seller. And if you want to avoid the fees and pay in a different way, Good dog threatens to delete your account. They also “require” all conversations to stay on their platform, so they can monitor you, but yet their messaging system sucks and sometimes I can’t even see the message without going to my email. Pictures and videos are super hard to share. But they threaten to delete your account if you don’t comply. They also harass customers by constantly sending reminder emails to get back to the breeder after a message is sent and also emails to send a deposit before they have even communicated with the breeder. This makes breeders look like scammers! They also allow deposits to be sent before the breeder has even approved the buyer and if the breeder sends them a refund, they automatically lose the fees that good dog deducted from it. And before Good dog comes and says I can contact them with my issues, yeah I’ve done that, and they do not care or help. Just give lame excuses to justify how they are ripping people off and try to make you think they deserve it somehow. But this is THE ONLY dog selling platform that charges these kinds of fees!! Go somewhere else and save yourself a few hundred dollars when buying a puppy!
Response from Good DogSep 15, 2025
Hi Chris,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We wanted to clarify a few things that might help explain how our platform works:
About Good Dog fees: On Good Dog, buyers can always choose to pay with zero fees by choosing to complete their payment via an ACH bank transfer. If a buyer prefers to use a credit or debit card, a processing fee goes directly to our payment processor, not to Good Dog. In addition, our Protection & Support fee is entirely optional. Many puppy owners choose to include it because it provides valuable benefits including payment protection, access to training resources and expert support, and professional training resources with exclusive partner discounts. This fee also helps us maintain our high standards and continue improving our platform to help more families find their perfect match.
Why we recommend communicating on Good Dog: We don't require conversations to happen on Good Dog, but we do strongly recommend it for everyone's safety, so we can step in if we ever need to.
Deposits: Deposits can only be sent to active breeders on our platform, and we work to support both breeders and buyers if refunds are needed. We always encourage buyers to communicate clearly with the breeder they’re interested in working with about their unique processes before any payments are sent.
Reminder emails: We know the process of finding a new pup can feel overwhelming, and these emails are just friendly check-ins meant to help your journey stay on track, but you can always adjust your notification settings in your account if you'd prefer fewer updates from us.
We're sorry to hear that your previous experience with our support team didn’t meet your expectations. We're always working to improve and would welcome the opportunity to discuss your specific concerns further. Please feel free to reach out to us directly at [email protected] anytime!
Warmly,
The Good Dog Team
MR
Marie R.
We have tried to Reach Good Dog for…
We have tried to Reach Good Dog for over a month. No one will return my calls or answer my emails. This is poor business.
Response from Good DogSep 15, 2025
Hi Marie,
We’re glad that a member of our team has already been able to connect with you and share more information about our Community Standards, Good Breeder Code of Ethics, and Policies, and how they may apply to your individual breeding program.
As they mentioned, every breeder in our community must pass our screening process and meet or exceed our community standards, including our Breeder Code of Ethics and our minimum health testing requirements (linked below), before joining Good Dog. After breeders join Good Dog, we have routine check-ins to ensure continued compliance with these standards.
-https://www.gooddog.com/standards-and-screening
-https://www.gooddog.com/breeder-code-of-ethics
-https://www.gooddog.com/good-breeder-center/good-dog-article-toc#good-dog-policies
We continue to wish you the nothing but the best with your breeding program moving forward.
Warmly,
The Good Dog Team
WK
Winnie K.
designer mixes/ doodles are not purebred
they are advertising purebred bernerdoodles, which are 100% not purebred, only a designer mix
Response from Good DogSep 15, 2025
Hi Kelly,
Thank you for sharing your concerns about dog health and breeding standards – these are issues we care deeply about too.
Every breeder on Good Dog must go through our comprehensive screening process and meet breed-specific health testing requirements before joining our platform. We require OFA testing and other health screenings based on each breed's specific needs.
Good Dog is a place for all dogs because we support the fundamental right to breed dogs and we know the future of well-bred dogs depends on responsible dog breeders.
While we welcome responsible breeders of all types, every breeder – regardless of what they breed – must meet our health testing requirements and Breeder Code of Ethics, which you can read more about here:
https://www.gooddog.com/standards-and-screening
https://www.gooddog.com/breeder-code-of-ethics
We hope this answers your remaining questions, but please do not hesitate to reach out if there’s anything more we can help with.
Warmly,
The Good Dog Team
