TellTail is a platform to support dog breeders and pet buyers in the pet search process. The core offering of TellTail is a premium matching service that connects certified dog breeders with qualified pet buyers. This means no scammers or puppy mills are permitted to enroll and we connect both sides based on what is important to them.

This service is not designed to be a “puppy marketplace,” but instead will connect breeders and buyers who match based on what is most important to them.

For breeders, TellTail generates qualified leads, with the goal of driving more high-quality buyers to certified breeders. As a subscriber to TellTail Pro, breeders can also unlock discounts, benefits, and custom content for their programs.

For buyers, TellTail sends you information about certified dog breeders who match what you’re looking for. Buyers receive up to five matches immediately, and then we continue to send matches daily until you find the right breeder for you. This service is currently free for buyers.

We also offer a vast library of resources for both breeders and pet buyers.

The TellTail Basic experience is intended to offer breeders a glimpse into all that TellTail Pro has to offer. Basic breeders can make an account, add litter information, and begin to receive previews of leads — however they cannot unlock those leads or become certified through TellTail until they upgrade to TellTail Pro.

TellTail Basic Members can:

• Preview puppy buyer matches

• Access select learning resources

• Access the monthly TellTail newsletter and Private Facebook Group

TellTail Pro Members can:

• Receive unlimited puppy buyer matches

• Access exclusive learning resources

• Access the monthly TellTail newsletter and Private Facebook Group

• Access exclusive deals and benefits for breeders

• Once approved, receive a Certified Breeder Badge

• Receive custom profile and social media content

• Access the wider breeder community, including mentorship and the TellTail Breeder Support Team

• Receive scam protection for your program

• Earn money via TellTail’s referral program

Breeders must pass through a certification process in order to enroll in TellTail and match with buyers.

This requires a government-issued ID, which is compared to a live-capture selfie. After ID is verified, the breeder is run through a database of recognized puppy mills, to ensure no bad actors are eligible to match.

Right now, TellTail focuses on eliminating scammers and puppy mills, but breeders will soon be able to submit additional information related to health testing, socialization, and other elements of their program that make them shine!

Please click here to view the list of accepted IDs for the verification process.

Puppies are not sold directly on TellTail, but the matching service connects certified dog breeders with qualified pet buyers.

We do not tell breeders how to manage their sale process. Think of this like a dating app - the apps connect both sides, but never tell you who to date or marry! So once you two connect via TellTail, you take it from there, but we are always here to support both sides in this process.

TellTail is built with breeders, for breeders - breeders are at the center of everything we do.

TellTail is designed to solve the deepest pain points in this space and brings trust back into the pet search process. Buyers can be confident that when they match with a TellTail breeder, the breeder is 1) not a recognized puppy mill, 2) has been ID verified, and 3) their profile information came directly from the verified breeder.

Existing websites do not eliminate the overwhelming pet search process. TellTail’s match service takes into account what is important to both breeders and buyers and cuts to the chase by sending you your most optimal matches.

TellTail also requires ID verification and puppy mill screening to enroll.

As an organization, TellTail does not define “puppy mill,” because we know that many people have a different definition of this term. This term is thrown around to describe the terrible actors who treat pets with little to no care (think about the Sarah McLachlan commercials) but it is also used to describe breeders who breed certain types of dogs. We feel it creates more confusion to have TellTail create yet another definition of this term.

Instead, we look to the experts in this industry to identify these bad actors help us as we eliminate them from the pet search process.

With information from large animal welfare and humanitarian organizations like the Humane Society, we are taking a big, meaningful step toward cutting these bad actors out of the pet search ecosystem.

As an organization, we do not feel it is our role to say who is and is not a “responsible” breeder, since everyone in the industry has a different definition of this term. Instead, we focus first on verification — i.e. eliminating scammers — and we screen every applicant to ensure they are not a recognized puppy mill (as determined by animal welfare groups like the Humane Society).

We are already working on additional ways for breeders to show buyers the incredible efforts they take to keep their puppies healthy and safe. This includes health testing, socialization protocols, vaccinations, etc. — we plan to roll out these additional features soon, so stay tuned!

We want to give every certified breeder the opportunity to stand out to buyers in ways that they choose, without imposing an unrealistic or unfair standard on to the breeding community.

TellTail is free for buyers, but it is currently a paid subscription for breeders, which requires an annual payment of $200 to become a TellTail Pro Member. We do offer a free tier for breeders, called TellTail Basic, that gives breeders a preview of leads and other offerings before they are ready to upgrade to Pro.

The ongoing membership fee is paid annually, allows us to do appropriate screening and verification, and unlocks unlimited qualified buyer leads, access to deals and benefits, custom content for your breeding program, exclusive events, and more!

We are a group of passionate pet lovers who care deeply about supporting dog breeders and pet buyers in this process. Get to know us by reading more here.

We collect our content from a wide variety of sources, including individuals and organizations with various backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences. In doing so, we invite trusted breeders, veterinarians, researchers, and others to collaborate to share information with the trusted breeder community.

We believe that breeders are often the best source of information on how to be a breeder (since they are living it every day!), so we encourage them to teach others what they know.

We’re so glad you asked - this is one of the unique parts of TellTail!

You can scan the breeder’s unique QR code, which will send you to their TellTail profile. The information on this page is directly from the breeder, so please confirm that it matches the information you’d been told.

If you encounter one of our original beta breeder’s badges, it may have a unique ID number printed directly on the badge. Visit telltail.com/scamfree and input the breeder’s information to verify them!

We always encourage you to inform us about scams that you encounter. Please email hello@telltail.com with any relevant information that you would like for our team to know in keeping breeders and pet parents informed.

We welcome feedback any time - that is how we continue to improve!

Email hello@telltail.com or call us at 213-322-0008