Privacy Policy

Information you send to The Schnauzer Scout — including inquiries, applications, documents and account details — goes to our administration team and to the breeder you chose to contact. No one's information can be shared from what was sent to administration. We never sell, rent, trade or disclose your personal information to advertisers, data brokers, marketers or any other third party. Administration uses what you send only to operate the directory, verify breeders and investigate abuse.

• All account holders: your name, email address and password (passwords are stored only in encrypted form — we cannot read them).
• Breeders: kennel name, owner name, city and state, contact email and phone, website and social media links, kennel description and photos, adult dog records, litter and puppy details, and health testing documents such as OFA, PennHIP, Embark, eye and cardiac certificates.
• Buyers and visitors: when you submit an inquiry we receive your name, email address, optional phone number, state, your level of experience with the breed, and the message you write.
• Technical data: standard connection and security logs kept by our hosting provider to protect the site.

• To create and manage your account.
• To display approved breeder profiles, dogs, litters and puppy listings publicly.
• To deliver your inquiry to the breeder you selected so they can reply to you directly.
• To review breeder applications, verify health testing documents and grant verification badges.
• To investigate reports of spam, scams or misuse, and to remove offending accounts.

We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not build marketing profiles from it.

When you contact a breeder, the contents of your inquiry — name, email, optional phone number, state, experience and message — are shared with that breeder only. It is not shared with any other breeder, breeder or outside party. Our administrators can view inquiries solely to investigate abuse reports or a breeder's request for help; administrators do not reply to buyers on a breeder's behalf and do not pass inquiries to anyone else.

Breeders who receive your inquiry are expected to use it only to respond to you. If a breeder misuses your contact details, report it to hello@schnauzerscout.com and we will investigate and may remove their account.

• Public: for approved breeders only — kennel name, city and state, profile description, website and social links, kennel photos, dogs, litters and puppy listings, and verification badges.
• Private: breeder personal contact details beyond what they choose to publish, all health testing documents, all buyer inquiries, and all account information.
• Never published: anything you send to administration. Verification submissions, support messages and abuse reports are seen only by our administrators.

Photos and health documents are stored in our managed, private file storage — never in a publicly browsable location. Photos are shown through short-lived, expiring links. Health testing documents can be opened only by the breeder who uploaded them and by our administrators when verifying them. Documents are never shown to other visitors and are never shared with third parties.

The Schnauzer Scout is a directory, not a payment service. We do not collect payment card details, bank details, or deposits of any kind, and no payment is ever processed through this website. Any arrangement you make with a breeder — including deposits and the purchase price of a puppy — is settled privately between you and the breeder, and we never see or store those financial details.

Accounts are protected by encrypted passwords and secure sessions. Access to private data is limited by role: breeders can see only their own records and the inquiries addressed to them; administrators can see what they need to verify breeders and moderate the site. File storage is access-controlled at the database level, so even a guessed link will not open someone else's documents.

We keep your information while your account is active. You may request correction or deletion of your account and its data at any time by writing to hello@ schnauzerscout.com. Deleting a breeder account removes its dogs, litters, puppies and documents. If you are a buyer, deleting your account removes your inquiries. We may retain minimal records where required to prevent fraud or comply with law.

The Schnauzer Scout is intended for adults. You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account or use this site. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us and we will remove it.

We will update this page when our practices change and revise the date shown to you in your account. Continued use of the site after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Questions about this policy or how your information is handled can be sent to hello@schnauzerscout.com or through our contact page.