Puppies.com now features a built-in video calling tool to help connect buyers and sellers safely and authentically. This allows you to meet face-to-face, see puppies in real-time, and verify details securely right from your Message Center without needing to exchange personal phone numbers or external social media links.
We are gradually rolling this feature out to our community. Below is everything you need to know about starting, receiving, and managing your video calls.
Video Call Rules and Limits
To ensure a safe environment and prevent spam or unsolicited cold-calling, the video system enforces a few protective guardrails:
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Established Conversations Only: You cannot initiate a video call with another user out of the blue. A call can only be started if an initial message has been sent and a reply has been received. The breeder or buyer must first reply to unlock the feature.
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15-Minute Time Limit: Each individual video call has a maximum time limit of 15 minutes to keep calls focused and efficient.
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3-Call Daily Limit: There is a strict limit of 3 video calls per buyer/seller pairing per day. Crucially, this limit only applies to successful calls that connect and last longer than 10 seconds. Ringing out, dropped connections, or missed calls do not count toward your daily total.
How to Start or Join a Call
Before you begin, we highly recommend messaging the other user to schedule your call in advance so you can ensure both parties are online and available to connect. It is also helpful to agree on a quick agenda beforehand (such as requesting to see the puppies interact or preparing a specific list of health questions) so everyone can properly prepare.
To begin a video call, navigate to your active conversation thread with the user you wish to Video Call within your Message Center:
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On a Desktop Browser: Click the Envelope icon in the top navigation bar to open your Inbox, then select your conversation in the left sidebar.
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On a Mobile Browser: Tap the Menu icon in the top right corner, tap Message Center below, and open your conversation.
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In the iOS or Android Apps: Tap the Messages icon in the bottom navigation menu and choose your active conversation thread.
Starting a New Call
Once inside the chat window, look at the upper-right corner of the message interface and click or tap the blue Video call button to begin dialing. (On mobile devices, this will appear as a blue Camera icon.)
Joining an Active Call
If another user calls you, you'll see an Incoming Call prompt in your account with options to View Call or Decline.
- Clicking View Call will direct you to your Conversation Thread with the user in your Message Center, where you'll see a message stating [User Name] initiated a video call.
- Click Join the call to answer/join the video call.
What to Expect During a Call
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Camera & Microphone Permissions: The first time you initiate or answer a call, your internet browser or mobile operating system may prompt you for permission to access your device hardware (
"puppies.com" Would Like to Access the Microphone and Camera). You must select Allow to successfully connect. -
Incoming Call Alerts: If someone calls you while you are actively browsing the site, a notification overlay will pop up near the top of your screen showing the caller's name. Select View call to bring up the window, or Decline to reject it.
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Calling Offline Users: If you attempt to video chat with someone who is currently offline, the system will prevent the call from endlessly ringing out. Instead, you will immediately see a notification stating: “[User] is offline and can’t receive video calls right now.” To ensure they know you tried to connect, the system will automatically send a text notification to their inbox thread reading: “[User] wants to join a video call. Hop online to chat.”
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In-Call Controls: While the call is active, you can use the red Cancel button to end the transmission. On mobile devices, you can also tap the white circular Flip Camera button (the green rotating arrows icon) to seamlessly switch between your front-facing selfie camera and your rear-facing camera—making it incredibly easy to showcase playing puppies!
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Automatic Activity Logs: Every call attempt is automatically logged chronologically right inside your Conversation Thread. The system explicitly displays status updates so both parties can track history, including:
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Missed -
No answer -
In progress -
Ended · [Duration](e.g., Ended · 49s)
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💡 Troubleshooting Spotty Connections
Because real-time video streaming requires a stable, high-speed data transfer, video performance can occasionally fluctuate depending on your cellular coverage, local Wi-Fi strength, or network configurations (such as active VPN usage).
If your call drops, stutters, or struggles to sync audio and video, use these quick troubleshooting steps to restore the stream:
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Use the "Join the Call" Link: Instead of launching a brand-new call attempt which forces a completely new connection handshake, look at your text message thread and click the blue Join the call link to re-enter the existing active session.
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Toggle Your Camera Permissions: If your video feed displays a black screen or a loading spinner, verify that your browser hasn't blocked camera access. Refresh your page, tap the video icon again, and ensure you accept the browser's hardware permission prompt.
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Disconnect Interferences: If you are testing or running the platform while connected to a corporate VPN, secure firewall, or restricted work network, try temporarily disabling the VPN or switching from local Wi-Fi to cellular data to give WebRTC traffic an unhindered path.
Still Have Questions? If so, our Support Team is here to help! Please don’t hesitate to contact us through our Contact Page (or email us directly at [email protected]) and we’ll be happy to assist.
