The Royal Kennel Club Reviews 

1,896
TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

4.6

While we don't verify specific claims because reviewers' opinions are their own, we may label reviews as "Verified" when we can confirm a business interaction took place. Read more

To protect platform integrity, every review on our platform—verified or not—is screened by our 24/7 automated software. This technology is designed to identify and remove content that breaches our guidelines, including reviews that are not based on a genuine experience. We recognise we may not catch everything, and you can flag anything you think we may have missed. Read more

Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Looking at 149 reviews, reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. Customers frequently praise the staff for being knowledgeable, professional, and highly patient when assisting with various matters. Reviewers find the service provided to be first-class and excellent, with many people noting how helpful and thorough team members are in resolving their concerns. However, some people mentioned issues related to contact difficulty, noting instances of long hold times or messages going unanswered. A small group of consumers also felt negative experiences, such as being treated rudely or encountering unforeseen problems, despite the positive help received from some agents.

What people talk about most

Staff

Reviewers highlight positive aspects of staff, praising their patience, kindness, and extensive knowledge... See more

Customer service

People report positive experiences with customer service, praising staff for being exceptionally patient,... See more

Service

Users describe ambiguous interactions with service, reflecting a wide range of differing experiences. Some... See more

Response time

Reviewers express mixed feelings regarding response_time and communication. Some consumers note that hold... See more

User experience

Customers consistently note positive experiences with user experience, finding the process seamless and... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The registration form (form 8) would not work on line. Telephone answered in about 8 minutes by Olivia. She was pleasant, calm, patient, understanding and very professional. There was a history of is... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic experience Ella was very patient and helpful. Guided me through the the change of ownership online as I was having problems with and made clear with her instructions. So big thank you from... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

We had issues with your system when registering our litter. We called in and fortunately spoke to Gloria who was extremly helpful and patient. She was able to correct the error and process our payme... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Maria was lovely and so easy to talk too. So helpful and knowledgeable and helped me in so many more ways than I had called up for initially. She guided me to different areas of how the kennel club c... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Animal Protection Organization

Written by the company

We are the largest organisation in the UK devoted to dog health, welfare and training. Our objective is to make a positive difference to dogs and their owners. We run the UK's largest registration database for pedigree dogs and an activity register for crossbreed dogs.


Contact info

4.6

Excellent

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

2K reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
2-star
1-star

No recent history of asking for reviews

This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative

Replied to 77% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 2 weeks

How this company uses Trustpilot

See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.

4.6

All reviews

(1,896)

148 reviews in the last 12 months

Write a review
Companies on Trustpilot aren't allowed to offer incentives or pay to hide reviews. Reviews are the opinions of individual users and not of Trustpilot. Read more

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Gloria was extremely helpful, but the RKC are not

Gloria was extremely helpful, and I have no complaints there.
Unfortunately, I had to speak to her because, once again, The RKC naming check process was a complete disappointment. I wanted to use the pedigree name of the pups grandmother (my own dog), and the Computer said NO. Although I have the name, another Kennel has been given permission to use one element of it so I was denied, which was very upsetting. It was given to my girl by a dear friend, who passed away last year, and I wanted to use the name again in tribute.
There should be room for discretion in these instances.
Two stars because Gloria was lovely, I wish I could say the same for the RKC

March 26, 2026
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you for your review and your praise for Gloria, we are pleased she left a good impression with you. The rules on naming puppies is very clear and no 2 dogs within a breed can have the same name, therefore you would not be able to name a puppy the same as it's grandmother regardless of the ownership of the dog. You are also not permitted to use another breeder's affix in your puppy's names as they pay a maintenance fee to protect this. We are sorry that you disagree with our naming rules but hope you understand that these rules are in place for reasons that protect the integrity of pedigree records. If you would like your case looked into more closely you can raise a case within our Help Centre https://www.royalkennelclub.com/forms/registrations-complaints/

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Awful

Awful. Can’t get in touch. Website is dreadful. Advert disappeared.
I will never use them again.

April 1, 2026
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you for contacting us and we appreciate your feedback. We can see you have contacted us via our Help Centre and have also spoken to Loren in our call centre on 8 April. Our lines will always be very busy on Mondays or directly after a Bank Holiday, we apologise for the wait times you encountered. A member of the team will be in contact with you shortly to resolve your case.

Whilst an advert is being edited it will "disappear" from our listing as editing will unpublish the advert. This is stated on the customer journey.

Your advert is now live and showing on our website. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great service and very helpful

Marie was really great - she helped me with my query about the litter registration and also was able to approve the pups names. She also helped with the 'find a pup' service and the certificates. A speedy and friendly service - 10/10. Thank you, Marie!

March 26, 2026
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you for your review. We really appreciate it.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Profit over safety, they really don't care.

Have called and left messages to this place to report that a Great Dane is still breeding with a hereditary autoimmune disease but they do not reply nor stop the bloodline so that they can keep their finances abundant. They are just happy to let this breeder carry on breeding causing distress to buyers of so-called "perfect" pedigree Great Danes. These dogs are far from cheap and I have spent £10,000 (yes ten thousand pounds) in five months to help my poorly puppy which devastatingly will result in having both of her eyes removed or euthanised because of a hereditary condition. Absolutely mockery of a so-called "Royal Kennel Club". Will be reporting such Code of Practice to the Board of Directors for this appalling, disgraceful behaviour.

March 14, 2026
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you for your review.

We are sorry to hear that you have had difficulty in contacting us and reporting your concerns accordingly and it is even more regrettable to hear that your puppy has been suffering with poor health and we can understand your concern entirely.

We take the health of dogs very seriously, and if you have not already, would strongly encourage you to make a report to our Health & Breeding Support team for further investigation. We kindly ask reports of this nature are submitted via email for our team to investigate further. They can be contacted at health@royalkennelclub.com .

Once again we apologise for your experience, and hope that you and your dog are as well as possible considering the circumstances.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent service

Excellent service , attention to what I was asking , acted immediately to sort my problem out , was cheerful and pleasant throughout , a really nice experience was had thank you .

March 6, 2026
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you for your review. We really appreciate the time taken.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Gary was a superstar

Gary was a superstar! He answered every query I had!
He was very professional throughout the call and an absolute pleasure to deal with.
20/10

March 6, 2026
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you very much for your review.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding Customer Service

I felt compelled to leave this review after the outstanding service I received today from Aurelia at The Kennel Club.

I called with a long list of questions — at least eight in total — covering previous membership registrations, litter registrations, kennel name queries, payments, advertising a puppy, and more. Some of these were quite complex and I was honestly feeling rather fretful before making the call, worried that it would all be complicated and difficult to untangle.

From the moment Aurelia answered the phone, she was calm, professional, knowledgeable and incredibly polite. Not only did she patiently work through every single one of my questions with clarity and confidence, she also resolved an existing issue with my online account there and then while we were on the phone.

On top of that, she arranged for a duplicate registration form due to my partner’s name change. The deed poll and supporting documents had already been submitted, but she was able to locate everything immediately and ensure it was all processed correctly. What could have been a stressful and drawn-out process felt seamless.

I actually asked her how long she had been working at The Kennel Club because her knowledge and experience suggested many years in the role. I was genuinely shocked to hear she has only been there for a year. She is a credit to the organisation.

The Kennel Club clearly invests in training intelligent, proactive and capable staff, and Aurelia is a perfect example of that. She went above and beyond in every sense, and she completely turned my Monday morning around.

Please ensure her manager sees this review — she truly deserves recognition for her professionalism, efficiency and kindness.

I would not hesitate to recommend The Kennel Club, and I hope other customers are fortunate enough to deal with Aurelia. She was absolutely exceptional.

Thank you again.

February 23, 2026
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you very much for this wonderful review and for the time taken to leave it. We have passed your comments on to management.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Not even worth 1 star

Not even worth 1 star. I approached the kennel club to get my puppy registered. Then my puppy was stolen from me by her breeder. Who then claimed I had no rights registering the puppy with me as the owner... Even though kennel club issued me with a certificate stating I am the owner. They then withdrew my ownership giving it back to the breeder. The breeder and her friend are dog thieves who steal dogs and breed them to make money. I am totally shocked how the now royal Kennel club support people like this as recognised kennel club breeders. I even showed kennel club proof of me owning the dog even bank statements to prove I purchased my dog.
Absolute waste. Reality is I can now see why it isn't compulsory to register your puppy.

February 17, 2025
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you for your review. We understand your dispute is being dealt with by our Registration Compliance team who are liaising with yourself and other relevant parties.
The Royal Kennel Club register every litter and puppy in good faith however we cannot compel breeders to register every puppy and litter and as we have no access to new puppy owners we also cannot influence change of ownerships.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Really helpful lady!

I received all the help and explanation I needed. She was patient with me and my slightly poor English. Really lovely lady

February 17, 2026
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you for your review and the time taken to leave it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

After a really bad experience last…

After a really bad experience last week, I spoke to Liv, who couldn't have been more helpful. She should be rewarded for her kindness.

February 6, 2026
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you very much for your review, we appreciate the time taken.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Litter Registration had taken over a…

Litter Registration had taken over a week to be even looked at,but,the young lady I spoke to checked it while I was on the phone,pushed it thru',so that I could put an advert on.Disappointed with all these extra costs for posting hard copies out with the price of the registrationd ATM

January 26, 2026
Unprompted review
The Royal Kennel Club logo

Reply from The Royal Kennel Club

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your feedback. Digital documentation was introduced so that breeders and owners have their certificates in their account promptly. The RKC are also committed to becoming more sustainable now and in the future.

The Trustpilot Experience

Anyone can write a Trustpilot review. People who write reviews have ownership to edit or delete them at any time, and they’ll be displayed as long as an account is active.

We use dedicated people and clever technology to safeguard our platform. Find out how we combat fake reviews.

Learn about Trustpilot’s review process.

Here are 8 tips for writing great reviews.

Verification can help ensure real people are writing the reviews you read on Trustpilot.

Offering incentives for reviews or asking for them selectively can bias the TrustScore, which goes against our guidelines.

Take a closer look