diff --git a/impl/cmd/main.go b/impl/cmd/main.go
index 2c341752..83b6a9c2 100644
--- a/impl/cmd/main.go
+++ b/impl/cmd/main.go
@@ -109,8 +109,8 @@ func configureLogger(level string) {
 	if level != "" {
 		logLevel, err := logrus.ParseLevel(level)
 		if err != nil {
-			logrus.WithError(err).WithField("level", level).Error("could not parse log level, setting to info")
-			logrus.SetLevel(logrus.InfoLevel)
+			logrus.WithError(err).WithField("level", level).Error("could not parse log level, setting to debug")
+			logrus.SetLevel(logrus.DebugLevel)
 		} else {
 			logrus.SetLevel(logLevel)
 		}
diff --git a/impl/config/config.go b/impl/config/config.go
index a95ec23e..e17d5d5e 100644
--- a/impl/config/config.go
+++ b/impl/config/config.go
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ func GetDefaultConfig() Config {
 			CacheSizeLimitMB: 500,
 		},
 		Log: LogConfig{
-			Level: logrus.InfoLevel.String(),
+			Level: logrus.DebugLevel.String(),
 		},
 	}
 }
diff --git a/impl/integrationtest/main.go b/impl/integrationtest/main.go
index bad1df58..5765c773 100644
--- a/impl/integrationtest/main.go
+++ b/impl/integrationtest/main.go
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ var (
 )
 
 func main() {
-	logrus.SetLevel(logrus.InfoLevel)
+	logrus.SetLevel(logrus.DebugLevel)
 	if len(os.Args) < 2 {
 		logrus.Fatal("must specify 1 argument (server URL)")
 	}
diff --git a/impl/internal/dht/getput.go b/impl/internal/dht/getput.go
index 52cbe9c1..ac62ab2c 100644
--- a/impl/internal/dht/getput.go
+++ b/impl/internal/dht/getput.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"math"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	k_nearest_nodes "github.com/anacrolix/dht/v2/k-nearest-nodes"
 	"github.com/anacrolix/torrent/bencode"
@@ -37,7 +38,10 @@ func startGetTraversal(
 		Alpha:  15,
 		Target: target,
 		DoQuery: func(ctx context.Context, addr krpc.NodeAddr) traversal.QueryResult {
-			res := s.Get(ctx, dht.NewAddr(addr.UDP()), target, seq, dht.QueryRateLimiting{})
+			queryCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 8*time.Second)
+			defer cancel()
+
+			res := s.Get(queryCtx, dht.NewAddr(addr.UDP()), target, seq, dht.QueryRateLimiting{})
 			err := res.ToError()
 			if err != nil && !errors.Is(err, context.Canceled) && !errors.Is(err, dht.TransactionTimeout) {
 				logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithError(err).Debugf("error querying %v", addr)
@@ -52,7 +56,7 @@ func startGetTraversal(
 						Sig:     r.Sig,
 						Mutable: false,
 					}:
-					case <-ctx.Done():
+					case <-queryCtx.Done():
 					}
 				} else if sha1.Sum(append(r.K[:], salt...)) == target && bep44.Verify(r.K[:], salt, *r.Seq, bv, r.Sig[:]) {
 					select {
@@ -62,15 +66,13 @@ func startGetTraversal(
 						Sig:     r.Sig,
 						Mutable: true,
 					}:
-					case <-ctx.Done():
+					case <-queryCtx.Done():
 					}
 				} else if rv != nil {
 					logrus.WithContext(ctx).Debugf("get response item hash didn't match target: %q", rv)
 				}
 			}
 			tqr := res.TraversalQueryResult(addr)
-			// Filter replies from nodes that don't have a string token. This doesn't look prettier
-			// with generics. "The token value should be a short binary string." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (BEP 5).
 			tqr.ClosestData, _ = tqr.ClosestData.(string)
 			if tqr.ClosestData == nil {
 				tqr.ResponseFrom = nil
@@ -80,7 +82,7 @@ func startGetTraversal(
 		NodeFilter: s.TraversalNodeFilter,
 	})
 
-	// list for context cancellation or stalled traversal
+	// Listen for context cancellation or stalled traversal
 	go func() {
 		select {
 		case <-ctx.Done():
diff --git a/impl/pkg/dht/logging.go b/impl/pkg/dht/logging.go
index f54fb3c1..47e3af2a 100644
--- a/impl/pkg/dht/logging.go
+++ b/impl/pkg/dht/logging.go
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 package dht
 
 import (
+	"strings"
+
 	"github.com/anacrolix/log"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 )
 
 func init() {
-	logrus.SetFormatter(&logrus.JSONFormatter{})
 	log.Default.Handlers = []log.Handler{logrusHandler{}}
 }
 
@@ -16,7 +17,7 @@ type logrusHandler struct{}
 // It intentionally downgrades the log level to reduce verbosity.
 func (logrusHandler) Handle(record log.Record) {
 	entry := logrus.WithFields(logrus.Fields{"names": record.Names})
-	msg := record.Msg.String()
+	msg := strings.Replace(record.Msg.String(), "\n", "", -1)
 
 	switch record.Level {
 	case log.Debug:
diff --git a/impl/pkg/server/pkarr.go b/impl/pkg/server/pkarr.go
index fc61c500..d78293cf 100644
--- a/impl/pkg/server/pkarr.go
+++ b/impl/pkg/server/pkarr.go
@@ -43,7 +43,18 @@ func (r *PkarrRouter) GetRecord(c *gin.Context) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	resp, err := r.service.GetPkarr(c.Request.Context(), *id)
+	// make sure the key is valid
+	key, err := util.Z32Decode(*id)
+	if err != nil {
+		LoggingRespondErrWithMsg(c, err, "invalid record id", http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		return
+	}
+	if len(key) != ed25519.PublicKeySize {
+		LoggingRespondErrMsg(c, "invalid z32 encoded ed25519 public key", http.StatusBadRequest)
+		return
+	}
+
+	resp, err := r.service.GetPkarr(c, *id)
 	if err != nil {
 		LoggingRespondErrWithMsg(c, err, "failed to get pkarr record", http.StatusInternalServerError)
 		return
@@ -82,7 +93,7 @@ func (r *PkarrRouter) PutRecord(c *gin.Context) {
 	}
 	key, err := util.Z32Decode(*id)
 	if err != nil {
-		LoggingRespondErrWithMsg(c, err, "failed to read id", http.StatusInternalServerError)
+		LoggingRespondErrWithMsg(c, err, "invalid record id", http.StatusInternalServerError)
 		return
 	}
 	if len(key) != ed25519.PublicKeySize {
@@ -114,7 +125,7 @@ func (r *PkarrRouter) PutRecord(c *gin.Context) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	if err = r.service.PublishPkarr(c.Request.Context(), *id, *request); err != nil {
+	if err = r.service.PublishPkarr(c, *id, *request); err != nil {
 		LoggingRespondErrWithMsg(c, err, "failed to publish pkarr record", http.StatusInternalServerError)
 		return
 	}
diff --git a/impl/pkg/server/pkarr_test.go b/impl/pkg/server/pkarr_test.go
index f635600b..f87bd5c6 100644
--- a/impl/pkg/server/pkarr_test.go
+++ b/impl/pkg/server/pkarr_test.go
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ func TestPkarrRouter(t *testing.T) {
 
 	t.Run("test get not found", func(t *testing.T) {
 		w := httptest.NewRecorder()
-		suffix := "aaa"
+		suffix := "uqaj3fcr9db6jg6o9pjs53iuftyj45r46aubogfaceqjbo6pp9sy"
 		req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodGet, fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", testServerURL, suffix), nil)
 		c := newRequestContextWithParams(w, req, map[string]string{IDParam: suffix})
 		pkarrRouter.GetRecord(c)
diff --git a/impl/pkg/server/server.go b/impl/pkg/server/server.go
index 66bb7138..6da80e70 100644
--- a/impl/pkg/server/server.go
+++ b/impl/pkg/server/server.go
@@ -70,9 +70,10 @@ func NewServer(cfg *config.Config, shutdown chan os.Signal, d *dht.DHT) (*Server
 		Server: &http.Server{
 			Addr:              fmt.Sprintf("%s:%d", cfg.ServerConfig.APIHost, cfg.ServerConfig.APIPort),
 			Handler:           handler,
-			ReadTimeout:       time.Second * 10,
+			ReadTimeout:       time.Second * 15,
 			ReadHeaderTimeout: time.Second * 10,
 			WriteTimeout:      time.Second * 10,
+			MaxHeaderBytes:    1 << 20,
 		},
 		cfg:      cfg,
 		svc:      pkarrService,
diff --git a/impl/pkg/service/pkarr.go b/impl/pkg/service/pkarr.go
index 781384c8..018cc11c 100644
--- a/impl/pkg/service/pkarr.go
+++ b/impl/pkg/service/pkarr.go
@@ -28,11 +28,12 @@ const recordSizeLimit = 1000
 
 // PkarrService is the Pkarr service responsible for managing the Pkarr DHT and reading/writing records
 type PkarrService struct {
-	cfg       *config.Config
-	db        storage.Storage
-	dht       *dht.DHT
-	cache     *bigcache.BigCache
-	scheduler *dhtint.Scheduler
+	cfg         *config.Config
+	db          storage.Storage
+	dht         *dht.DHT
+	cache       *bigcache.BigCache
+	badGetCache *bigcache.BigCache
+	scheduler   *dhtint.Scheduler
 }
 
 // NewPkarrService returns a new instance of the Pkarr service
@@ -41,7 +42,7 @@ func NewPkarrService(cfg *config.Config, db storage.Storage, d *dht.DHT) (*Pkarr
 		return nil, ssiutil.LoggingNewError("config is required")
 	}
 
-	// create and start cache and scheduler
+	// create and start get cache
 	cacheTTL := time.Duration(cfg.PkarrConfig.CacheTTLSeconds) * time.Second
 	cacheConfig := bigcache.DefaultConfig(cacheTTL)
 	cacheConfig.MaxEntrySize = recordSizeLimit
@@ -51,13 +52,24 @@ func NewPkarrService(cfg *config.Config, db storage.Storage, d *dht.DHT) (*Pkarr
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, ssiutil.LoggingErrorMsg(err, "failed to instantiate cache")
 	}
+
+	// create a new cache for bad gets to prevent spamming the DHT
+	cacheConfig.LifeWindow = 120 * time.Second
+	cacheConfig.CleanWindow = 60 * time.Second
+	badGetCache, err := bigcache.New(context.Background(), cacheConfig)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, ssiutil.LoggingErrorMsg(err, "failed to instantiate badGetCache")
+	}
+
+	// start scheduler for republishing
 	scheduler := dhtint.NewScheduler()
 	svc := PkarrService{
-		cfg:       cfg,
-		db:        db,
-		dht:       d,
-		cache:     cache,
-		scheduler: &scheduler,
+		cfg:         cfg,
+		db:          db,
+		dht:         d,
+		cache:       cache,
+		badGetCache: badGetCache,
+		scheduler:   &scheduler,
 	}
 	if err = scheduler.Schedule(cfg.PkarrConfig.RepublishCRON, svc.republish); err != nil {
 		return nil, ssiutil.LoggingErrorMsg(err, "failed to start republisher")
@@ -70,6 +82,11 @@ func (s *PkarrService) PublishPkarr(ctx context.Context, id string, record pkarr
 	ctx, span := telemetry.GetTracer().Start(ctx, "PkarrService.PublishPkarr")
 	defer span.End()
 
+	// make sure the key is valid
+	if _, err := util.Z32Decode(id); err != nil {
+		return ssiutil.LoggingCtxErrorMsgf(ctx, err, "failed to decode z-base-32 encoded ID: %s", id)
+	}
+
 	if err := record.IsValid(); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -115,6 +132,16 @@ func (s *PkarrService) GetPkarr(ctx context.Context, id string) (*pkarr.Response
 	ctx, span := telemetry.GetTracer().Start(ctx, "PkarrService.GetPkarr")
 	defer span.End()
 
+	// make sure the key is valid
+	if _, err := util.Z32Decode(id); err != nil {
+		return nil, ssiutil.LoggingCtxErrorMsgf(ctx, err, "failed to decode z-base-32 encoded ID: %s", id)
+	}
+
+	// if the key is in the badGetCache, return an error
+	if _, err := s.badGetCache.Get(id); err == nil {
+		return nil, ssiutil.LoggingCtxErrorMsgf(ctx, err, "key [%s] looked up too frequently, please wait a bit before trying again", id)
+	}
+
 	// first do a cache lookup
 	if got, err := s.cache.Get(id); err == nil {
 		var resp pkarr.Response
@@ -138,7 +165,13 @@ func (s *PkarrService) GetPkarr(ctx context.Context, id string) (*pkarr.Response
 
 		record, err := s.db.ReadRecord(ctx, rawID)
 		if err != nil || record == nil {
-			logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithError(err).WithField("record", id).Error("failed to resolve pkarr record from storage")
+			logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithError(err).WithField("record", id).Error("failed to resolve pkarr record from storage; adding to badGetCache")
+
+			// add the key to the badGetCache to prevent spamming the DHT
+			if err = s.badGetCache.Set(id, []byte{0}); err != nil {
+				logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithError(err).WithField("record", id).Error("failed to set key in badGetCache")
+			}
+
 			return nil, err
 		}
 
@@ -193,67 +226,93 @@ func (s *PkarrService) republish() {
 	recordCnt, err := s.db.RecordCount(ctx)
 	if err != nil {
 		logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithError(err).Error("failed to get record count before republishing")
+		return
 	} else {
 		logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithField("record_count", recordCnt).Info("republishing records")
 	}
 
 	var nextPageToken []byte
 	var recordsBatch []pkarr.Record
-	var seenRecords, batchCnt, successCnt, errCnt int32 = 0, 0, 0, 0
+	var seenRecords, batchCnt, successCnt, errCnt int32 = 0, 1, 0, 0
+
 	for {
 		recordsBatch, nextPageToken, err = s.db.ListRecords(ctx, nextPageToken, 1000)
 		if err != nil {
 			logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithError(err).Error("failed to list record(s) for republishing")
 			return
 		}
-		seenRecords += int32(len(recordsBatch))
-		if len(recordsBatch) == 0 {
+		batchSize := len(recordsBatch)
+		seenRecords += int32(batchSize)
+		if batchSize == 0 {
 			logrus.WithContext(ctx).Info("no records to republish")
 			return
 		}
 
 		logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithFields(logrus.Fields{
-			"record_count": len(recordsBatch),
+			"record_count": batchSize,
 			"batch_number": batchCnt,
 			"total_seen":   seenRecords,
-		}).Infof("republishing next batch of records")
+		}).Infof("republishing batch [%d] of [%d] records", batchCnt, batchSize)
 		batchCnt++
 
 		var wg sync.WaitGroup
-		wg.Add(len(recordsBatch))
+		wg.Add(batchSize)
 
+		var batchErrCnt, batchSuccessCnt int32 = 0, 0
 		for _, record := range recordsBatch {
-			go func(record pkarr.Record) {
+			go func(ctx context.Context, record pkarr.Record) {
 				defer wg.Done()
 
 				recordID := zbase32.EncodeToString(record.Key[:])
 				logrus.WithContext(ctx).Debugf("republishing record: %s", recordID)
 
-				// Create a new context with a timeout of 10 seconds
-				putCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), 10*time.Second)
+				putCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 10*time.Second)
 				defer cancel()
 
-				if _, err = s.dht.Put(putCtx, record.BEP44()); err != nil {
-					logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithError(err).Errorf("failed to republish record: %s", recordID)
-					atomic.AddInt32(&errCnt, 1)
+				if _, putErr := s.dht.Put(putCtx, record.BEP44()); putErr != nil {
+					logrus.WithContext(putCtx).WithError(putErr).Errorf("failed to republish record: %s", recordID)
+					atomic.AddInt32(&batchErrCnt, 1)
 				} else {
-					atomic.AddInt32(&successCnt, 1)
+					atomic.AddInt32(&batchSuccessCnt, 1)
 				}
-			}(record)
+			}(ctx, record)
 		}
 
+		// Wait for all goroutines in this batch to finish before moving on to the next batch
 		wg.Wait()
 
+		// Update the success and error counts
+		atomic.AddInt32(&successCnt, batchSuccessCnt)
+		atomic.AddInt32(&errCnt, batchErrCnt)
+
+		successRate := float64(batchSuccessCnt) / float64(batchSize)
+
+		logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithFields(logrus.Fields{
+			"batch_number": batchCnt,
+			"success":      successCnt,
+			"errors":       errCnt,
+		}).Infof("batch [%d] completed with a [%02f] percent success rate", batchCnt, successRate)
+
+		if successRate < 0.8 {
+			logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithFields(logrus.Fields{
+				"batch_number": batchCnt,
+				"success":      successCnt,
+				"errors":       errCnt,
+			}).Errorf("batch [%d] failed to meet success rate threshold; exiting republishing early", batchCnt)
+			break
+		}
+
 		if nextPageToken == nil {
 			break
 		}
 	}
 
+	successRate := float64(successCnt) / float64(seenRecords)
 	logrus.WithContext(ctx).WithFields(logrus.Fields{
 		"success": seenRecords - errCnt,
 		"errors":  errCnt,
 		"total":   seenRecords,
-	}).Infof("republishing complete with [%d] batches", batchCnt)
+	}).Infof("republishing complete with [%d] batches of [%d] total records with an [%02f] percent success rate", batchCnt, seenRecords, successRate*100)
 }
 
 // Close closes the Pkarr service gracefully
@@ -269,6 +328,11 @@ func (s *PkarrService) Close() {
 			logrus.WithError(err).Error("failed to close cache")
 		}
 	}
+	if s.badGetCache != nil {
+		if err := s.badGetCache.Close(); err != nil {
+			logrus.WithError(err).Error("failed to close badGetCache")
+		}
+	}
 	if err := s.db.Close(); err != nil {
 		logrus.WithError(err).Error("failed to close db")
 	}
diff --git a/impl/pkg/service/pkarr_test.go b/impl/pkg/service/pkarr_test.go
index 3a08e1d8..1275abb8 100644
--- a/impl/pkg/service/pkarr_test.go
+++ b/impl/pkg/service/pkarr_test.go
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ func TestPkarrService(t *testing.T) {
 
 	t.Run("test get record with invalid ID", func(t *testing.T) {
 		got, err := svc.GetPkarr(context.Background(), "---")
-		assert.EqualError(t, err, "illegal z-base-32 data at input byte 0")
+		assert.ErrorContains(t, err, "illegal z-base-32 data at input byte 0")
 		assert.Nil(t, got)
 	})
 
@@ -125,6 +125,17 @@ func TestPkarrService(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Equal(t, putMsg.Seq, got.Seq)
 	})
 
+	t.Run("test get record with invalid ID", func(t *testing.T) {
+		got, err := svc.GetPkarr(context.Background(), "uqaj3fcr9db6jg6o9pjs53iuftyj45r46aubogfaceqjbo6pp9sy")
+		assert.NoError(t, err)
+		assert.Empty(t, got)
+
+		// try it again to make sure the cache is working
+		got, err = svc.GetPkarr(context.Background(), "uqaj3fcr9db6jg6o9pjs53iuftyj45r46aubogfaceqjbo6pp9sy")
+		assert.ErrorContains(t, err, "looked up too frequently, please wait a bit before trying again")
+		assert.Empty(t, got)
+	})
+
 	t.Cleanup(func() { svc.Close() })
 }