Awareness on Puppy Mills
Commercial breeders seldom care about breeding the dogs humanely and responsibly. Their profit comes when dogs live their lives in cages, rather than with human companionship. Filth, loneliness, fear and pain constitue the typical life these dogs know. Puppies produced in these situations have the wrong start in life.
There are some commercial breeders also refered to as puppy mills, puppy farms or people over-breeding for profit who use the dog show fluff ie: dogs titles to sell more puppies, although it does look as if they are being responsible breeders, it is on the contrary, they send one or two dogs out to be shown and then the dog goes right back to the same life style of being overbred. The people use the dogs titles as a tool to sell more puppies for a profit but care very little about the animal itself.
Experiences in the early weeks are critical to a dogs development. Commercial bred puppies miss vital experiences they need during this time, and they are exposed to experiences that harm their emotional stability for later.
Behavior problems may develop with a puppy from such a source as a puppy farm, puppy mill or commercial breeder, which include house training issues because the puppy has been confined too close to feces and urine. This causes damage to the pups natural instincts to keep the den area clean. Also a frightened mother dog can transmit her fears to her pups. If the temperament of either parent isnt safe around humans, a responsible breeder will not use that dog for breeding.
Dogs in a commercial breeding operation do not live normal lives, so the breeders do not know whether the dogs they use for breeding have reliable temperaments for family life. Decisions about which male to use with which female are based on profitability, leaving genetic issues for the unsuspecting puppy buyers to worry about later. The physical problems that result from a poor start in life as well as poor genetic selection of the parent dogs can also profoundly affect the behavior of a puppy bred by a commercial breeder.
The following are some breeder defintions:
Hobby breeder: A breed fancier who usually has only one breed but may have more, follows a breeding plan in efforts to preserve and protect the breed, produces from none to five litters per year, breeds only when a litter will enhance the breed and the breeding program, raises the puppies with plenty of environmental and human contact, has a contract that protects breeder, dog, and buyer, runs a small, clean kennel, screens breeding stock to eliminate hereditary defects from the breed, works with a breed club or kennel club to promote and protect the breed, and cares that each and every puppy is placed in the best home possible.
Commercial breeder: One who usually has several breeds of dogs with profit as the primary motive for existence. The dogs are usually not healthy and the kennels or cages are usually not clean. The dogs are most likely not screened for genetic diseases, and the breeding stock is not selected for resemblance to the breed standard or for good temperament. Most commercial breeders sell their puppies to pet stores or to brokers who sell to pet stores.
Puppy mill: A breeder who produces puppies as fast as possible with no breeding program, little attention to puppy placement, and poor health and socialization practices. A puppy mill may or may not be dirty but it is usually overcrowded and the dogs may be neglected or abused because the breeder can't properly handle as many dogs as he/she has. Puppy mill operators often denigrate hobby breeders and their dogs in attempts to make a sale.
Backyard breeder: A dog owner whose pet either gets bred by accident or who breeds on purpose for a variety of reasons. This breeder is usually ignorant of the breed standard, genetics, behavior, and good health practices. A backyard breeder can very easily become a commercial breeder or a puppy mill.
Some information used by Veterinary Information Network Inc.
