Some Information on Puppy Mills, Commercial Breeders and Back Yard Breeders

WHAT IS A PUPPY MILL?

There are various definitions one can use to answer that question. My general opinion is that a true puppy mill can be described as an operation that breeds dogs with no interest in health, temperament, proper and safe placement of their puppies, or the general welfare of the dog or the person who purchases it. They are in the business of breeding and selling dogs for profit. The puppies produced may be sold to the local population or sometimes sold to larger commercial operations that may send them to pet stores all over the country.

THE HOME-GROWN OPERATION

Puppy mill facilities have many dogs. In some of the more home-grown operations, dogs are often kept in deplorable conditions, in cages out in the back yard, or in a makeshift shelter. These breeding animals literally eat, sleep, and eliminate in a small cage for their entire life. Sometimes for the sake of saving space, the cages are stacked and one animal relieves himself upon another - he can't help it - he has nowhere else to go. Imagine the angst and the unstable emotional issue this creates, as a dog by instinct is a clean animal, not eliminating where he eats or sleeps. These puppy mills are usually producers of many breeds of dogs including mixes. Females are over-bred and in bad health due to the unnatural conditions in which they live. They can literally be bred to death, spending their entire lives being bred and giving birth. Puppy mill dogs never know what it's like to be a real dog - running, sniffing their world, playing, or any of the normal things dogs do, nor do they know the love and gentle touch of a human being. Many if not all of the puppies born into a puppy mill have chronic health problems, which then become the emotional and financial burden of the buyer. You may have seen the occasional television expose' on a home puppy mill that was raided with hundreds of filthy and pathetic dogs being removed. It's an unforgettable, unforgivable scene. Treating an animal in this manner is unquestioningly unacceptable and anyone involved in it should be ashamed and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

THE COMMERCIAL BREEDER

This is a business. Some commercial breeders purchase their puppies from the puppy mill and resell them to retail outlets, and others breed dogs they already own. Although some of these operations can be clean and organized, they are nonetheless churning out puppies constantly. Some commercial breeders do vet checks on their puppies (their product?) and some large operations are inspected by the USDA. With so many dogs is it possible that each individual dog and puppy's health could be carefully monitored? It would seem unlikely that genetic testing of breeding pairs is done. With chronic health problems on the rise in dogs, genetic testing is a hallmark of careful, thoughtful, responsible breeding. The commercial breeders usually sell their puppies to pet stores and sometimes directly to the general public. With the advent of the Internet, both the puppy mill and the commercial breeder can sell their puppies there and, like a puppy sold in a pet store, there is no screening of the potential home to make sure the puppy is a good fit for that family. Also, in this type of sale there is no opportunity for the buyer to see the parents of their potential puppy or see the facility in which it was born and raised. These transactions sometimes made with little thought by the buyer and certainly no concern about proper placement on the side of the seller, are in my opinion, the reasons that shelters are overcrowded with unwanted dogs. When the impulse buyer finds that he or she has a dog with both health and temperament problems, and realizes all the work involved in raising a puppy, the easiest solution is the local shelter. A buyer who has been interviewed and screened, and has done his or her homework on their potential pet is not likely to be the one dropping off their dog at a shelter!

THE BACKYARD BREEDER

There is another kind of breeder who is certainly less callous looking and sounding than the puppy mill. This is the Backyard Breeder. This is someone who has a couple of pet dogs that live with them in their home, and they breed them to produce puppies to sell as pets. Sometimes these backyard breeders will even attempt to show their dogs but for one reason or another, don't finish it and start breeding anyway. This should tell you that these dogs have not been judged to be good representations of the breed. These people do love their dogs, treat them like members of the family, usually keep them clean and give them good veterinary care but they aren't usually informed or concerned about compatible pedigrees or doing health testing. Now, this situation doesn't sound terrible like a filthy puppy mill, but these people can be ignorant to the health of the lines they are breeding to. They often sell intact dogs (perpetuating the backyard breeder cycle) and don't have a contract with their buyer and they have no obligation to that dog after it is sold. The backyard breeders often sell their puppies for the same price as respectable, responsible breeders because they make it appear as if they offer the same thing but they do not.

A CUTE IMPOSTOR

The Norwich Terrier is sometimes called the heartbreak breed. They produce small litters, the mothers often require a C-section, and sometimes puppies simply die. In the past few years, there have been some unscrupulous types who have figured out that they can breed a Cairn Terrier with a Norwich Terrier and get a mixed breed that can be passed off as a Norwich Terrier, especially to someone who is inexperienced with the breed. Cairn Terriers often free whelp and have larger litters than Norwich Terriers. While the two breeds have similarities, they are two distinct breeds with two distinct temperaments. These Cairn / Norwich mixes sell for well over $2,000 on the Internet. These mixed breed dogs are not AKC registered but are instead, registered with a popular pet registry. As described in the breed standard, the Norwich colors are all shades of red, wheaten, black & tan, and grizzle. These Norwich mixes are usually tan, grey, black, and sometimes even white. Other more bold sellers simply sell Cairn Terriers as Norwich Terriers. They just dock the long Cairn tail and to the unstudied person, it's a Norwich. One person I know of received her 12 week-old Cairn Terrier puppy (she paid for a Norwich) with a freshly docked tail - a very infected tail. Apparently the seller was waiting to see if they were selling a Cairn or a Norwich and docked the tail according to the bill of sale. How cruel! Having an uninformed, lazy and impatient consumer makes it easy for these unscrupulous types to get away with this kind of thing. Trying to hurry the process of acquiring a Norwich Terrier without putting in the work to make sure you are working with a legitimate breeder is risky. Doing business with these shameful people keeps them in business. The best defense against these types of operations is an educated public. Not all of these operations are "underground." Some advertise in national magazines that you may be reading! For more information on pedigree fraud, see Magda O'Mansky's informative article on her website.

In closing: A puppy mill will not ask you questions about your experience with dogs, your family, your home, or your lifestyle. Some even have order forms that you can fill out on the Internet to order your puppy. They may tell you how much they love and spoil their puppies (and who wants a spoiled puppy anyway?) but the bottom line is they don't care who they sell their pups to, thus the bottom line is they don't care about their puppies.

If you are unsure of the breeder you are talking with, contact your local kennel club or contact their local kennel club to see if they have had any negative reports. Buyer beware!