The Legacy of Puppy Mills

What is a Puppy Mill?

A puppy mill is a business where dogs are kept and bred in large quantities specifically for the pet trade. These animals are not pets. They are often kept in cages and bred until they die. Most of their offspring are sold to pet stores, though a few may be kept for further breeding. Those that have obvious deformities or don't sell for other reasons are often destroyed or may be dumped at an animal shelter. Breeding matches are often made for appearance, if that much consideration is given and potential parents are rarely assessed with regard to health or temperament.

What is the Difference Between a Puppy Mill and a Reputable Breeder?

In contrast, most reputable breeders keep their dogs as pets, working dogs, athletes or show dogs, providing for their health and comfort, training them and giving them lots of attention. The personal attention these dogs gets allows the breeder to select for temperament, intelligence and health. Reputable breeders keep careful records and should be able to tell you not only who a puppy's mother and father are, but who their grandparents and even great grandparents are. Because of this, a breeder can identify which health issues might be a problem for the puppy in the future, if any. Reputable breeders often have their puppies tested for any possible heriditary problems. Those puppies that don't meet standards of health, appearance and temperment are usually neutered and sold at a lower cost while those who do meet these standards are sold for more and often are not neutered so that you have the option to breed them.

Because these breeders have an emotional investment in their animals, they will often make you sign a contract promising to bring your puppy back to them if you need to give him up for any reason. Reputable breeders charge more because they spend more money on preventative medicine than puppy mill breeders do. They also have fewer litters and so fewer puppies to sell because they are more concerned about the health of the mother.

Buying From Puppy Mills Hurts Millions of Dogs

Some people want to buy puppy mill puppies to save them. But in so doing they are supporting an industry thatcauses endless suffering.
* By breeding unhealthy animals, they create more unhealthy animals that may need to be put to sleep in the future by owners who have already come to love them.
* By breeding huge quantities of dogs without taking responsibility for finding them homes, they are adding to the growing problem of homeless pets. Animal shelters are already over capacity all over the country and puppy mills just add to the problem.
* Puppymill breeding methods are harmful to the health of the mother dogs, some of whom are forced to give birth three or more times a year until they die while often getting inadequate food and exercise.

While it may be heartbreaking to turn away from that puppy who needs you, there are many more in animal shelters who need you just as badly. Simple economics says that if everyone refused to buy puppy mill puppies, the industry would crumble. Faced with dozens of unwanted and unsaleable puppies, puppy mill operators would soon be seeking another line of work and those puppies would most likely end up in the shelter for you to adopt anyway.

Puppy Mill Puppies Often Have Serious Health and Behavior Problems

As a trainer, I have learned to identify puppy mill puppies by the behavioral challenges they present. Many puppies bred in puppy mills display psychological issues related to their early upbringing and because these are often beyond the scope of normal puppy behavior, they can be a challenge to address.

One of the most common issues is "dirty dog" syndrome. This is a dog that has not developed the natural inclination to keep his den clean. If a puppy is born in a cage and kept in a cage through his early development, he, his mother, and his litter mates are all forced to soil their den and soon get used to it. It becomes a normal behavior. Later when this puppy goes home with his new owner, housebreaking can be very difficult because most housebreaking methods depend on the natural desire that all dogs have for a nice, clean den. Once this has been essentially beaten out of a dog, it's very hard to get back.

Because a puppy mill breeder's main interest is producing and selling lots of puppies, their puppies may be taken away from their mother too soon. If a puppy is taken from his mother and siblings before he is at least 8 weeks old, he does not learn important skills of doggy etiquette. These dogs often do not have bite inhibition- an important skill that his mother would have taught him if she had the chance. This means that the puppy will not have the sense that his bite can hurt people by accident. Puppies often use their mouths during play. Dogs who never learned bite inhibition can seriously hurt other dogs and people without meaning to. The law prohibits the transport of puppies for sale at less than 56 days of age, but the sooner a mother is relieved of her puppies, the sooner she will be ready to breed again.

Because puppy mill breeders keep their dogs in cages they often must share with several other dogs. This can lead to competition for food and space causing puppies to develop resource aggression later in life and to be fearful of other dogs. They can also be fearful of humans since they have limited contact with their human caretakers at important developmental stages.

Puppy mill breeders sell their puppies to pet stores through dealers and health histories of their puppies and their parents are often unavailable. Those who show obvious problems are destroyed or surrendered and the people who buy their siblings are not warned about possible issues. Often breeder females are repeatedly bred even after they have shown signs of illness and this can have an effect on the physical and mental development of their pups.

How Can I be Sure I Don't Buy from a Puppy Mill?

Never buy from a pet store, flea market or webstore. Most pet stores obtain their puppies from puppy mills because it's cheaper and because most reputable breeders will not sell their puppies through a pet store- they want to meet the people they are selling to. Some pet stores feature dogs from animal shelters and this is a great opportunity to adopt a homeless animal. (If they make this claim, they should be able to tell you what shelter they are representing and they should provide you with that shelter's adoption application form. If in doubt, call the shelter to verify what the pet store is telling you.) If you want to be absolutely sure that your purchase isn't supporting puppy mills, go to your local animal shelter. If you are looking for a specific breed, they can refer you to a breed-specific rescue organization.

Ask to see your puppy's parents. If available, ask to examine their pedigrees. Handle the dogs to get an idea if they are used to human handling and that they appear healthy. Dogs who are not used to human handling may have been purchased just for breeding purposes.

Ask to see the area where your puppy and his parents live. If it is dirty, outdoors or separate from the rest of the family, use great caution. Puppies who are used to living in dirty conditions or outdoors can have housebreaking issues.

If the breeder claims that the puppies have had shots or have seen a veterinarian, ask for verification on paper. Everyone makes this claim. You want proof. Your vet will want to add this to your puppy's medical record. If you are in any doubt at all, call the veterinarian to verify the validity of the documents you are provided.

Visit The Humane Society's Puppy Buyer's Guide for more information.

What if I Have Already Bought a Puppy Mill Dog?

What's done is done and shouldn't reflect on your dog's future life. Make sure to have your pet thoroughly examined by a veterinarian and consult an experienced trainer if you need help addressing any puppy mill related behaviors such as crate soiling, poor socialization or resource guarding. You can find such a trainer at http://www.betterdog.com

Take Action Against Puppy Mills

Join the Humane Society of the United States in fighting puppy mills by visiting http://www.stoppuppymills.org/ to find out how you can get involved.