Once we fall in love with cute, fluffy faces, we rarely consider where they come from.
Who doesn’t love cute puppies? We’ve all seen pictures of puppies that make us melt. Before we know it, we imagine bringing this little ball of fur home with us. But does that adorable face hide a grim reality?
How is a puppy mill different from an irresponsible breeder?
The only difference between a puppy mill (also known as a puppy farm) and an irresponsible “backyard” breeder is the size of the operation. Both breed strictly for profit with insufficient concern for the dogs’ health, welfare, or temperament.
- Puppy mills have many dogs that are bred over and over again. Their dogs are often kept in boxes, cages, or crates where they must eat, sleep, and toilet. Sometimes, the females are put into separate “breeding boxes” where they cannot move and are not removed until the male has done his job. Generally, a pregnant female gives birth to her puppies in this same box, cage, or crate that she’s kept in year round. The mill mamas are rarely, if ever, taken to the vet for proper care. They don’t have any human interaction, outside of being moved to a breeding box, and generally have their puppies taken away at a young age.
- A backyard breeder may just have a few dogs that they breed over and over again. It might be a person who hasn’t spayed their female dog and they just keep breeding her to sell the puppies. It might even be a family dog that had an “oops” moment and had a litter of puppies.
- Puppy mills and backyard breeders differ from ethical, responsible breeders that breed for the continuation of a breed that they love. Reputable breeders complete health testing on the parents and will not breed them if there are any physical or behavioral issues. They socialize the puppies and do not remove them from their mother until at least 8 weeks.
- Reputable breeders provide the puppy with veterinary care before they leave for your home and will have a long list of questions to be sure that their puppy and your lifestyle will match. Most have a waitlist for their puppies and don’t advertise the puppies they have for sale online. You’ll find that with puppies coming from a puppy mill, none of these things happen.
What makes puppy mills inhumane?
Puppy mills neglect animal welfare in multiple ways.
- Dogs receive limited to no veterinary care in a puppy mill environment and often die from treatable medical conditions, starvation, and neglect.
- Breeding females are used as breeding machines and kept in horrific conditions their entire lives. Most mill mamas never see the light of day or feel grass under their feet. When a dog spends years in the same horrific conditions, they shut down. This constant state of fear and stress is also passed down to the puppies. Some are so sick and mentally depressed they are unable to give the guidance their puppies need.
- Male dogs used for breeding are kept in similar conditions. When adult dogs from both sexes are no longer producing puppies they are often drowned, shot, starved, gassed, or electrocuted. Puppy farmers rarely go to the expense of humane euthanasia.
Do puppy mills damage puppies physically?
Puppy mills have one purpose: breeding puppies for bulk and profit.
- Many puppies born in these places have severe health conditions. Puppies that don’t become horribly ill or die within a few weeks of purchase might experience health problems throughout their lives. Sadly, many families lose their puppies shortly after buying them from pet stores or backyard breeders.
- The cost to families whose puppies don’t die but continue to have health problems into adulthood can be financially draining. Many of these dogs end up either being euthanized or dumped into the shelter system.
- There are many documented cases of puppies being sold with serious diseases that can be transferred to humans. Most mill puppies have worms, like tapeworms, hookworms or Giardia because of the unsanitary conditions they live in. Children are at particular risk if they come in contact with such pups and dogs.
- Breeding females and males are rarely given veterinary care and live in unsanitary, unhealthy and deplorable conditions. Those that are rescued are physically and emotionally scarred from their ordeal and often need to undergo major medical procedures to help them heal from their physical injuries.
Do puppy mills damage a pup’s mental health?
Puppy mill puppies are kept in appalling conditions with little contact or experience of other dogs, people, or environments in the vital weeks when mental and physical development are so crucial.
- To maximize profits, many puppies are removed from their mothers and littermates and sold too young (4 to 7 weeks old). Because of this, puppies can be emotionally numb and don’t know how to play with other dogs or humans. It is vital that puppies remain with their mothers and littermates until at least 8 weeks old. Puppies learn a lot about social interaction from their littermates and valuable life lessons from their mothers.
- Behavioral science has proven that the most valuable time for a puppy to learn from its environment is from birth to 16 weeks. A puppy is like a sponge at that time and if it has not had positive experiences in all different kinds of environments before 16 weeks of age, it can develop severe social difficulties such as aggression, destructive behavior, anxiety and nervousness towards people and/or other dogs. These behaviors can be difficult to change, even with training and behavior modification therapy.
- From the moment they are born, puppies need lots of social interaction and handling by humans in order for them to build that important human/animal bond. If this is not done from birth, a pup will be uncomfortable with human interaction. A dog like this will be nervous, anxious, and have a greater risk of responding aggressively towards a human.
Why should we care about puppy mills?
People have an ethical responsibility to raise and treat animals with care and respect. Legitimate breeders do just that and much more. Puppy mills, unfortunately, are no better than factory farms for dogs and exist just for profit. Apart from being cruel and abusive places, there are other reasons why a consumer must stay away from purchasing a puppy from a pet store, flea market or over the internet.
- A reputable breeder will know of and test for any potential genetic and breed specific health issues that might affect their puppy’s mental and physical development. If the parents are found to have any issues, they will not be bred.
- Anytime you cannot meet and observe the mother with her puppies in the true breeding environment, you are buying a potential liability. A lot of information can be gained just by watching a mother dog interacting with her puppies.
Puppy mill red flags
Puppy mills typically don’t allow the general public to come to their true site. When you buy a puppy from a pet store, yard sale, flea market, over the internet, or in the local paper, that puppy is from a mill. Learn how to spot puppy mill doublespeak.
- Puppy mills often hire middlemen to sell their puppies. These men and women might pose as rescue workers, pretend they are running “shelters,” or even create a homey looking environment where the buyer can view the pups with their mother (who will be returned to the mill once the puppies are sold).
- Middlemen post cute pictures of the puppies online and will say things like “Mom is onsite and can be viewed,” “deposit required,” “will deliver or ship,” etc. These are all red flags. People are often conned by these middlemen and “halfway houses” because they get hooked by cute pictures or think they’re saving the puppy from that environment.
- When you find yourself saying any of these things, you may be keeping puppy mills in business: “Oh my gosh, that puppy is so cute and fluffy! I have to have it!” “Oh! Look how cute! Can we buy it?” “I saw the mother and even though it didn’t seem completely legit, at least I saved the puppy!”
- No responsible breeder that is concerned for the health and welfare of their puppies will sell them in or to a pet store. Even the fancier looking pet stores still get their puppies from puppy mills or middle men that work for that industry, regardless of what they tell prospective clients. Learn how to find the right puppy.
Do puppy mills add to pet overpopulation?
Yes. It has been estimated by the Humane Society of the United States that an average of 4 to 5 million dogs are put down every year and only 5% of those for medical reasons. Why? Because there are too many dogs and too few homes to care for them. The last thing this country needs are puppy mills that breed thousands upon thousands of dogs a year to add to the pet overpopulation problem that exists in the United States and other parts of the world. The more they breed and the more the unsuspecting public buys, the more dogs will end up in shelters.
You CAN make a difference!
Your choices matter. When you are ready to bring home a puppy, research the breed you’d like and talk to ethical breeders. Their answers will go a long way to helping you make a decision based on facts and not feelings.
It’s also important to educate your legislators and urge them to support laws that protect animals, consumers, and the public from appalling puppy mill practices. It is tragic when dogs become sick and/or aggressive because they were born in a puppy mill environment. Education and effective legislation can go a long way toward changing this heart-breaking situation.
This problem needs to be tackled at its source, and you can help make puppy farming a thing of the past. Your actions can help keep dogs, dog owners, and the non dog-owning public safe.
