Introduction

So, what exactly is a puppymill? For that matter, what is a backyard bred animal, aka BYB?

Everyone has their own definitions of it. The USDA requires "high volume breeders" to have a license, and they must have it if they produce a certain amount of puppies every year. I'll get into those regulations in another post. Probably the most accepted layperson's definition of a puppymill is someone who breeds a ton of animals every year, keeps them in cramped quarters, doesn't bother with veterinary care, constantly breeds bitches litter after litter, and really doesn't care at all about their "livestock". The animals to them are livestock, and not pets or potential pets.

A backyard breeder is someone who breeds on a smaller scale than a puppymiller. The smaller scale can be up to one puppy or litter less than the USDA standard. They can be breeding for a profit. They want to show the "miracle of life" to the kids. Their dog is such a sweet dog, they'd love to have a litter from her. It's a bit of side income, especially when they don't take the animals to the vets. They are too lazy to alter their animals, so they have litters as a result. A miller is in it for the money alone. A BYBer can have a greater variety of why they breed. The only true difference between the two are volume.

I may plan to talk about specific millers/BYBers here, as a critique. Show how you know you're getting a good breeder. Discuss health contracts, and what they really mean. Point out egregrious breeding practices. Talk about the overpopulation issue and what it really is, how to combat it, how things like CA's "alter all animals" is a misguided approach towards animal population control, and more things than I can list right now.

Feel free to offer suggestions for topics in the comments, and if enough people want me to help them figure out if a breeder is quality, I'd be happy to do that for them.