I bought my first Yorkie from a place that you might consider a mill if you are counting the dogs, she had 4 maybe 5 breeds and a lot of dogs. I went into the home, puppy kennel and the dogs kennels, she didn't try to hide anything and showed me her whole set up. The puppies kennel I went into smelled but she had 3 or 4 mothers and their babies in there. I didn't think it would be out of place for it to smell. You can't keep the place clean 24/7 when you have a lot of babies running around. There's not much I would change about her set up.
I'm not sure how many dogs the first breeder had but the next place had over 60. I can't tell you much of a difference between these 2 places but I would definately call the next one a mill.
The other place I was invited into their home and the puppies and parents were brought to me. They said that they had a whelping going on and didn't want them disturbed. Sounds like a good reason, huh? The dogs and puppies needed a bath. Not that they weren't taken care of but they knew I was coming so why weren't they clean? I would call these people a puppy mill. They seemed clean but the dogs were in cages attached to the side of a building. They could come and go inside and out but the cages were stacked 3 high. If they got out for a run, I couldn't see where they did it.
I plan on breeding and when I put puppies up for sale I think they should be clean. Maybe not just before customers come but they need to look decent when they are shown.
I have spoken to people who have and are selling their puppies to a broker. Why? They get at most $650 for Yorkie pups. Where does that make sense? They could get that much sitting on a corner selling the pups themselves. The pet stores are getting at least 3x that much. If you are only going to take $650, I think you should do it yourself or not bother breeding. Why are they letting these people make a profit off them? If you buy a puppy that ends up being sick wouldn't you go back to the pet store? If you go back to the pet store are they stupid enough that they don't blackball these breeders after it happens more than once?
And my last thought. What the he** good is a registry if they don't keep track of stuff like this? I was just thinking about this as I read this thread. All the AKC is good for is telling you that your dog is pureblood and may have champions in their background. Why aren't they reported to when there are sick dogs? Why aren't they handling this? They are a big business. They aren't doing what they do for free. If I went to Mrs. So&So and bought a puppy, no matter the price, and that puppy came down sick, whether or not it was genetic, and I reported it to the AKC they could do an investigation. If there are enough reports on Mrs. So&So and they are the same parents that are throwing these sick puppies, it should be on the pedigrees. If I went to buy a puppy from Mrs. So&So and asked to see the parents pedigrees and there in black and white it said that this dog has illnesses in his/her background, I would know I don't want any of her puppies.
Actually I think that is a good idea. Wonder what it would take to get them to do it? Everyone says the AKC is the best but there are so many other registries out there now maybe this would put them back on top. Sylvia |