What to do about a "backyard" breeder?
 

Maybe I can get some advice on this here. When I was looking for a yorkie, one of the breeders I visted was horrible (just posted about it an another thread, but will re-cap here)

She was a total backyard breeder. Had about 50 puppies on hand, all in good shape. But I asked to see the parents. She stated they were in the kennels out back and she wasn't able to bring them out. I asked to see the kennels and she stated no, and asked why. I said that even though the puppies were in good shape, I wanted to see the parents and how they were kept. She got all defensive about it. I asked why she had 50 puppies and why so many. She told me she breed the bitches back to back so she could get the most amount of puppies out of them. She didn't want to lose a litter before they had to retire. My husband and I were horrified and left. As we were leaving, my husband snuck around back and looked at the kennels. Days worth of poop were in the runs, and the smell was BAD! The door was locked, but when he peeked in he said there were dogs in all the runs, several to a run in some places.

When we got home, I tried to make a few calls. The local Animal Control stated they "don't travel out that far, as they are understaffed, unless it is extreme neglect/abuse." The local humane society was not must more help.

Is there anything I can do? Or am I overreacting. Something about the whole place just felt wrong. I also checked on the AKC site about her, and she has been banned for 10years for refusing to hand over records. She isn't USDA, and I would think that with that many puppies she would have to be. Any advice would be wonderful.

OMG THAT IS HORRIBLE :thumbdown :thumbdown

I have no idea what you should do next but I'm sure someone here will tell you!!!!

You should try to contact your State Attorney General's Office.

That's terrible! There has to be someone that is willing to help...

breeder
 

A breeder tried to report a breeder in Steinhatchee...the local sheriff was incharge of animal control..and he wasn't interested. So she called the breeders vet and gave them a mouthful..she had called this vet BEFORE and they said the Yorkie was healthy...it had heartworms..vet said they would not recommend the breeder any longer..not much compensation.

My guess is, that they were not in violation of the health codes. If the animals were not sick or injurred there probably isn't anything that can be done about it.

It's sad. But if they at least had runs rather than being in wire cages it isn't as bad as some.

that is really very sad. we have 2 trailers here, next door to each other, not far from my house that have about 20 dog pens each and they are all outside. i get so angry every time i drive by it. first off..because it is just sad that all year long, rain or shine, those dogs are OUTSIDE. it breaks my heart. i mean...i know how maggie's hair gets if I don't brush her at least once a day, and the yorkies they have living outside all the time...I just can't imagine how their hair and skin are. it makes me sooooooo mad every time I see it. Also, I live in a very nice house in a very nice neighborhood and these places are just about 2 blocks from my subdivision. it looks HORRIBLE. it is all visible from the road.

anyway...sorry to rant..but I can relate to how you feel. I had so many experiences like that when looking for a yorkie. I was so relieved to finally find a great in home breeder to get maggie from. I don't know that there is anything that can be done about these people. As long as they have shelter and are not being abused and are not in obvious bad health, then no one really cares to do anything. it's horrible. i wish people cared more about the quality of life these dogs have than the money that is being made. but they don't. and unfortunately, the authorities don't seem to care either.

they should let me make the laws for pets!!!! ;)

First off I know there has been alot in the news lately about puppy mills like that and I bet if you contacted the local news channel they would get invloved and that press is not good for the local animal control people.

Second:
I know there are alot of people out there who have kennels in other places besides their home and take very good care of their animals. We need to be very carefull in saying that every outdoor or backyard kennel is a puppy mill.
I myself have a seperate building in my back yard which is used just as my kennel area. I have about a 1/4 acres that is fenced in for a play area and my buildings are heated and air conditioned. My animals are all in great health and I spend probably more time out there than I do in my own house.
I know alot of people are in it just for the money and should not have animals to start with and we should report every instance of animal cruelty we see, but lets not label everyone with outside kennels in their backyards as problem breeders. There are some very respectful breeders out there who really care for the breed but for some reason or the other just can't have them in the house. It maybe because of a room issue or a family member is allergic to dog dander or many various reasons so my advice is to be careful with labels.
However like I said in the story you related it sounds like this breeder needs to be and should be closed down. She doesn't care for the well being of her animals and thats just not right. I'm not mad but just some thoughts to think about!!!!
Call the News Station and talk to the news desk They will help. It's a human interest story they love those.

I agree, call your local news station and try and talk to someone about these people and the way they are breeding their Yorkies. As soon as people start sniffing around this property, I'll bet it gets cleaned up or closed down real soon.