# “Backyard Breeders”



## kodashep (May 23, 2020)

The difference between backyard breeders and puppy mills?


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

BYBs tend to have 2 dogs they like and breed them entirely for that reason. It's limited to 1 or maybe 2 liters a year.

Puppy mills tend to have multiple dogs, don't care anything about their health or temperament, and breed them all as rapidly as possible to produce the most profit. Dog's often live in filthy conditions. Cranking out a maximum number of puppies is all they care about!

It is best not to support either. But IMHO, a BYB is very much the lesser of the 2 evils!


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

BYB's generally do care for the dogs, just not enough to do things right. They are the ones with "such a nice dog I wanted to pass that on". No or minimal health testing, no knowledge of genetics and no interest in bettering the breed. Sometimes they figure to make a buck, but more often they think they are doing a good thing. 
Mills or farms have no interest in anything beyond profit. The dogs often live in misery and the operators are often really good at snowing buyers. Catchy websites, well staged photos and catch words are common. These ops range from several bitches to several dozen and are seldom places you will be allowed to see.


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## kodashep (May 23, 2020)

tim_s_adams said:


> BYBs tend to have 2 dogs they like and breed them entirely for that reason. It's limited to 1 or maybe 2 liters a year.
> 
> Puppy mills tend to have multiple dogs, don't care anything about their health or temperament, and breed them all as rapidly as possible to produce the most profit. Dog's often live in filthy conditions. Cranking out a maximum number of puppies is all they care about!
> 
> It is best not to support either. But IMHO, a BYB is very much the lesser of the 2 evils!


Thank you! My friend bred her two shepherds for the first time and the mom has 8 healthy pups. She got the parents health tested before she bred them; hips, elbows, and eyes and some other things that I don’t recall. they’re not akc tho but are full blooded. she is on this forum and a lot of people made her feel awful when she talked about it. Her dogs balance each other out and she thought they would produce some healthy, amazing pups. She’s not going into huge breeding, I don’t even know if she will breed her female again. A lot of people on here got so angry that they’re not AKC.... Her priority is the health of her dogs/pups and to find the puppies an amazing, forever home. She sold them as “pets only“ bc they don’t have papers and she did a little contract where she doesn’t want the puppies to ever be bred. the pups are a week old and all are already sold. not everyone cares if a dog is AKC, they just want a healthy companion. I don’t understand why a lot of people on here judges so harshly lol But thanks for answering the question! My friend was accused of running a puppy mill on here and she was upset, so I just wanted to ask!


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## kodashep (May 23, 2020)

Sabis mom said:


> BYB's generally do care for the dogs, just not enough to do things right. They are the ones with "such a nice dog I wanted to pass that on". No or minimal health testing, no knowledge of genetics and no interest in bettering the breed. Sometimes they figure to make a buck, but more often they think they are doing a good thing.
> Mills or farms have no interest in anything beyond profit. The dogs often live in misery and the operators are often really good at snowing buyers. Catchy websites, well staged photos and catch words are common. These ops range from several bitches to several dozen and are seldom places you will be allowed to see.


Thank you! Feel free to read my other reply on here explaining as to why I asked. Puppy mills are a terrible thing for sure. My friend rescued her pup from a mill after it got busted. Her dog is the sweetest girl and doesn’t take a good belly rub for granted. Hahah


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

you also left out the hobby breeder. It would be a step above the byb. These are the folks who have just a few dogs at home, train, test, research and produce a few nice litters each year or two. When it comes to states / counties passing regulations these are the folks who get squeezed. Not small enough to ignore but not big enough to afford all the red tape larger breeders have to deal with.


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