Commercial puppy mills breed dogs for profit with minimal welfare consideration — producing puppies with high rates of health and behavioural problems that cause lifelong suffering for dogs and heartbreak for buyers.
Breeding dogs in puppy mills live their reproductive lives in wire cages too small to allow exercise, with no human interaction beyond feeding and breeding. They are discarded when no longer productive. Mill puppies separated too early from mothers develop chronic anxiety and fearfulness. The welfare harm extends across all generations — breeding dogs, puppies, and ultimately buyers who love animals they did not know were suffering.