Commercial pet breeding facilities (puppy mills) prioritize profit over welfare, housing breeding animals in chronic deprivation and producing offspring prone to health and behavioral problems.
Puppy mill welfare problems span both the breeding parents and the offspring they produce. Breeding dogs live years in wire cages without human contact or enrichment, developing severe behavioral problems. Puppies removed too early from mothers and sold through pet stores miss critical socialization windows, producing anxious, aggressive, or fearful adult dogs. The welfare harm cascades from facility to home across the lifetime of the animal.