Commercial dog breeding operations, sometimes called puppy mills, impose severe welfare harms on breeding dogs confined for their entire productive lives.
Breeding dogs in commercial kennels experience profound welfare failure. Continuous confinement in wire cages prevents socialization, exercise, and normal behavior. Repeated pregnancies cause physical and psychological exhaustion. No veterinary care beyond what maintains reproductive capacity is common. Dogs show fear, extreme excitability, or shutdown behaviors indicative of severe psychological deprivation. Puppies from these environments have higher rates of behavioral and health problems that persist into adult life.