Puppy farms (mills) prioritise production over welfare, causing suffering to breeding females and selling sick, poorly socialised puppies. Recognising and avoiding them is essential for welfare-conscious dog buyers.
Puppy farms cause systematic welfare failures: breeding females live in barren conditions undergoing repeated pregnancies with inadequate recovery periods, causing physical and psychological harm. Puppies are separated too early, inadequately socialised, and transported under stressful conditions before being sold through pet shops or online marketplaces. The physical consequences — genetic diseases from irresponsible breeding, infectious diseases from overcrowded conditions — cause suffering to puppies and significant financial and emotional cost to buyers. The psychological consequences of inadequate socialisation create lifelong behaviour problems requiring expensive professional intervention. The market for cheap, immediately available puppies drives the puppy farm industry. Welfare-conscious buyers who research breeders, insist on seeing puppies with their mothers, and choose rescue over purchase fundamentally change market incentives.