Puppy farming causes severe and systematic welfare suffering to breeding dogs and their puppies, requiring consumer awareness and regulatory enforcement to eliminate.
Female dogs in puppy farms experience a cycle of pregnancy and lactation without adequate recovery, social deprivation, and inadequate veterinary care. Puppies removed too early suffer from immune deficiency and socialisation gaps that predispose to behavioural problems and disease throughout life. Third-party sales concealed the source of farmed puppies from buyers. Lucy's Law requiring buyers to see puppies with their dam has helped but enforcement gaps persist. Every puppy farm purchase funds continued suffering of breeding dogs.