Of course, starting out, asking questions and listening to other breeders, I heard all about backyard breeders and hobby breeders. Now, I'm not about to go into the differences and the pros and cons of those. What I want to bring to your attention is another even more alarming aspect of breeding. PUPPY MILLS.

They are not as prevalent in Australia as in other countries, like the USA, but we do have them. It is my hope that in bringing this to your attention we will be able to prevent the same happening in Australia and assist our fellow dog lovers in other countries.

So what is a PUPPY MILL you ask? A puppy mill has many definitions and could be any one of the following depending on who you talk to:

• Someplace that keeps one or more breeds and continually has puppies for sale.
• An unhealthy, disgusting place where one or more breeds are kept in deplorable conditions and again puppies are continually available.
• Somewhere a single breed is kept in healthy condition and puppies are continually available.
• A place where many dogs are raised, where the sole purpose of breeding is for financial gain instead of for betterment of the breed, and the puppies are sold to anyone, including brokers or pet stores;

Starting to get the idea now?

The conditions in some of these places are appalling and most people would be shocked and disgusted. I recently found a puppy mill site on the web that was advertising not only purebred dogs and cats (yes cats too) but was quite upfront in their advertising of their "OWN NEW BREEDS". Justifying it by referring back to the development of the breeds we now have today. Explaining how a certain breed is really a cross of other breeds. Leaving out the important information such as the selection process involved and how many generations it takes to purify a breed. The difference being that there is no selective breeding going on. It appears that they just put two of the "popular" breeds together hoping to arouse interest.

For a very detailed look at the conditions of one mill.

These mill dogs are shipped off to various Pet Stores, around the country for sale, in large trucks just like cattle. Some don't survive the journey. During my stay in the states I had occasion to visit quite a few Pet stores and was appalled at the condition of some of these puppies. Thin, looking undernourished, but unfortunately, not bad enough to claim they they were neglected. Some were advertised as a particular breed and it was quite clear, at first glance, that it wasn't what it was supposed to be. Unfortunatly, the unsuspecting public don't appear to know or be able to tell the difference.

In one pet store there were just so many poor little puppies I was amazed and left the store almost in tears. I'm not talking half a dozen puppies, I'm talking 20 or 30 all different shapes and sizes all cooped up in small glass front cages with only a metal grill under their paws. Thats when I realised how really bad the situation must be.

There are often "Dog Auctions" selling off the dogs who are no longer able to breed, unsuitable to breed, possibly just overstocked, or are just getting too old and might cost money to maintain. There are many Rescue organisations in the states some of which attend the auctions in an attempt to "Rescue" some of the poor dogs from a continued life of misery life. The money to pay for these babies comes from donations, sale of items made to advertise their cause and any other form of fundraising the clubs can come up with.

The dogs that they manage to rescue invariably have medical and socialisation problems which must be attended to before the dogs can be considered suitable for adoption in well selected, loving homes. Prospective adoptive families are screened very thoroughly to ensure that the personality of the dog will blend in with the personality of its new home. All of which costs money and oft times there is not enough cash to cover all the costs. Then the foster parents have to dig into their own pockets.

So how can you help? How can we stop these mills?

Here you will find some really useful advice on what to do if know of a puppy mill and want to do something about it.

Buying from petshops supports these mills and allows the owners the knowledge that there is a market and that they must keep up supply. Only by reducing the demand will we be able to cut down on the numbers of mills.

If you are thinking about breeding your dog please consider your motivations. If you are not prepared to spend heaps of time, effort and money then I advise you not to breed. Both mother and pups need constant care 24 hrs a day. This means very little sleep and dedication to the new family.

I guess you may be saying but they manage ok in the wild. Survival of the fittest, eh? Well, this isnt the wild. This is civilisation and you have a domestic (not wild) dog that you have made a commitment to care for. You made that committment when you took it into your home from where ever you obtained it. Its your best friend and no matter what. He/She always will be. Take care for your friend and do what you can to save others from a life of misery. After all they have something very special to offer. Unconditional Love!!