What makes a backyard breeder?

Forgive my ignorance here, but I am just wondering (and not meaning to offend anyone!)--what makes someone a "backyard breeder" vs a good breeder? And is that different from a puppy mill?

I'm new to dog ownership and all the issues this past week have made me realize that I don't really know exactly what those things are! (sorry if this is a stupid question )

This is my personal opinion so it may very from what others say but
a puppymill is someone who mass produces to make money with little to no care for any of the dogs. Dogs are in small cages to take up as little a room as possible, so they can fit more dogs to breed more. Also there is no concern for pedigree or health or guarantees, or anything. It is all about the money.

Backyard breeders-probably love the dogs but again it is all about the money. They usually show abit more concern about what they are breeding, often no health checks are done on the parents and usually no guarantees are given or rediculous guarantees. They often breed mutts but not always. They often are more interested in lining their pockets than the dogs. No contracts, no questionnaires, no follow ups...

A responsible breeder, does all the health checks on both parents, does temperment test on both parents, offers guarantees of 2 year min. Usually makes no money at all, they are in it for the dogs. They sell based on puppy questionnaires, spay/neuter contracts and they follow up on the puppies often available to answer questions or help out throughout the dogs life. They know loads of information about the breed they are breeding and it is always purebreds. Their dogs are clean, well socialized and don't leave before 8 weeks old. They take pride in helping people; they answer questions readily about there breeding practices; they often allow you to visit and see the pups and dogs and how they are kept.

Anyone who simply says I don't have to justify myself to you, when you ask about their breeding practices, run fast as you can the other way because they have something to hide. Anyone who does not willingly step up and answer the questions is a byb.

I agree with everything Yucka said. BYB's are in it for their ego and aren't very knowledgeable. My friend got his "Lhasa Apso (sp)" from a byb. He's now 13 and doesn't even look like one. His vet says he's half Lhasa Apso (sp) and half whatever you want him to be...

Anyone who does not have the license for it.

Those people need to go to the shelter and watch all those cute little puppies they just had to bring into the world die. (To those people Think puppies are cute? What about dead puppies? Still cute?

I personally think it should be illegal to breed your dog without a breeders lincense. And that the punishment for you if you do breed your dog should be very, very expensive.

Bagel Dog... your pup is ADORABLE!!!!

a license has absolutely nothing to do with it. all ta license does is designate someone who breeds dogs for a commercial purpose, which doesn't automatically make the person a responsible breeder.

in my opinion, a backyard breeder is someone who meets at least one of these criteria:

- people who breed dogs without knowing what they are doing (and mostly aren't even interested in learning more).
- may be breeding for profit or just to produce offspring of a particular dog because it is "cute" or "friendly" with disregard to any other factors.
- generally don't care about the breed standard and do not plan breedings for the betterment of the breed as a whole.
- no genetic, health and temperament testing.
- no solid health guarantee for the puppies.
- will breed a female to a male just for the purpose of producing puppies, rather than making an effort to find the best match for a desirable outcome in all regards.
- hand off puppies to anyone with enough cash to pay for it - unlike a responsible breeder who will make an effort to find the best home possible and will take the puppy back if things don't work out.

There are a ton of things, to me, that make a breeder less than desirable.. I don't have the time to list them all nor do I particularly want to. (I do have a life, believe it or not!! )

Basically: If somebody is breeding, for ANY reasons other than working towards the improvement of the breed, I consider them a backyard breeder. If somebody breeds dogs "just for companionship" I do consider them to be a backyard breeder. I don't care how healthy their dogs are, or how good they look, if they are breeding just for the sake of breeding, with no specific goal in mind, they are a BYB. (I personally call them "irresponsible breeders", backyard breeder tends to confuse non-dog people sometimes.)


JMO.

It depends a lot on people's definitions. For lots of people, anyone breeding dogs without showing them is a BYB. Personally, as long as they take care of the pups properly and that the parents are fully health tested, it's fine for me.

In my opinion, a BYB is someone who like the others above have said: do not do health screens i.e. hips, cardio, patellas, eyes etc. They usually sell puppies for money and produce over 2 litters a year. They don't show or compete with their dogs, and they don't have a clue what "betterment of the breed means." They don't look to anyone else to evaluate their breeding stock and justify why a dog should be bred even if it's not up to standard, health or temperment. They usually let you pick your puppy, instead of the breeder selecting the right puppy for your family. All of the above ring true with BYB's, BUT the number one thing that "usually" makes someone a BYB is when they own all their breeding animals, so in other words they own the stud dog and the bi+ch and allow them to breed time and time again. Top breeders usually select the stud that is perfect for their bi+ch instead of owning both and settling for what will make the most money. This usually means having frozen or fresh chilled semen sent across country and performing artificial insemination etc. I will say that there are some top breeding kennels that have worked a very long time at perfecting their lines of dogs through health screens, temperment tests, and winning in the show ring and in this case, they may own the stud and the bi+ch used. Okay, I am soooo tired so I hope I made some sense LOL!!

Perfect example of a backyard breeder: the person who bred my last dog. The breeder had a husky/wolf hybrid he was breeding with an aggressive rottweiler. His goal was just to produce "the most bad@$$ dogs out there." He sold all the pups he could, then dumped the remainder at the humane society, which is where I got my dog. Of the pups he sold, almost all ended up in the pound because, as you can imagine, that mix was HIGHLY unstable. Since he was technically taking care of his dogs, the SPCA couldn't shut him down or press charges.

IMO, a puppymill (I live down the road from one that breeds greyhounds ) is anyone who mass produces dogs for profit. The one I live near keeps their kennels very clean, but to see those puppies sitting there all alone, undersocialized, and to eventually be turned into a race dog (and later to be thrown away because he won't run "fast enough") makes me sick. They breed tons and tons of dogs, pumping them out ASAP, just to make money off them.

BYB's are a little different. I knew one personally, but didn't know enough about the subject to realize just what she was doing. She was a wonderful person, but she was breeding irresponsibly. Her stud dog, Fester, had a bad leg. Everyone was warned not to pick him up, because his leg was messed up. Now why would you breed a pug with a bad leg????? Her little female, Zoe, was seemingly healthy. They had great temperments, and I enjoyed going to her house and playing with them, but they were not breeding quality. She didn't show them, she didn't health test them (why bother? She already knew the male was unhealthy), and, as far as I know, her dogs were never seperated, so her female was bred at every heat. Her dogs were treated like pets, and she did make an effort to find good homes for her $800 dollar pups .

A good breeder IMO is someone who breeds for nothing but love for the breed, and to better it. I personally like breeders who compete with their dogs, to be sure the dog is a good example of it's breed. Their puppies are well socialized, their dogs well loved. The parents are always health tested, so as to avoid breeding puppies with inherited conditions such as Hip Dysplasia, heart defects, etc.

These are just my own opinions, BTW.

thank you everyone

I think I have a much better understanding now of what constitutes a byb and a puppy mill.

Thanks everyone for taking so much time to educate me

I used to breed Pekingnese and I was a stickler when it came to whom visited my home and adopted my babies. My babies all had the 1st visit to the vet, their health was my first concern. When you go visit homes of people who are putting pups or any animal up for sale, take a close look at how the dogs temperment is and how they act around people. Also take a close look at their living quarters and if they are clean. I actully bred my peks for a while and each person who wanted to adopt had to fill out a questionaire and have 3 visits to my home so I could watch the interaction with them and their children and my pups. I plan on breeding my siberian husky but will do this with a very watchful eye. I will interview studs closely and see how they act with me. It is very important that those who are responsible breeders make sure that the animals they are placing up for sale are up to par and have no health issues or any other problems.

But........

Were your dogs health tested and certified before you bred them?

All my pups came with their vet papers and health records along with their shots etc. My mom and dad were all checked out before I bred. I think it is wrong and ignorant to sale any animal if you are not sure on their health. My pups were seen with their mom after 3 weeks and then again before they were sold. My females were only bred a total of 3 times during their lifetime. I had a kennel license and had 4 females and 3 males.

I think what Manchesters meant was the OFA, Penn Hip, patellas, eyes, cardio, thyroid certification done etc. Were the necessary tests done on the hereditary dissorders that are carried by pekes?

An exam or health check by a vet determines nothing (in most cases) when it comes to genetic dissorders that are breed specific. A vet may be able to locate a luxating patella or entropion by simply looking or feeling, but dogs really need to the have full health screens before they are bred. Too often people/breeders think that a vet exam is a health check/screen for breeding, it's not.

I did not write the above statement towards you, it's more a generalized statement etc. I don't doubt that you were very serious about your breeding practices and I am sure you will be in the future as well.

I have a friend..a FORMER friend now..that decided to get two GSDs..then a second female. I was stupid and thought she just loved dogs......but, no...she became a backyard breeder. And, it's easy for her..people come and buy them, so she is now addicted to the money. She doesn't have them vet checked...she lets the females breed consecutive heats (one only had 2 puppies live from this practice..not to mention she is weak) She then moved on to breed her little female chis...both over 9 years old......why...cause people just keep buying them and it's easy money for her. Now, you may wonder why nobody complains. It's because it isn't illegal.....she keeps them clean, feeds them well, they have a huge yard to roam in. See, it will never end until people really understand that buying from them is wrong. Wrong for them, wrong for the breed, wrong for the dogs involved. Only this greedy person thrives. It makes me sick. This person isn't home right now...off on a vacation...on puppy money. I wish I knew what could be done to stop backyard breeders. ALWAYS check who you are buying from....maybe someday, this sadness will end.

Show I understand now. Their eyes, heart (cardio), hips and nasal passages were checked out mainly due to the problems that peks have with their eyes and nose. Hips were checked out because birthing peks it alot more stressful than what some think.

I want to breed my Siberian Husky and will copy what you stated above because I dont want to ever be thought of as a BYB. Thanks for the advice

I'm sure you will be very responsible because you care enough to learn. I put BYBs in the very same catagory as puppy mills. To me...it's criminal. Thank goodness there are true, caring, dedicated breeders out there.

I dont blame anyone when it comes to puppymills and BYB as what they do isnt for the care of the animal but for the monetary value. Animals who are bred appropriatly for companionship is great but to do it for other reasons and not take care of the animals that they do have is down right WRONG!!!!!