Undercover at a Puppy Mill, part 2

The Well-Tempered Pet, Madison Pet Gazette, February 1998

By Sharon Savage, M.S.

Recently, I visited my first puppy mill. Although clients never identify their dogs as having come from puppy mills, I have noticed the same kennel names cropping up again and again. After seeing six "unhouse-breakable" puppies in a row purchased from the same kennel, I decided to do some detective work. I needed to see what was convincing people to buy puppies from what was clearly--to me--a puppy mill.

I started by dialing the number in the dealer's classified ad (Puppies galore! Dobermans, Dachshunds, Schipperkes, Mastiffs! Open 7 days a week!). Posing as a prospective puppy buyer, I talked to a pleasant-sounding woman who said they had plenty of puppies available for Christmas.

Not quite a dog's life

My partner, Michael, and I arrived after an hour's drive through the countryside. The puppy farmer shook our hands and led us to the puppy barn, as half a dozen cold and filthy dogs tagged along. The building contained forty wire cages, each 2 feet by 3 feet, stacked two high. Each cage contained food and water and up to five puppies...but not a single toy. Although the waste trays were relatively clean, the stench was overpowering.

Name that breed

The puppy farmer confidently went from cage to cage identifying each occupant's breed. Unfortunately, he was only right about half of the time. Nevertheless, he was close enough to fool a person who had only seen photos of adults. After all, eight-week-old Maltese and Bichon Frise puppies are best described as "white puffballs" by a non-expert! There were also many mixed-breed puppies that the puppy miller told us had been donated by local families.

We pretended to take an interest in a one particular munchkin the puppy farmer identified as a Jack Russell Terrier (correct!). We were encouraged to "take him out for a test drive"--to the building with the cash register.

Lifelong behavior problems in the making

As we approached the puppy's cage, the whole litter seemed eager for attention, bouncing around merrily. But when we opened the door and reached in, the puppies huddled against the far side of the cage! Tragically, this signaled a lack of socialization.

Why the sudden change in disposition? Puppies don't naturally recognize the human hand, and need to be taught about it. Normally-raised puppies at eight weeks have already learned that hands are fun for cuddling, chewing on, playing tug games with and eating out of. Sadly, these puppy mill pups still saw the human hand as dangerous.

When the puppies saw us from a distance, they apparently considered us as possible social contacts. After all, two eyes a nose and a mouth can be recognized as friendly by a puppy. However, when we put our hands near them, they were suddenly confronted with an object they were not familiar with. It was like a weird outer space being suddenly sticking some dangerous antennae near them. After all, dogs don't ever aim their feet towards another dog's body!

These improperly-raised pups may someday learn to accept their future owner's hands out of necessity. But without a lot of socialization, a dog with this type of start in life will always be suspicious and nippy toward a visitor who extends an arm for a friendly pat.

The facts about Jacks

Back to our story. Unaware that her husband had already identified our pup's breed as Jack Russell, the woman in the adjacent building alternately referred to our pup as a Rat Terrier or a Terrier/Heeler mix.

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