Are there legitimate "Puppy Mills"?

[Henleys Alpha]

Now that I have just purchased a dog from a pet store, a chain with (I just found out) 131 stores. How does their supply chain typically operate? They claim to be legitimate-and I am not sure how to define that word in this application-no puppy mills, and the web site of the breeder was very short in their description of their operation. Included with the puppy was a binder full of stuff, describing the warranty, a dvd, shots, chip, and other stuff. What I was curious about was the supposed family tree. It just lists names of dogs, not breeds. Is this usual? I figure it is just marketing mush, but if it was legal to post it, (is it?) could anyone make any sense of it?
Also, how are the dogs transported? Do they stuff them all in a truck, air, what?

Henley is not to excited to go on short car trips, but he really does like to cuddle during them!

Thanks for reading this far in what is probably a silly question. I guess my next pursuit is to call the breeder, but it looks like, ahem, a large operation, and I worry that their answers may not be accurate. Just want to know all I can about my new puppy!

[deepnite10]

Toby came with a pedigree of his parents and grandparents..

having heard so much about puppy mill s from the media i was nt about
to contribute a cent to their growth..

i purchased Toby from across the country..in a little faming town
in Tennesee..i asked for pictures of the parents and siblings..along
with 3 referances from past litters..all went well..i was encouraged
that i was dealing with a concerrning breeder..

on the new yrs. weekend i received a call that Toby was ready to travel to
his new home..it was a cold rainy night in Jan that we picked him up
at SFO..

[Jac]

I don't know how to respond to your question...except to say that everything you mentioned points to a puppy mill operation and puppy brokering. You probably don't want to know the details. Just be glad that you got Henley out of there and love him...make up for what we can only imagine his life might have been like.
Seriously, I would not follow up on this.
I would also suggest that you not refer people to this or any pet shop for puppy purchases, if friends should ask.
You might want to read the post about how to select a breeder: http://labradoodle-dogs.net/ebooks/Find ... reeder.pdf It might help you to understand some of the things you are asking about.
We are all very glad that you have Henley! I can't wait to see his pictures.

[lindamarie]

I agree with, Jac. Leave it alone and be happy you have Henley now.
My experience with a puppy mill was before I knew how bad they could be.
We purchased a Springer Spaniel, who although beautiful and we loved him until death, had many issues. Although the gave us AKC papers, I was never able to confirm that these were legitimate.
He was transported about 200 miles via car to a shabby house where the yard was filled with puppies. I will never do that again.

With Bogart, we met his mom and dad and saw the champion lines of the English Yellow Lab and Standard Poodle.
Don't beat yourself up over this and try to get to the bottom of it. Henley looks like a very sweet doodle and I'd just be happy!

[kirama]

Originally Posted by Henleys Alpha

Now that I have just purchased a dog from a pet store, a chain with (I just found out) 131 stores. How does their supply chain typically operate? They claim to be legitimate-and I am not sure how to define that word in this application-no puppy mills, and the web site of the breeder was very short in their description of their operation. Included with the puppy was a binder full of stuff, describing the warranty, a dvd, shots, chip, and other stuff. What I was curious about was the supposed family tree. It just lists names of dogs, not breeds. Is this usual? I figure it is just marketing mush, but if it was legal to post it, (is it?) could anyone make any sense of it?
Also, how are the dogs transported? Do they stuff them all in a truck, air, what?

Henley is not to excited to go on short car trips, but he really does like to cuddle during them!

Thanks for reading this far in what is probably a silly question. I guess my next pursuit is to call the breeder, but it looks like, ahem, a large operation, and I worry that their answers may not be accurate. Just want to know all I can about my new puppy!

legitimate puppy mill is an oxymoron. But, in spite of the awful way that those people run their 'operation' there are plenty of puppies that are healthy and well adjusted and turn out just fine. Dogs from puppy mills are generally very 'dog friendly because they usually have had 24/7 contact with a large number of other dogs. Some of them need help with socialization with people. But the chances of your puppy having any serious issues is no greater than what you would encounter with a rescue or shelter dog.. You just don't know their past- so you love them and treat them well and try to overcome any issues caused by the way that they were raised.

[SilverLoka]

Puppy mills are awful, how they treat the breeding dogs shoud be illegal!
Even if you wan't to rescue puppies from a place like that don't because you only support the breeding of more dogs.

Dogs may or may not turn out ok but the main reason to not buy from a puppy mill is that you don't want to give money to people that treat animals badly.

I wouldn't dig deeper in this matter either, I wouldn't want to be even more upset.
Be thankful that you seem to have a wonderful puppy and just don't think about it.

[sheamusmom]

Animal Planet TV cable channel is coming out with an expose' program next week on the puppy mill operations of Petland chain.

[LabyLabradoodle]

What are puppy mills? Never heard that before.