The term "Puppy mill" means different things to different people:

•  
• A place where several breeds of dogs are raised and the breeder 
• always has puppies for sale? 
• A dirty, trashy place where one or several breeds of dogs are kept
• in deplorable conditions and puppies are always available? 
• A place where a single breed of dog is raised in acceptable 
• conditions and puppies are always available?
• A place where lots of dogs are raised, where breeding is done solely f
• or financial gain rather than protection of breed integrity, and where 
• puppies are sold to brokers or to pet stores?
• All of the above? 

A hobby breeder dedicated to promoting and protecting a particular 
breed or two might consider all of the above "breeders" to be puppy mills. 
Animal shelter and rescue workers who deal daily with abandoned dogs 
might agree. Operators of clean commercial kennels, licensed by the US 
Department of Agriculture, will strongly disagree, for the very mention of 
"puppy mill" damages their business and that of the pet stores they deal 
with.

John Q Dog Owner probably thinks of puppy mills as those places 
exposed on "20/20" or "Geraldo". They have seen the cameras pan 
back and forth over trash, piles of feces, dogs with runny noses and 
oozing sores, dogs crammed into shopping carts and tiny coops, rats 
sharing dirty food bowls and dry dishes. They've seen the puppy mill 
owner captured on tape, dirty, barely articulate, and ignorant of dog 
care, temperament, genetic health, or proper nutrition. He's belligerent, 
too, demanding to be left alone to earn his livelihood.

But is the television crew simply seeking the sensational and applying 
these appalling conditions to the entire dog producing industry? Just 
what is a puppy mill?

After World War II, when farmers were desperately seeking alternative 
methods of making money when traditional crops failed, the US 
Department of Agriculture encouraged the raising of puppies as a crop. 
Retail pet outlets grew in numbers as the supply of puppies increased, 
and puppy production was on its way.

However, the puppy farmers had little knowledge of canine husbandry
and often began their ventures with little money and already-rundown 
conditions. They housed their dogs in chicken coops and rabbit hutches,
provided little socialization, and often eschewed veterinary care because
they couldn't afford to pay. Animal welfare organizations such as the 
Humane Society of the US (before it became politicized by the animal 
rights movement) investigated conditions at these farms and eventually 
were successful in focusing national attention on the repulsive conditions
at "puppy mills."

Puppy mill conditions were a major impetus in the passage of the
national Animal Welfare Act. However, as often happens, the appellation 
has been bastardized to mean any breeder who breeds lots of dogs, no 
matter what the conditions of the kennel or the health of the puppies. 
The AWA is administered by the US Department of Agriculture. The 
act lists several categories of businesses that handle dogs:

Pet wholesalers are those who import, buy, sell, or trade pets in 
wholesale channels, and they must be licensed by USDA to conduct 
business;

Pet breeders are those who breed for the wholesale trade, whether 
for selling animals to other breeders or selling to brokers or directly to pet 
stores or laboratories, and they must also be licensed by USDA to conduct 
business; and laboratory animal dealers, breeder, and bunchers must also 
be licensed, as must auction operators and promoters of contests in which
animals are given as prizes.

Hobby breeders who sell directly to pet stores are exempt from 
licensing if they gross less than $500 per year and if they own no more 
than three breeding females. 

The AWA does not list a definition of either "commercial kennel" or
"puppy mill." The American Kennel Club also avoids defining "puppy 
mill" but does label a commercial breeder as one who "breeds dogs as a
business, for profit" and a hobby breeder as "one who breeds purebred 
dogs occasionally to justifiably improve the breed, not for purposes of 
primary income."

AKC does not license breeders. The USDA issues licenses under the 
Animal Welfare Act after inspecting kennels to determine whether or not 
minimum standards for housing and care are being met. They require a 
minimum amount of space for each dog, shelter, a feeding and veterinary 
care program, fresh water every 24 hours, proper drainage of the kennel, 
and appropriate sanitary procedures to assure cleanliness.

USDA licensed more than 4600 animal dealers, more than 3000 of 
them dealing solely in wholesale distribution of dogs and cats, in 1992. 
Animal welfare proponents claim that there are many dealers (commercial 
kennels? puppy mills?) who have avoided the system, and that USDA 
does not have enough inspectors to seek them out and enforce the law. 
These welfarists have lobbied for stricter laws in the "puppy mill states" 
in the midwest.

It's easy to say that John Jones or Mary Smith runs a puppy mill or 
that pet store puppies come from puppy mills, but the label is tossed 
about so frequently and with so little regard for accuracy that each 
prospective dog owner should ascertain for himself whether or not he 
wishes to buy a dog from some definitions to help you decide:

Hobby breeder: A breed fancier who usually has only one breed 
but may have two; follows a breeding plan in efforts to preserve and 
protect the breed; produces from none to five litters per year; breeds 
only when a litter will enhance the breed and the breeding program; raises
the puppies with plenty of environmental and human contact; has a c
ontract that protects breeder, dog, and buyer; runs a small, clean kennel;
screens breeding stock to eliminate hereditary defects from the breed; 
works with a breed club or kennel club to promote and protect the breed; 
and cares that each and every puppy is placed in the best home possible. 
While some of the top stock may be sold with restrictions or reproductive
strings it is not for profit or income but to continue to grow within their 
lines. The hobby breeder will not always have puppies available, will 
want to keep in touch about the dogs after the sale.

Commercial breeder: One who usually has one to several breeds 
of dogs with income or profit as the primary motive for breeding and 
existence.  The commercial breeder will have more then 6 litters per year 
and will have innumerable bitches or access to breedable bitches. The dogs
may be healthy or not and the kennel may be clean or not. The dogs are 
probably not screened for genetic diseases since this will cut into their 
profit, and the breeding stock may or may not be not selected for 
resemblance to the breed standard or for good temperament. Commercial
breeders will dispense with any animal not showing profit through resell 
or through euthanasia. Commercial breeders may or may not be hobby 
show in conformation or other competitive events. Commercial breeders 
may have two tier stock, that they keep to compete with and that they 
use strictly for reproduction purposes, for profit.  Many commercial breeders 
sell their puppies to pet stores or to brokers who sell to pet stores. The 
commercial breeder does not care what happens to that dog after the sale 
unless they have sold with reproductive strings attached and then they 
only care as to the income to be derived from the animals or reproductive
rights.

Broker: One who buys puppies from commercial kennels and sells
to retail outlets. Brokers ship puppies by the crate-load on airlines or by 
truckload throughout the country. Brokers must be licensed by USDA 
and must abide by the shipping regulations in the Animal Welfare Act.

Buncher: One who collects dogs of unknown origin for sale to 
laboratories or other bunchers or brokers. Bunchers are considered lower
on the evolutionary scale than puppy mill operators, for there is much 
suspicion that they buy stolen pets, collect pets advertised as "Free to a
good home", and adopt unwanted pets from animal shelters for research 
at veterinary colleges or industrial research laboratories.

Backyard breeder: A dog owner whose pet either gets bred by 
accident or who breeds on purpose for a variety of reasons. This breeder 
is usually ignorant of the breed standard, genetics, behavior, and good 
health practices. A backyard breeder can very easily become a
commercial breeder or a puppy mill.

Puppy mill: A breeder who produces puppies hand over fist with 
no breeding program, little attention to puppy placement, and poor 
health and socialization practices. A puppy mill may or may not be 
dirty but it is usually overcrowded and the dogs may be neglected or 
abused because the breeder can't properly handle as many dogs as he 
has. Puppy mill operators often denigrate hobby breeders and their 
dogs in attempts to make a sale.

Unfortunately, some people who are well-ensconced in your local 
dog scene could be categorized as commercial breeders or as operating 
puppy mills. Prospective buyers should be careful to question anyone 
they are considering as a source for a puppy.