Is it true pet stores are fronts for puppy mills?
Some stores will claim their puppies come from good breedersbut, logically speaking, wouldn’t a good breeder want to know what home their dog’s going to? In my mind, a puppy mill is a place where animals are bred for income, where the breeders aren’t doing as much as they can to raise the puppies properly. So yes, the majority of dogs in these pet stores are from puppy mills. And the reason the stores do well is the guilt factor. People think that by buying from a pet store, they’re saving that dog in the window. But by paying $3,000, you’re not rescuing that dog; all you’re doing is condemning that dog’s parents to being bred that many more times while living in a tiny little cage in South Dakota or Missouri. What’s the first thing you should do when you bring home a puppy? Put the puppy in its pen or its crate and give it something to play with. You’ve set a precedent for the behavior you like: behaving quietly and playing with toys. Confine the puppy safely for potty training with a
