What is a USDA Dog Breeder

What you need to know about USDA Licensed Dog Breeders.

Dog breeders with a USDA license are licensed to breed dogs and produce puppies under the oversight of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Animal Care division is the enforcement arm that is supposed to oversee the animals covered by the federal Animal Welfare Act. There are around 2,000 USDA “breeders,” dog brokers and licensees in the U.S., housing an estimated 200,000 breeding dogs or breeding “stock.”

About USDA Dog Breeders.

Adding a new dog to your family is a big decision. Since your pup will live up to 15+ years it is in your best interest to take the time to make sure your dog is coming from a responsible dog breeder.

Dog breeders who ship and sell puppies sight unseen online are supposed to be USDA-licensed if they have five or more breeding females. Breeders who sell puppies to brokers including websites registered as dog brokers must also be USDA licensed.

It all sounds good but holding a USDA license basically means the breeder is a high volume licensed commercial dog breeder. Think factory farm for dogs, these are photos of legal USDA dog breeders. Not exactly where you want your new best friend to come from.

USDA licensed does not mean the breeding dogs are treated well or that their puppies will be healthy. The chances of getting a poorly bred or sick puppy are very high and genetic issues may not show up for years. Not only that, the standards of care these breeders are required to provide for the dogs is very low and most people would call them inhumane.

Read the story about four rescued breeding dogs.

USDA dog breeders are inspected on a risk-based protocol which means years could pass between inspections for some. When inspections do take place, there is documented lack of breeder compliance, oversight and very little enforcement of any violations found during inspections.

There is no limit to the number of litters a breeding female can be forced to produce or how many years she can be forced to breed. The cage size requirement for USDA dog “breeders” is 6 inches taller and 6 inches longer than the dog and the cages can be all wire and stacked. The mental abuse is unmeasurable but also not a factor or something USDA inspectors write violations for.

For instance, the USDA does not document violations for dogs showing signs of mental abuse due to extreme confinement such as dogs cowering in fear, spinning around or pacing back and forth in cages. Inspectors instead focus on Indirect Violations such as, filth and sharp-edged objects in the dogs housing. Direct Violations directly affect the health of the dogs such as lack of vet care, open wounds, or poor body conditions.

Read about the current laws and legislation being proposed in US Congress.

Still if a breeder has a written violation Direct or Indirect that is all it is. Rarely is a USDA dog breeder closed down for abuse or cruelty. It is also rare to see a USDA dog breeders license revoked or to see a breeder charged with animal cruelty.

USDA dog breeders used to sell most of their puppies to USDA Dog Dealers who filled America’s pet stores with puppies, but the online sale of puppies is now taking a front seat and USDA dog breeders are filling dark barns with dogs, forcing them to breed, keeping them pregnant while selling and drop shipping puppies by the thousands.

Websites that sell and ship puppies such as Pawrade.com, PuppySpot.com, CrockettDoodles.com, UptownPuppies.com and GreenfieldPuppies.com are just a few examples. Some admit they use USDA dog “breeders” to seemingly make the buyers feel like the puppies are coming from safe licensed and inspected breeders while other websites hide the fact that they use USDA dog breeders by calling their breeders families and guardians giving buyers the impression the dogs and puppies live in homes and are hand raised.

Being a USDA federally licensed commercial dog breeder is nothing to be proud of. It is horrifying to see the conditions dogs from USDA facilities are forced to live in, what they endure at these facilities is unimaginable to the average puppy buyer.

Read the story about four rescued breeding dogs.

Years of this abuse is documented in USDA inspection reports, photos and video. USDA inspection reports are testimony of the continued abuse in these kennels. Dogs killed with metal pipes to the back of the head, where USDA inspectors did nothing but tell the “breeders” to use an approved method to kill the next time.

Other USDA reports show “breeders” putting hydrogen peroxide in the water line the dogs drink from. Reports also show USDA “breeders” using expired medicine, bovine and swine treatments on dog’s skin and worse practicing veterinary medicine without a license.

This is the truth about the USDA breeders. Dogs suffering from medical and behavioral issues due to the failure of USDA enforcement and oversight is rampant and unimaginable to the general public.

Each year the Humane Society United States publishes a “Horrible Hundred” lists of dog breeders year after year USDA licensed and regulated dog breeders top the list. These documents outline the reality that a facility being USDA-licensed and regulated does not, and cannot, ensure that the breeding dogs and puppies in these facilities are humanely raised or cared for humanely.

FAQ’s About USDA Dog Breeders

Should I buy a puppy from a USDA dog breeder?

We do not recommend buying a puppy from a USDA dog breeder ever.

What are the risks of buying a puppy from a USDA Dog Breeder?

Breeders that hold these licenses are considered commercial dog breeders. The chances of getting a poorly bred or sick puppy are very high and genetic issues may not show up for years. Not only that, the standards of care these breeders are required to provide for the dogs is very low and most people would call them inhumane.

Think factory farm for dogs. Not exactly where you want your new best friend to come from. USDA licensed does not mean the breeding dogs are treated well or that their puppies will be healthy. Dogs suffering from medical and behavioral issues due to the failure of USDA enforcement and oversight is rampant and unimaginable to the general public.

Is it safe to buy puppies online?

We do not recommend buying a puppy online and it is not safe to buy any dog online. Breeders selling online and through websites that direct ship puppies by air, nanny or truck are most likely USDA licensed. The risks of getting a poorly bred puppy as well as supporting the inhumane treatment of its parents are high with USDA breeders. If you are not able to pick up the puppy in person, see the mother dog and where she and all the breeder’s dogs live, you might be supporting a puppy mill.

Over 1 million puppy mill puppies are sold online each year and it is in your best interest to make sure your new puppy is not coming from one of these breeders. There is no excuse for a breeder that won’t let you see where the dogs live.

Do USDA dog breeders sell puppies online?

USDA dog breeders are front and center when it comes to puppies being sold online. High volume websites such as Crockett Doodles, Pawrade, PuppySpot, UpTownPuppies and more have large networks of USDA breeders who produce puppies to be sold online.

Many of the well-known Amish dog breeding communities in Lancaster County, PA, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois are known to keep barns full of pregnant dogs in order to fulfill these online orders. These websites will not let you know the name and address of your breeder until either they have your money, or the puppy has been delivered.

What happens at a puppy mill?

A puppy mill is any dog breeder that puts profit over the health and well-being of the breeding dogs and puppies produced. These breeders vary in size. Some could be small breeders with ten to twenty dogs and others can be very large breeders that have hundreds of breeding dogs. Puppy mills are legal, and some are licensed by the USDA.

To maximize profit, female dogs are kept pregnant, bred at every heat cycle to produce as many puppies as possible. The breeding dogs are usually kept in wire cages, many times stacked. The breeding dogs are not groomed, they are not given opportunity to exercise, nor do they know the touch of a loving hand. They are denied basic veterinary care, and most are living and breeding with painful conditions such as urinary tract infections, ear infections, rotten teeth, infected eyes, tumors, infected mammary glands, and sore feet from standing on wire cage floors — that never get addressed.

It is important to know that any breeder can be a puppy mill. It’s hard to imagine the breeder you are talking or texting with could be a puppy mill. If the breeder has excuses why they won’t let you see where they keep the breeding dogs or you are not able to meet the mother dog in person, we suggest you find another breeder. It is important to know that any breeder can be a puppy mill. It’s hard to imagine the breeder you are talking or texting with could be a puppy mill.

If the breeder has excuses why they won’t let you see where they keep the breeding dogs or you are not able to meet the mother dog in person, we suggest you find another breeder.