My family has had a lot of losses this year, including my sister and our elderly dog, and I have temporarily come face to face with what an empty nest will look like - and I want no part of it, so hubby and I are thinking of adopting a new dog as a companion for us, rather than a pet for the kids. We had applied to adopt what we thought was the perfect dog at a local rescue, but we didn’t get her. I’m very disappointed about that and may not go forward with this, but I got an email this morning saying that another local shelter is putting scores of puppies up for adoption today who were rescued from a puppy mill. I have always heard that puppy mill dogs were less healthy and had more personality issues due to poor breeding, but on the other hand, they are homeless pets. Has anyone ever had any experience with adopting a dog rescued from a puppy mill? Any thoughts?
I don’t know where my dog came from. He was found as a stray. Then, someone adopted him and dumped him to certain death (he was scheduled to be euthanized the day after I got him out) in a high-kill pound. He is probably the kindest dog I ever met. I have other small, prey animals, and sometimes bring in sick our injured animals. Even though he is 60 pound, he has never harmed or tried to harm one of them. I could go on and on about him. He has the most amazing personality ever.
If you have the money necessary to treat the dog, if health concerns come up (which I would assume you do anyways), as well as the patience to help him/her get over what he’s been through, I would go for it. But again, no personal experience.
As a pet mommy for 35 years, most of them rescues, I would run…with checkbook in hand, to see the puppies. No person is “perfect”, neither are our pets. Sitting next to me is our puppy for 9 years…plus the 5 or 6 years before we met her.
These puppies are just that…puppies with a blank lifescape. Rescues are generally the most grateful. I hope you choose and the puppy chooses you.
Yes, puppy mill puppies can have health and personality issues- the same as if you were to adopt at a shelter or buy from a so-called “respectable” breeder.
I wouldn’t hesitate to be honest- especially puppies can be socialized and are less likely to have bad personality habits embedded than older dogs.
We adopted a 5 month old puppy, poorly socialized, had been living in a crate in a small apartment a divorced mom who did not have much time for him. It has been a lot of work and he, 9 years later, is still not like a “normal” dog. If you get one, get it young and make sure he sees lots of people and other dogs. Health is a bit of a wild card no matter where it came from.
I would guess that a sizable portion of purebred dogs in shelters come from puppy mills at some point. With most rescue dogs you don’t really know where they came from. Granted, if they are older you may have a better handle on health issues.
Personally I don’t do puppies (too much work) but if I did I wouldn’t rule out based on the fact that they were rescued from a puppy mill.
My son and his wife took in a pup from a new litter that was rescued from the streets of Guatemala and shipped to the states for adoption by an overseas organization. His beginnings were even more “iffy” than dogs from a puppy mill, imo, and he’s the best dog one could hope for. But he is a mutt (or a “supermutt” as my DIL says) and probably has the genes programmed for survival, and they have put in a lot of training and socializing time.
I think I'd want to find out a little bit more about the "puppy mill," as all that term means to me is a breeder who breeds a lot of dogs primarily for profit. Knowing that the breed will be a good fit for your family is probably as important as the birth origin. I'd be more inclined to adopt a breed known for sociability, like a Lab or Golden, from a mill than a more protective breed, but that's just me. All dogs have some health issues eventually, just like people, but personality is a little less malleable.
My only concern would be the conditions at the puppy mill. If the dogs had to be rescued from the breeder it’s possible things were pretty bad. An adult dog may have had years of substandard treatment. Of course it could be that the breeder surrendered the dogs voluntarily for reasons that shouldn’t scare you-a move, a death, etc… I would ask a lot of questions and visit the dogs to see how they interact with people. If many of them seem skittish I’d be careful, as dogs can develop fear aggression. I’d also ask the shelter whether any of the dogs taken from the shelter had to be put down. That would be another indicator that the dogs were coming from a very unhealthy environment.
Most shelters are good about doing temperament testing and only releasing dogs to households where they can be successful. If you’ll have kids in the house I would be sure to mention that when asking for recommendations on specific dogs.
Good luck. Adopted dogs can be wonderful pets!
A friend of mine from high school has a passion for exposing people who abuse animals and his own dog was rescued from a puppy mill.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Loophole-lets-accused-puppy-mill-operator-sell-dogs-online-192901401.html?mobile=y
My daughter also fostered puppy mill dogs until they were healthy/ old enough to be adopted.
I think if you are able to speak to the foster parents/ meet the dog first, that should alleviate some of your concerns.
They can have behavior issues at first, as our rescue dog from the shelter did, but he has come a long way, and is a great dog. He was a yr old when we got him, so he was full grown, although very thin. He was more work than when we had a dog from a puppy, because he needed to be reconditioned. The older they are, I imagine the more defensive mechanisms they have. If they are going to be around young children, I would carefully consider a puppy mill dog, as they might be unpredictable.
However, no dog should be left alone with a young child unsupervised, no matter his lineage.
@zoozermom, The thing about many puppy mill puppies is that they are taken from their mothers too soon so that they will be at peak cuteness for as long as possible in the store. Puppies need to stay with their mothers to be socialized. That can lead to temperament problems. So ideally I’d hope that these puppies were able to stay with their mothers for at least 7 weeks for large breeds, longer for small breeds.
On the other hand, if you can get a puppy and raise it yourself, rather than a dog that has bounced around, it is usually easier to end up with a dog that is easy to live with. It is harder to erase someone else’s mistakes.
To me, the breed would make a difference. Do you know what breed(s) these puppies are? Are they going to do early spay neuter, or will they do something like give you a certificate to redeem when you spay/neuter at a later–IMHO more reasonable–age?
Zoosermom, my little one (see my avatar) was a breeder dog at a puppy mill before she was rescued. We believe she was probably about 2 yrs old and already had several litters. She is the sweetest thing and very healthy. I belong to the rescue group and was driving her on two legs of her trip to the foster mom and just fell in love. She stayed with foster mom for at least 6 weeks - where she got spayed and acclimated to living outside a crate. There are rescue groups for practically every breed and they get puppy mill dogs and dogs whose owner might have passed away or for some reason just can’t keep the dog. Also, when a purebred is brought to a shelter they usually contact the breed’s rescue group - especially if it is a kill shelter. Groups usually have a FB page, so if there are some breeds you like I would start there. You will need to fill out application and pass a house inspection.
About a year before she died, Joan Rivers got a dog through my Chin rescue group. Dog had been found wandering in the Nevada desert. Joan flew the foster mom and another women from my group from LA to NYC, picking them and dog up in a limo and they all went back to Joan’s apartment in the city. Both of Joan’s dogs are now happily living with her assistant.
BTW, my last two dogs have been rescue Goldens. The first one undoubtedly came from a puppy mill in PA, where the Amish are huge millers. We got her at age 14 mos. She had terrible conformation–I knew the minute laid eyes on her that she was going to have elbow problems–was completely unsocialized, had never been walked on a leash as far as I could tell, terrified of almost everything. She remained timid and neurotic for the rest of her life, but gradually improved and was the sweetest dog. I am willing to bet that if we had gotten her straight from whoever the puppy mill sold her to she wouldn’t have have those issues. My current girl reportedly came from a backyard breeder who changed their mind about breeding her. She was probably a little over a year when I got her. She is an absolute doll, very sensible, responsive to training, well built and physically sound, albeit a field type rather than a show type.
I personally wouldn’t take the risk. Knowing the background of the dog is important to me. I have been in a position to make emotional and not practical decisions when it came to choosing a dog and so have others I know. I would estimate a 50-50 split on the outcome of the health and temperament of dogs or puppies that have been taken in as rescues of some sort. And the bad experiences were dogs with breed reputations for being sweet and gentle in nature , so this isn’t a " steer clear of this or that breed "
I agree with Consolation about puppies that are taken away from the mother and litter mates too soon. Socialization is key , proper preventative health care is too.
That isn’t to discount other’s experiences here…I know my comment will be met with plenty of opposition from dog parents who have successfully adopted from rescue situations.
My personal experience involved a puppy that was unhealthy …and we ultimately had to return her because our vet ( and also a specialist that he referred us to ) laid out what her short life would be like. It was brutal.
I am sure that there are plenty of fine , healthy shelter dogs that you may have the opportunity to get some background information on , or there is the option of contacting a club affiliated breeder for a referral . Many dogs need to be re-homed for such simple reasons as a child developing an allergy , an elderly owner passing or even home foreclosures . Most legitimate breeders have a surrender clause in their contract that states that for any reason you cannot keep the dog, they will NOT be put in a shelter and can / should be returned .
We brought such a dog into our home…he was turned for something so silly , but was a wonderful dog and we knew everything we could about his health care as well as both of his parents.
I wouldn’t necessarily take the word of the AKC since their criteria isn’t strict enough , but breed specific clubs are a great resource for both puppies and adult dogs.
@zoosermom , I volunteer at a shelter and for the past two months have been working almost exclusively with 20 dogs our shelter rescued from a hoarding situation.
You didn’t mention the age of the prospective puppy, but my experience has been that puppies under 4 months of age will adapt to pretty much anything, without residual effects of coming from a mill. Dogs in the 4-8 month range tend to have correctable behavior issues, such as jumping or barking at inappropriate times, but that is to be expected until they are trained otherwise. Older dogs are the ones who may have psychological issues, such as depression, anxiety and fear, especially if they were in an opressive situation at the mill. Our overall experience with puppy mill dogs, young and old, is that they are great with time spent. Dog fighting ring dogs can be a different story, but that is not the environment you are talking about.
I always tell adopters to worry less about the breed, and pay more attention to the particular dog in front of them. And frankly, you and your husband are the perfect people to adopt a puppy mill dog - you are NOT, looking for a pet for the kids, you ARE looking for a companion for two adults, and you are willing to spend the time the dog will need and you both want. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!
At the dog park I take my girl to–she’s a tomboy, and loves to play hard with the boys 
--I would venture to guess that 90% or more of the regulars are rescue dogs. Most of them are mixes. Many of them were rescued in the South and transported up to New England, like mine. (It’s actually surprising when you find a rescue dog that originated here.) A high percentage are pit mixes, and they are all nice dogs.
To me, there’s a big difference between a benign temperament issue, such as timidity, and a dangerous one, such as fear-biting or dog aggression. The majority of dogs that come through rescues have lived with an experienced foster family, usually with other dogs, and have been evaluated for temperament in a home setting. This is not as likely with shelter dogs, at least, not unless they are taken out of the shelter by a rescue.
Ije62, our first lab was a returned to breeder dog. The couple had gotten a divorce and neither wanted the dog so the breeder took her back. Since then we’ve only gotten rescues. Our big dog (Belgium Shepard) is now almost 16 and according to chart at vets that is 99 in human years! We had another rescue we had to put to sleep almost two years ago. She had a lot of issues - including biting the hand that fed her - aka me. My mother rescued her from a kill shelter in Florida and talked me into taking her. Even though she had her problems I still miss her a lot. 
First dog: Fancy breeder…daughter to father breeding…a litter of ten…all but ONE had to be put down by age 2
Second dog: Fancy breeder…but was a “gift” from the first breeder…the sweetest dog…hip dysplasia…lived to 13
third dog: (we are now into goldens)…rescue…a love…died of cancerat10
dog 4 (we had him with three)…rescue…died at 15 plus years…didn’t know his background but was the swwetest old man ever
dog 5…is 13 plus years…glarsc…laying by my side. found in the dessert near Palm Springs…we wil never know why someone wanted her dead but she loves all people…she is a blessing
I grew up with a pure-bred dog (Rottweiler) that was amazing - just an amazing, loving, wonderful dog - he was like a brother to me. However, after my experience with the pup I have now, I plan to only rescue from here on out. It may not be a practical decision, depending on how you look at it, but knowing just how many dogs get put down every day, I personally don’t agree with breeding more dogs (not to mention that pure-bred dogs actually tend to have more genetic health issues than mixed-breed dogs). And more importantly, after having found my pup in a kill shelter and having found another dog in the Utah dessert, I just want to give these amazing animals a shot. Maybe I can only take one in - a drop in the ocean - but it really matters to me, especially knowing what could have happened to my dog. And he is really an amazing dog in how kind he is to all living things - I don’t just say that because he is my dog. The world would be a worse place without him.
^ One comment about aggression…
There is aggression, and then there is what is often mistaken for aggression. If a dog has had to fight the masses in order to get some food, you should expect that the dog will have the same reaction if you reach toward it while it is eating. That behavior is considered food agression, but that behavior usually goes away when the dog learns to trust that 1) you have no interest in its food, and 2) you are the good guy.
Some dogs also seem “agressive” out of fear. One of the dogs from our hoarding situation is a little dachsund mix. When he first came in I thought he might take one of my limbs off, he was so ferocious and defensive. It didn’t take long for him to figure out who the good guys were, and now he is a total lover - lots of kisses and lap time.
Time, consistency and unconditional love are the keys.
My Lulu never got over whatever caused her issues. She tried and would be good until something would just set her off. She also had resource guarding issues - and everything, including me, was a resource - so she could be on my lap being petted and wonderful and H would bend down to kiss me or just touch my shoulder and she would attack him. We worked one on one with a trainer for months and it helped but not 100%. She also would bite me if I tried to groom her - but was fine with me giving her a bath and blow drying her. She also would eat anything - including insulation and spackle (we found that out when house was being remodeled and addition being added.) H once spilled half a big bag of big dogs food on the floor and she ate it all. We couldn’t get near her to get her away from it. And she was a wee thing (part Chin-part Peke.)