10/02/2026
🐾 BREEDER TALK
As time permits, I'll be sharing posts about the breeder side of things—no set schedule, because the dogs and puppies will always come first. ❤️
No drama. No breeder bashing. Just honest conversations about breeding, raising puppies, genetics, health, kennels, litter sizes, socialization, and some of the things that can look very different from the outside than they do when you've spent years actually doing this.
You don't have to agree with every breeder. But you should know what you're looking at before deciding what you're looking at.
As time permits, we'll tackle another topic. 🐾
🐾 BREEDER TALK — PART ONE
What Actually Makes a Puppy Mill?
The term “puppy mill” gets thrown around constantly online.
Someone has multiple females? Puppy mill.
Several litters at once? Puppy mill.
Dogs housed in kennels? Puppy mill.
A breeder has more dogs than someone personally thinks they should? You already know what the comments are going to say.
But none of those things, by themselves, tell you whether those dogs are receiving good care.
Numbers need context.
Yes, I have multiple females.
Yes, there are times when I have multiple litters at once.
And anyone who has lived with multiple intact females knows they apparently have a group chat where they all decide to come into season together. 😂
But I breed Pomeranians, and breed matters when you're talking about litter numbers.
Pomeranians generally have small litters. Sometimes a mom may have only one or two puppies. So I can have several mothers with puppies at the same time and still be caring for fewer total puppies than a larger breed may produce in one or two litters.
That's why simply counting females or litters doesn't tell you nearly enough about a breeding program.
What matters is capacity of care.
Can every mother receive the nutrition, monitoring, rest, attention and veterinary care she needs?
Can every puppy be monitored individually, handled, socialized and raised appropriately?
Are the adult dogs healthy, clean and in good condition? Do they receive exercise, enrichment and human interaction?
Are their living areas safe and sanitary?
Does the breeder know their dogs as individuals, rather than inventory?
Are breeding decisions being made with health, genetics, temperament and the future of the dogs in mind?
And does that breeder remain responsible for the puppies they produce after they leave?
Those answers tell me far more than a head count ever could.
The same goes for kennels.
A kennel isn't automatically cruel. A crate isn't automatically cruel. A pen isn't automatically cruel.
They're tools. What matters is how they're used.
A functional dog room doesn't have to look like someone's living room. A kennel system designed around safety, sanitation and ease of cleaning may not be Pinterest-pretty—and that's okay.
And I want to be very clear about something:
I'm not saying numbers don't matter. They absolutely do.
Every breeder has a limit to how many dogs and puppies they can properly care for. That limit depends on breed, litter size, facilities, experience, resources, available help and the individual needs of the dogs.
That's exactly why I don't believe an arbitrary number tells the whole story.
Someone can become overwhelmed caring for a relatively small number of dogs. Someone else may have the experience, facilities and resources to provide excellent individualized care to considerably more.
So instead of asking only:
“How many dogs do they have?”
I think the better question is:
“Can they provide excellent care for every dog they have?”
Care. Quality. Health. Accountability.
Having fewer dogs doesn't automatically make someone an ethical breeder.
Having multiple females or multiple litters doesn't automatically make someone a puppy mill.
Let's judge breeding programs by the health and welfare of the dogs, the quality of their care, and the responsibility of the breeder—not simply by an arbitrary number someone on social media decided was acceptable.
You don't have to agree with every breeder—but you should know what you're looking at before deciding what you're looking at. ❤️
