Back Yard Breeders

I think you are going to get various opinions on this topic, but here is mine.  I consider a BYB any breeder that isn't breeding for the specific purpose of the betterment of the breed.  There is no other reason to breed a dog. 

In addition to what Mic said, these people that are breeding just to sell for monies, usually do not health test their breeding dogs, nor are the pup vetted either. They tend not to put too much time or monies into breeding the dogs for quality pup's but tend to the reverse. Breed for quantity in other words. They also have a tendency not to temperment test their dogs either. In my opinion, these are back yard breeders, allowing their dogs to produce hundreds of puppies a year not caring who buys them or what happens to them either.
For people that have pets which are not altered and allow them to tie to produce more unwanted pup's is foolish, just because they do not believe in having a pet that is altered. Spayed or neutered. Some sell their pups while others just give them away to who ever wants them. Again with no concern for the wellfare of the pet's life or quality of life.

I believe 100% in the idea that dogs should be spayed/neutered. I don't think that people should be irresponsible and let their dogs run around having puppies and not taking care of them. But IMO there is nothing terribly wrong with people who have two dogs and the dogs happen have puppies. The people we got Loki from were not trying to make a ton of money by having puppies. They seemed a little on the ignorant (for lack of a better word, because they were intelligent people) side about getting their dogs fixed. After three litters they figured out, if they didn't want anymore puppies, they should get them both fixed and they did just that. We have papers on Loki--he came from a champion line on both sides. Him and his sister Roxy (my parent's dog) are both super smart, sweet dogs. I've had quite a few Elkhounds and I can tell that these dogs came from "good genes". IMO it would have been horrible not to breed them, because they produced such great puppies. But the owners were not technically "breeders".

I know of several byb's personally just from work and talking with people.  The above posts have pointed out what byb's are, generally.  What is wrong with it?  I'd like to address this part of the OP's questions by posting just one aspect of what's wrong with it...
 
Each year millions of dogs are euthanized because they are unwanted.  The "free to good home" puppies that result from irresponsible owners (byb's) who allow their unaltered dogs to breed then try to dump off the unwanted litters are sometimes just plain ignorant to the devastation they are reaping.  Impulse grabbers who take these puppies home are usually uneducated about what it takes to raise a good, well-behaved dog, or the attention/time/money it takes to ensure a healthy one.  These are the dogs that they'll keep around while they're cute little jumpy, bitey, tail-waggy babies... then suddenly they have an untrained, poorly socialized, nearly-adult dog on their hands, who inevitably will start to "destroy" their personal belongings and house, uninvitedly jump on guests, become banned to the yard and live their lives there as "lawn ornaments", and ... these are a large number of re-homed, displaced, dumped off, turned-over-to-the-shelter dogs we see every day. 
 
A byb will "care" for the pup while they have them in their possession, then, "out of sight, out of mind"... watch you walk away while they count their cash.  A reputable breeder as portrayed above will be there should there be any problems, and take the pup back.
 
Most byb's keep their dogs outside, sometimes in over-crowded, dirty pens.  The puppies I've seen from these types are usually sick, and smell of their own and other's urine and feces. Through all inclement weathers, mind you.
I know of one byb locally who goes around looking for "free" dogs to bring home, promising to "love them and keep them indoors with him", until he gets them home and dumps them out in the filthy kennels, mixing and matching various breeds to make hundreds of puppies each year.  Their bitches are condemned to a life of an unending cycle of mating, pregnancy, delivery, whelping, the pups are yanked early and the cycle starts all over again.
 
May I suggest? ... on your next day off, take a stroll through your local kill shelter.  Ask about the history of some of their penned dogs.  Take note of how many were "owner turn-overs"... the ones who have been dumped there because they chew, jump, run off, and how many were turned over unsterilized.  Look at their faces.  Realize that they once had a family they thought loved them and whom they would have gladly given their own lives to save, yet the reality is that their "families" found them quite disposable. 
 
That's what's wrong with it.   (Well, just SOME of what's wrong with it....)
 
~ Julia

Just a little more background on where I'm coming from: When DH and I bought a house, we were finally able to get a dog. Loki is the first dog we've had as "adults". We both grew up with dogs though. We decided to get a Norwegian Elkhound since I had grown up with them. And a few months before my parents answered an ad in the paper and got a puppy from people who called them back to say that the female was pregnant again. We though "let's go for it" and I would never change that decision, because Loki is such an amazing pup. Again, the people were not in in for the money and they did ask us questions about how we were going to raise the puppy. It seemed like they were really trying to make sure he went to a good home. They also seemed to care about how the puppies were raised. He has a great temperment and was almost potty trained by the time we got him at 8 weeks.
 
Odin, on the other hand, was adopted from a shelter. We found him on Petfinder.com. He is a purebred Norwegian Elkhound and we are so happy that we were able to rescue him and give him a good home. I think adopting from a shelter is an wonderful thing to do--it was one of the best experiences of my life. I'm definitely not advocating that people just let their dogs have puppies for the heck of it. But there are some instances when it can be a good experience. Granted, that's probably a very small minority.

I know of several BYBs in my area.  Every spring there's a "AKC LAB PUPPIES FOR SALE" sign in front of a house on my way home from work. The pups are from several litters, obviously, because there is no way that they have ups from March/April all the way to September.  One year they sold Xmas pups.  I hate it.  But there are all sorts of people that buy them.
 
The other thing I don't get is this:  Why would anyone buy a mixed breed puppy (which are being bred because the owner specifically "sees no need to get her spayed") when there are millions of them TS every year?
 
I know an APBT mix that is still intact because they want to breed it.  The dog has the largest abdominal hernia I've ever seen (it's the size of a large walnut.) And he's showing early signs of HD.  But they want to breed him and they won't be talked out of it.
 
I agree with Mic, if you're not seeking to better the breed, or at the very least seeking to maintain conformation to breed standards...please don't breed.   

I agree with Mic - the one thing that really draws the line between the true hobbyist/fancier and  a BYB is a desire to breed to the specific breed standard and a plan to ensure that their breeding program has some method of staying accountable to that standard - whether through showing, performance tests, mentoring, or whatever.

BYB typically simply breed whatever is on hand.  They may or may not test or even be aware of the health issues in their breed.  They are not interested in breeding the best to the best, just in justifying breeding to whatever is most convenient.  Usually selection of breeding stock is based on what individuals will produce the highest money-making pups (neat colors, pleasant temperament of parents, history of producing large litters, demand from relatives or neighbors).

The big problem, as someone mentioned, with BYBs - from the standpoint of a consumer, is that there is no support.  When you purchase a pup from someone who has the breed's overall good at heart, you will make a friend for the lifetime of the pup, someone who will guide you through all the ups and downs.  You have conversations like, "Oh yes, his mama/grandma was just like that - here's what you do."  If problems come up, breeders like this will "own" the problem and do what they can to effect a solution.    You will be lucky to get a returned phone call from a BYB.

And of course, buying from a responsible fancier means you are buying a pup whose parents were evaluated thoroughly for any potential problems and brought together with the idea of producing a superior example of the breed.  That doesn't guarantee any of that, but it makes your odds much higher for a pup that is physically and mentally sound.

I agree with Mic's definition of a BYB as well. In practice, a BYB runs the gamut from a neighbor who has a nice dog and breeds him to her sister's nice bitch, to someone who sells "AKC puppies" who are well cared for but whose parents are not properly tested nor proven, to your mixed-pup breeders charging an arm and leg for designer dogs.
 
A note on "papers" or the "AKC" descriptor - a dog only has to be purebred to be registered with the AKC. It does not have to be health tested (or indeed, even healthy), shown, from good lineage, or of a good temperament. Being purebred just by itself tells you relatively little about the quality of a dog's breeding.

This is kind of a catch 22 question... I think what you're saying is that you're glad that this person had the puppies because otherwise you wouldn't have Loki, right? In that sentiment, I'm kind of glad the "breeder" I got Maddi from did as well. Otherwise, I wouldn't have her.
 
A friend of my parents breeds Akitas. I don't know if she health tests and I don't know if she shows. I do know though, that she loves the breed to pieces and will take back any pup or adult one of her buyers can't keep. One, I can remember, she took in was very malnourished... so much so that she was not aware the dog was pregnent and she cried when she found the pup still born outside. What I am certain of, however, is her program revolves heavily around temperment, which is very important to the breed because they get such a bad rap. She does keep the dogs in outdoor kennels, except for two that I know of. Whelping is all done in her bedroom, and she has litters very sparsly. Last I knew, she was building a large fenced in area for the dogs to run and kennel expansion. Honestly, I wouldn't hesitate to get another puppy from her even if she is a high-end BYB... that may sound aweful, but we got Meeko from her and Meeko NEVER EVER forgot this woman... she adored her, and that speaks a lot to me. In fact, before I got Maddi, I was going to get a puppy from her (she just had a litter) but they were all gone before I contacted her.
 
OTOH, the breeder I got Maddi from hadn't house trained her (by 4 months, mind you) taught her anything, and hadn't socialized her, and had JUST gotten around to naming her and putting a collar on her. On top of that, she didn't ask a whole lot of questions (we were in and out in 20 min, she even quickly accepted our offer of $650 even though the she was suppose to be $800) and I have never heard from her since.  Neither of the parents fit the standard and I hardly got any contact with the father (although both parents seemed nice enough, and she did have one female that she claimed she had rescued). If I had known what I know now, I wouldn't have gotten her, definately wouldn't have drove to Maine just to see her.
 
But, that's all the beauty of hindsight. I get angry when I read all the lab and retriever puppies for sale in the paper. I get even madder when pet stores in NH advertise their mill bred dogs.
 
 

Pumaward, that's exactly what I was saying. I really wanted to get some more insight into the practice of backyard breeders and open up that discussion. But at the same time, I am very glad that we got Loki from the people we did, so in a way I'm a little defensive about it. [] 
 
When I was younger, my family got a Norwegian Elkhound from a pet store. He had worms (which they misdiagnosed as kennel cough) and was about to die. We nursed him back to health and even though he never reached full size because of the illness, he lived a very happy, healthy life after that. He was such a wonderful dog and even though I hate the idea of pet stores and the puppy mills they purchase from, there's no way I would trade him either. So, yes, it is very much a catch-22.