Is there really a difference between a puppy mill and a commercial breeder?

no.. there is no difference. But people have a bad connotation with the word "puppy mill".. so petshops use the term "commercial breeder" to confuse potential buyers into believing that its a good, legit breeder.

Its all the same thing.

Commercial breeder just sounds better than puppy mill. They are exactly the same.

In my opinion, no. I only buy puppies from people who treat their animals as pets. And if they have more than three or four females breeding then they don't pass my criteria. I know lots of people who show who have dozens of dogs. It's like "show mills". Disgusting because they don't really love them. If someone has too many they just can't love all of them and give each of them "mommy" attention.
I would always rather get puppies from families breeding their pets rather than anyone running a puppy business.

Not really, both are in it for profit not to improve the breed.

I have never heard the term commercial breeder before? But I can say there is really o different between any type of breeding that's done other than responsible professional breeding. I would say that 90% of all "pure breeds" are breed by either puppy mills or backyard breeders. Neither one has any regard for the health, conformation, or temperament of the dogs they breed or the puppies they produce. Both are incredibly irresponsible. If you are looking for a dog and must have a pure breed do not buy from a pet shop. They will sell you an overpriced unhealthy dog that would only be breed by the aforementioned breeders because a responsible breeder would not allow their dogs to be sold this way. A responsible breeder will not sell a dog without a contract for it to be altered, if it is pet quality, and if it is show quality they will want to have breeding rights over it.

Commercial breeder is many times just the official name for a puppy mill. That's what the puppy millers call themselves. So to answer your question, no, there is no difference. Puppy mill and commercial breeder is just different names for the same thing.

Not much. They are actually the same! Each is committed to producing as many dogs for the open market as possible, and the hybrid quality and health aspects become secondary to quantity. That's why so many poor quality dogs glut the market.

This does not apply to quality, conscientious, caring breeders who do it right, and breed for quality, not quantity.

Not really the only possible difference would be the conditions in which the animals live. Other than that both produce puppies in mass amounts and are licensed by the USDA.

Commercial breeders often fall into the "clean" puppymill category. Everything is kept neat and clean, the animals receive decent vet care but are still bred regularly etc.

um, the difference is the conditions the dogs are bred/kept in, and that puppy mills breed for pure profit, not giving a rip whether the dogs have behavior issues or genetic defects.

Commercial dog breeders view dogs as livestock and a "cash" crop. Most of these folks started out in other types of factory farming and failed. They then turned to dogs in the hope of an easier crop. They make no distinction between "farm" animals and "house" pets. In order to understand why it’s so important to not provide them with a source of income, you must understand this simple truth. As long as there are buyers at auctions for a particular breed, that breed will continue to be at auctions. The auctioneers and sellers care not where the money comes from; money is money. They count on rescue groups to purchase the dogs other breeders don't want.

I am describing the dogs in puppy mills: Over bred, underfed, poorly kept dogs, that live an awful life, confined in deplorable conditions, to pay for their pitifull, irresponsible, ignorant owners bills

Both commercial, and puppy mills, view their dogs as atm's

i'm not sure but if your wanting a dog, ADOPT! there are dogs in need that just as sweet as a dog bought from a store.

It would depend on the breeder.

A puppy mill generally is a term used to refer to an operation that breeds dogs regardless of health, temperment, size, age, quality, and often breeds "designer dogs" (aka, mutts) purely for the money involved.

A commercial breeder can do exactly the same things. And they also, might not. They might health test, sceen, and plan a whole breeding program focused on improving the breed. This, however, is highly unlikely. That's why it's so important to pick your breeder carefully and wisely. Smaller doesn't always mean better, and bigger doesn't always mean "mill", just look closely, and find the details.