It could also be you if you didn't get your dog altered to prevent a breeding. The puppies found with backyard breeders can be a game of chance. Are the puppies at least 8 weeks old. Even if the puppies come with AKC papers they may not be pure breed. The AKC relies on ,mostly but not fully, the ethics of the breeder to state who the parents are for the pups.
Profit can also be a motive behind a backyard breeder.
Words like champion blood lines, or other outrageous statements made by the breeder you know to leave. Most AKC dogs, if you go back far enough, can have champion blood lines but 30 generations ago only count to the backyard breeder and have nothing to do with the quality of the pups. The backyard breeder can range so vast when it comes to care, standards, and quality, your might as well play the lottery. Your chances of getting a good, healthy dog are about the same as winning. There are many stories to be told of the pup that died from ills past down from parents who shouldn't have been breed, then sold by backyard breeders.