Choosing the right dog breeder before you buy your dog is perhaps one of the most important things in dog ownership. Imagine making the mistake of getting a puppy from an unethical dog breeder, and finding out that the pooch that you just brought home is very ill due to malnourishment, and due to abusive treatment from the part of a dog breeder.
Although it is very rare to run into dog breeders that are practicing their trade inhumanly, the possibilities exist, and you should look for clues to that type of abhorrent behavior.
I feel that if you look around the kennels where the puppies are being kept, you will see signs of abuse if you are observant. So I think you should ask to see the kennels where your future dog is being kept. An honest and dedicated dog breeder should not have a problem with allowing you to see, since they have nothing to hide.
If you run into a dog breeder out there that is abusing little dogs, you must report them to the authorities at once. Do not let the dog breeder know that you are going to the authorities, since the dog breeder might react aggressively towards you, and since you will only be giving them a chance to clean up their act before the animal protection agency comes over for an inspection.
Also, let me know about such breeder and I will post the incident on one of my sites and/or in this Dog Directory, so that others can see it and take appropriate action.
