If your concerned about getting a purebred, having the AKC tag is very helpful, they are known for being very strict with record keeping. If your concern is how the dogs are treated in the breeding facilities, a label with AKC means a little more than other labels, because these other labels were made by the commercial breeders, but there are still many "puppy mills" that still have the AKC label. How dogs are treated in kennels has more to do with individual state law. Not all commercial breeders treat the dogs inhumanely, but it's still best to see for yourself how the dogs are being raised. I saw some undercover videos interviewing Petland breeders and it was so sad. If they felt like USDA inspectors gave them a hard time and didn’t want to improve kennel conditions, they would just threaten to shoot the dogs so that USDA inspectors would back off. For those interested CAPPS has made some great videos about Petland and the Hunte Corp:
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