"Puppy farm" What sort of image do those words create? Perhaps the final scene from One hundred and one Dalmatians where the puppies are playing happily on the lawn watched over by loving owners. Or a jolly, loving farmer who knows each of his animals by name and takes the time to give each bitch and her pups the love and attention that they need? Sadly we all know that those scenarios could not be further from the truth. The unfortunate victims of these places are, if they are lucky, kept in bare kennels with little human contact. Often they are kept in sheds in cages, in the dark, cold and wet. The mother will be farmed like battery hens and forced to breed over and over again.

There are many rescues that take on these sad breeding bitches when they are not longer useful but what happens to their puppies? Of course few people seeing the conditions in which the puppies are kept would choose to buy a puppy from a battery farm so where do these puppies go? Often they are separated from their mothers far too early – sometimes as young as five weeks and transported to brokers or pet shops or pet superstores. If you are ever offered a pup without the opportunity to see its mum then alarm bells should start to ring.

These pet stores and brokers receive the barely weaned pups and sell them on. Sometimes they will advertise that they are selling a single pup on behalf of a friend, or perhaps you will turn up to view them and be told that the mother is out for a walk or even that they have had to rush her to the vets (after all they are caring owners!) If you can't see the puppies' mum then leave straight away. If it is a genuine situation where the bitch has gone to the vet or been taken out for some reason any seller worth buying from will want to arrange another appointment for you to meet her.

You might arrive to see a litter of puppies and sense straight away that there is something wrong – perhaps you are taken to shed outside and the puppies are there alone or they are kept in dirty unpleasant conditions. DO NOT let your heart rule your head. Make your excuses and leave. The people or the organisation that is responsible for breeding them will only continue to make money if people buy the puppies. Although you may feel that you could change the world for one puppy by taking it home with you in reality you are supporting the awful trade in puppies.

So many of these puppies have health problems – the result of in breeding, the mother's ill health, the poor conditions in which they started life. Then there are the other problems that come from the lack of socialisation. These pups will have had little or no human contact, perhaps no contact with any animals other than the rest of their litter, no experience of any of the comings and goings of family life that contribute to a confident, happy, outgoing puppy. This guide from the Irish SPCA will help you to avoid being taken in by someone offering puppy farmed dogs:

• If you are looking to buy a full breed dog, contact the Kennel Club for a list of responsible registered breeders.
• Be wary of classified ads in newspapers especially those from breeders with multiple breeds for sale.
• Never buy a dog without seeing the premises and mother and father if possible.
• Don't agree to meet at garages, pubs etc. or if they offer to deliver the pup to your home.
• The breeder should want to know about you as well, if they don't be wary.
• Don't buy any puppy because you feel sorry for it.
• Kennel club registered puppies must have papers and microchips and vaccination charts.
• Don't under any circumstances take vaccines from the breeder.
• If you are in any doubt about the validly of a breeder or the condition of the animal, contact the local SPCA as soon as possible.
• You should be provided with details on feeding, vaccinations, worming, care etc. and they should offer an aftercare service.
• Try and keep as many details as possible, phone number, car registrations, addresses etc.
• Consider rescuing a dog or puppy from your local SPCA or pound.