Where I live there are plenty of dog owners who just have small apartments,  under 90 meters. One of these have two large Collie dogs, and I believe it is a form of abuse to keep dogs like that in such a small apartment. I have never seen anyone actually beating a dog or anything like that, but the Chinese do have a different relationship with their dogs than we do. I think that like a lot of other things owning a dog or dogs is a status symbol in some way. I have never seen anyone who treats their dog like man's best friend in the way that many do in the west, it tends to be more like just another commodity that they own. So many people here are scared of dogs for no apparent reason. I was at a friends apartment, they have a three month old Chow, so you can guess how big this is, and another Chinese girl of about sixteen or so was there. I asked her if she liked dogs and she said she was very frightened of them. I picked up the puppy with both hands to show her it was harmless and she actually screamed because I was within one meter of her with a soft bundle of fur. I think this unfounded fear in some people can lead to abuse with some people.

Dogs in the UK, and I guess from what you say in the US too, are more friendly is because we treat them as friends and as part of the family and so that kindness and friendliness is returned, hence happy outgoing dogs. As I said here it seems that a dog is just another possession there does not seem to be any attempt at owners to become friends with the dog. So like with us if you treat a person like a commodity to play with and then just put back on the shelf  that person will become withdrawn, sullen and maybe at times tempted to lash out. I am sure, like everywhere, there are dog owners here that are appallingly bad and should never be allowed to own any kind of animal. As to the rest, I don't think they are deliberately abusive, like a lot of things here it is down to a lack of education, they simply do not know how to care for the dog properly. So to answer your question as to whether they are abusive to their pets, I think they are but in a lot of cases unintentionally so. As to the conditions in pet shops, markets etc. that is a whole other area and I think these are abusive.