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Logically applies to the small dogs too - they're still going to die, and they're only here because of our preferences. It's about where you, personally, want to draw that line, and different people have different thresholds.

(Rabbits and fancy goldfish have similar "live pretty, die young" problems. Probably a whole host of other animals - anything we've bred for shortened heads is likely to have breathing problems - including the Chihuahua).



How about not breeding dogs to their own detriment? I suspect dogs will have no problems self-selecting mates and having pups.


Will there be selection pressure, too? I imagine you'd end up with something a lot like the dingo - a lightweight opportunistic hunter/scavenger.


>I suspect dogs will have no problems self-selecting mates and having pups.

This is a funny thought. I suppose dogs will drive themselves to social events, get jobs, and financially support their offspring.


Selecting breeding is what made dogs into creatures useful for people somehow, whether for working (herding etc) or as pets. Without breeding, you just get wild animals unsuited for human companionship.

However, I still agree with you: I think selective breeding of dogs is wrong. If they don't make good companion animals as they are naturally, then maybe people shouldn't try to turn them into such animals.


What about food animals? That's what domestication does.




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