A wonderful solution to a problem that shouldn't exist. Just ban breeding.
Typical lifespan of a wolf in captivity is ~15 yr (up to 20 in some cases), which is excellent for a "dog" that size.
And then there are puppy mills, which are on the polar opposite of the "fancy breed purity" spectrum, but equally horrific.
My overall inclination is pacifism and to focus on loving everyone, but I'd probably be OK with a discreet Tonya Harding'ing to the kneecaps of people running puppy mills.
It is sad that a combination of greed and elitism have doomed so many dogs in America to suffering.
There are a few breeds that have serious health problems, but the vast majority don’t.
I have an award winning show dog, and he’s strong, healthy, and happy. We are responsible in researching the right pairing for matings. We use pedigree research, DNA tests, and inbreeding coefficient calculators to ensure healthy offspring.
Responsible breeders exist, and in fact are a majority.
Are responsible breeders creating the majority of new puppies though?
If a random person goes to a random breeder and buys a dog, what are the odds that breeder is ethical and following best practices?
I'd bet it is less than 50%.
> There are a few breeds that have serious health problems, but the vast majority don’t.
My complaint was mostly focused on breeds where the breed standard is by definition unhealthy.
> We use pedigree research, DNA tests, and inbreeding coefficient calculators to ensure healthy offspring.
And the asshole outside of the city limits breeding puppies in his backyard is doing no such thing, but is still selling "pure bred poodles" that will have horrible behavioral problems and awful health.
At the end of the day, puppy mills exist because people buy from them.
Responsible breeders work hard with the respective breed groups to improve the health standards, and a lot of work is underway to introduce new bloodlines and standards to unhealthy breeds. That is not to say that all breeders are good breeders, or care much about dogs’ health, but there is a definitive push for change going on towards improving the standards.
Giant dog breeds humans have made rarely have such long life spans, with dogs like Saint Bernards, Great Danes and Irish Wolfhounds living 8 to 10 years.
That is living indoors, with access to regular medical checkups, and without parasites.
FWIW Wolves are huge, up to 160lb.
Wolves in the wild are lucky to make it to 7 years. A 12 year old wild wolf is exceptionally rare.
But 7 to 8 years is the upper bound of many large dog breeds who are pampered and have excellent medical care.
There are many large dog breeds that will never make it to 12, but a pampered wolf will.
My overall point is that even for the overall category of "large canine", we've reduced the lifespan of domesticated dog breeds.
We picked up our mostly black lab rescue (plus other 'stuff') as a puppy and mostly likely doesn't have some of the health problems that breeds can have.
I'm glad that I never went with my initial idea of getting a British bulldog. I see them wheezing and it just makes me sad.
The article explicitly calls out why this research is helpful: because we, as humans, have bred large dogs to die early as a side effect of their size.
It's really hard for me to understand why people are okay paying a dog breeder to perpetuate significant health problems. Plenty of owners are ignorant, but plenty of people fully understand that the Irish Wolfhound that they're going to purchase and grow to love will quite possibly die of old age in seven years, and that paying even a responsible breeder who's trying to minimize this problem will _still_ result in more dogs that die too young purely for our preferences.
And that's discounting the fact that most people simply don't have the will or the time to give a working dog the attention and stimulation that it needs to not be a neurotic mess.
(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).
This is a funny thought. I suppose dogs will drive themselves to social events, get jobs, and financially support their offspring.
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.