So that is not a wiener mobile?
That puppy has a Luigi death stare going on.
Listen…
This is adorable, and fantastic for this little fellow, but can we as a species finally come to terms with the fact that our ridiculous, controlled breeding of the unfortunate Canis lupus familiaris has reached its very lowest point in this instance?
I mean we’ve taken this species and bred them to be portable, “cute,” friendly, hairless (or hairier, as the whim strikes) and we have these animals who are sickly, utterly dependent on our care, and just absurd. A genetic trainwreck, manufactured by us. I mean, god help the species that falls under our gaze for loving manipulation and control.
Are we going to start breeding them to be legless and pocket sized? So we can carry them around our necks with a lanyard like a tamagotchi?
Cute story, but those aren’t skateboard wheels. Maybe Rollerblade or scooter wheels.
Are you aware of any studies regarding the prevalence of legless newborns in domesticated dogs versus the prevalence of legless newborns in Canis lupus? It may well be that this particular puppy’s problems have jack diddly-squat to do with breeding practices. If a wolf puppy was born missing its front legs it would just die, probably without ever being noted by humans.
Heck, the same story mentions similar efforts to aid human children born without appendages. It’s unlikely those birth defects were due to overzealous breeders.
It is true: It is unlikely that missing front legs is due to overbreeding.
But he is correct on the larger point. There are plenty of disabling traits being bred into pet dogs as a result of over breeding and the senseless “conformation” rules of dog competition.
I won’t mention them by name, but there are popular breeds whose (ahem) unique facial arrangements mean they can’t breath properly, have deformed jaws and dental problems, hip problems, and bizarre stances that prevent them from mating (requiring artificial insemination) and sometimes require ceasarian sections for delivery.
Your outrage is misplaced. The damage started about 20,000 years ago, around the time we were brutally subjugating cereal grains and tubers. I imagine modern breeders have a fair amount of genetic savvy and a better ability to breed healthy creatures than generations past.
Your outrage is misplaced.
Who said anything about outrage?
I imagine modern breeders have a fair amount of genetic savvy and a better ability to breed healthy creatures than generations past.
I imagine precisely the opposite.
That’ll probably be hom. sap.
With a dog that size, wouldn’t something like Mark’s toothbrush bot have been another option?
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