To clarify on the other poster, separate instances of selective breeding. Dogs as a whole were bred for domesticity and smaller size than wolves over thousands of years. Then much more recently, people began selectively breeding them for extremely small/large qualities, deviating from the relatively stable genetic code under much more intense selection pressure. Resulting in dogs that are either much smaller or much larger than the ‘normal’ dog having health problems. Big dogs today didn’t go in a straight line from being wolf-size to big dog size. They went from wolf size to normal dog size over a long time period, and then went from normal dog size to ‘big’ dog size over a much smaller time period which is where the problems arise.
Oh. It’s because of selective breeding.
In general, aggressive selective breeding involves pulling from a smaller gene pool, which results in congenital problems. Wolves breed naturally, so evolution ensures they can survive well.
It’s basically the same reason we don’t have incest babies. More or less.
No duh, i am more wondering why the larger ones are so fucked when the origin species isn’t.
To clarify on the other poster, separate instances of selective breeding. Dogs as a whole were bred for domesticity and smaller size than wolves over thousands of years. Then much more recently, people began selectively breeding them for extremely small/large qualities, deviating from the relatively stable genetic code under much more intense selection pressure. Resulting in dogs that are either much smaller or much larger than the ‘normal’ dog having health problems. Big dogs today didn’t go in a straight line from being wolf-size to big dog size. They went from wolf size to normal dog size over a long time period, and then went from normal dog size to ‘big’ dog size over a much smaller time period which is where the problems arise.
Oh. It’s because of selective breeding.
In general, aggressive selective breeding involves pulling from a smaller gene pool, which results in congenital problems. Wolves breed naturally, so evolution ensures they can survive well.
It’s basically the same reason we don’t have incest babies. More or less.
Unless your sibling is hot. Then you are good to go.